Marketing Elverys: There's literally something new every day

Castlerea native Anne-Marie Hanly is the Senior Marketing Manager at one of the most recognisable sports brands in Ireland - Intersport Elverys. The business, in which Mayo family, the Stauntons, have a majority share, is known for its long-running sponsorship of Mayo GAA and partnerships with the IRFU, Connacht Rugby and a number of League of Ireland sides.

What all of this means is that Anne-Marie is a busy woman. Her love of marketing has provided a basis for 16 very successful years at the helm in Elverys. a love that was instilled in her by a teacher in Castlerea Community School.

We sit down to chat at her base in Castlebar and her passion for the fast pace and ever-changing nature of her role is what stands out from the off.

Angelina: Anne-Marie tell me a little bit about yourself and your background.

Anne-Marie: So I'm from Castlerea in Co Roscommon, born and raised there. I did my four college years in Galway - well, one of the years I went on the Erasmus to France. Then, inevitably, I moved to Dublin for the city life and spent a good seven, nearly eight years there, cut my teeth in Unilever - what's now Unilever. Then subsequently got the job with Elvery Sports, as it was at the time, and I'm 16 years here.

Angelina: Was your degree in the area of marketing?

Anne-Marie: Yes, I majored in Marketing and French. I went to France for a year and then marketing was the field I wanted to work in, I knew that. I did a bachelor’s degree in Business Studies in GMIT, which it was at the time, and marketing was the field I wanted to work in and I'm still in.

Angelina: That’s amazing – you always felt drawn to marketing – where did that come from?

Anne-Marie: I would actually say it was probably a teacher because my parents weren't in the business. I would say it was probably my business studies teacher at Castlerea Community School, to be honest.

Angelina: The Unilever opportunity was huge at that time too wasn’t it?

Anne-Marie: I moved up and progressed through the ranks in the company but I did start in a different field, not in marketing. They had a great marketing graduate programme; great training and I really learned a lot. I had a couple of excellent mentors. There was a great team of marketing graduates in the company at the time. There was a very clear, structured programme. Really, it was the best place to cut your teeth. I had a very, very enjoyable time and got a great foundation in Unilever.

Angelina: So then 16 years ago you joined Elvery Sports?

Anne-Marie: Yes, it was Elvery Sports at that time and still owned by the Stauntons and still under membership of Intersport, but the brand name has changed and evolved over the years. At the time, I was actually looking to move back to the West, was still loving Dublin, but it was inevitable. My relationship was pulling me back to the West. At the time, a lot of people were moving back. There was even a big push, a big marketing campaign by the Western Development Commission to get people to move back west. Around that time I met the then Marketing Manager, Colin Tee, at the women's mini-marathon pre-event lunch. He mentioned he was leaving and it struck a chord. I went for the job and here we are.

Angelina: Elverys is so well known and has that international element, but still stays true to the family ethos of the business.

Anne-Marie: It's family-owned and operated, still a member of Intersport, so we're a member of that group. Intersport is the biggest sports retail group in the world. They have 5,500 shops across the world. There is that international aspect. I actually have recently joined the global marketing team. It's the best of both worlds really. I'm getting all that, the exposure to international marketing as well as then the day-to-day hands-on, touching off every aspect of the marketing plan here in Ireland. It's really the best of both worlds.

Angelina: What does your role involve day to day or week to week at the moment?

Anne-Marie: It's very broad-ranging, as I mentioned. We're lean and we're hands-on. Technically, we have three people on the marketing team – there is a big e-com and digital team dedicated to the website but there are three of us really who would be fully immersed in the brand marketing. We work alongside the e-com and digital team. We look after all of the advertising. There is another person dedicated to digital marketing, but we look after all the advertising, all the sponsorships, activation of sponsorships including our ambassadors. We look after all the campaigns that you would see in the stores, on TV, on radio, and all the social media content we manage.

“I talk about the team, I never say what I do separately from what my other two team members do because we're very much joined. We're in everything together and there's no clear lines of division between what we do. We work in every aspect of it together. Then obviously, we look after the brand marketing for Intersport Elverys but also our suppliers - Nike, Adidas, Asics, Under Armour, all of our brand partners, we build out marketing plans for them.

“It's wide-ranging and we have a lot of partners. Obviously, we're synonymous with Mayo GAA and Irish Rugby is our other major partner. We're also involved in Connacht Rugby and Tipperary GAA. We're involved with some of the League of Ireland clubs, like Sligo Rovers and Longford Town. There's no typical day. Then we work around 12 global suppliers.

Angelina: Is there ever much downtime?

Anne-Marie: There's no quiet time, Black Friday and Christmas are extra busy but there's no downtime, which is why I am still here is 16 years on because it's the fast-paced environment, it's the excitement. There's literally something new to work on, to talk about every day, every week. There's just constantly something happening, be it tournaments, the Rugby World Cup, the Olympics, or the GAA Championship. There's always an occasion in the sporting calendar which is brilliant, and it's definitely why I'm still here.

Angelina: The sponsorships are a very important element of what Elverys is about, whatever the code?

Anne-Marie: Yeah. The Mayo GAA partnership or support sponsorship is going back now to '95, and maybe before then but not on the front of the jersey prior to ’95. I think Supermacs, who sponsor Galway are the only ones who have beaten us to the longest-running sponsors. That is important, definitely. We want to support grassroots sport and that is really the heart of what the brand is - how can we be part of people's active lives and how can we facilitate or ensure that sports is accessible for all? Grassroots sport and how we support that in different ways. Obviously, not all sports and not all teams, it just wouldn't be possible. We do like to invest in grassroots sports.

Angelina: Is that buzz you get one of the main reasons you continue to enjoy the job?

Anne-Marie: That's definitely it. I feel that my job is never done, and that's probably why I'm here because of the mission… I didn't plan to be this long in one job, but the mission is not complete. You're always striving for more. Obviously, I'm very passionate about the brand, love working in the industry. That mission is still not accomplished so still there's always work to be done.

Angelina: Is there any advice you would give to people who want to get into a role like yours?

Anne-Marie: There aren’t straight lines of progression, but sometimes you weave your own path. My advice would be to think about the industry that you want to work in and then try to get in the door. I've had a lot of graduates do their internships with me. I've had a lot of people start their journey with me, and they went on to other much bigger things - like Aidan Kilcoyne would have been working with me for a few years, and then he went on to Tesco, Ryanair, and he's currently with Betfair.

“Internships, graduates, whatever way you can get into the industry and cut your teeth, it'll stand to you. There's a massive focus on Master’s degrees. I don't have a Master’s. I might someday go back, but I don't have a Master’s, and some people who work for me are more qualified than me. It's not the be-all and end-all.

“If you work hard, if you're a grafter, there are always pathways. I would say that I'm definitely a hard worker. In any job that I've ever had, I've worked really, really hard and I recognise hard workers as well. Anyone I've ever hired in Elverys has been a hard worker and I've known that from the start and I've had some unbelievable colleagues that I've been very sad to have lost.

“If you're a hard worker and getting in the door or getting into a company or an industry that you want to work for, just get in the door and then tell the marketing manager that you want to eventually get into marketing. Get it, help out, get a taste first, make sure you're sure that's where you want to work. That's the most important thing is just getting in the door and then waiting for the opportunity.”