We take some time out with Áine Corkery who tells us about a love of history, managing a talented young team and flying-a-flag for a unique brand with bags of personality.
Tell us about your career to date with Phillips 66 Limited.
I moved from Ireland and joined the UK brand team five years ago in January 2018. I was new to the energy industry, new to London and new to the UK! Prior to that I worked at Vodafone in the brand and consumer insights team and before that I was at Heineken. I did a master’s degree in marketing at University College Cork and a six-month internship with Heineken in Dublin as part of the course and was invited to stay on after graduating.
You manage the brand team in London – explain your role and the day-to-day challenges.
No two days are the same – and that’s a big part of what I love about my job. It’s extremely varied and a role that increasingly requires you to be flexible. If we want to remain relevant, we have to continue to listen to our customers and be responsive.
Since joining Phillips 66 Limited I have had the privilege of working on the JET brand. Stripping it back to its core and driving a strategy to revitalise it to meet the needs of today’s driver. We are a small team and probably ‘a-typical’ when it comes to more regular brand teams and I love managing a young, committed group of individuals who are all prepared to roll up their sleeves, punch above their weight and really get involved.
And while delivering meaningful brand change can be a protracted process (and not without its challenges) it continues to be a wholly rewarding and satisfying experience. And it’s a journey that, as a team, we continue to travel – negotiating the twists and turns of an industry that is changing and changing fast.
We will continue to build awareness and equity with our consumers plus we have a campaign coming up we are all really excited about.
Predominantly social media-focused, I think people will be surprised – and in a good way! The goal with all our comms is to stay true to the brand and to always do everything in a uniquely ‘JET’ way. We are very different from our competitors and it’s important that we provide a platform for the JET personality to really shine. So, expect to see some entertaining, engaging, and creative comms with a bit of a maverick sensibility thrown in for good measure.
What do you love about your job?
It’s fast-paced and keeps you on your toes. I recently returned from maternity leave and it’s incredible how much has changed in a relatively short amount of time. I really enjoy managing a talented team of individuals and seeing a brand strategy come to life. Stronger, confident, more relevant.
Tell us something about you we don’t know.
I am passionate about history especially US and Irish political history, so much so I ended up studying it for my undergrad along with Economics. It just fascinates me, there are invaluable lessons to be learnt from history.
Give us three words that sum up the attributes you need to fulfil your role.
Curiosity, objectivity and a ‘roll-up your sleeves’ attitude.