This is my Zipstory: Q&A with Ella

We recently chatted with Senior Merchant and Consumer Marketing Manager Ella Werman to hear all about how our ANZ Marketing campaigns are driving incremental value for the company and our merchant partners. This is Ella's Zipstory.

Tell us who you are, what you do at Zip and a little bit more about your Zipstory

I’m a Senior Merchant and Consumer Marketing Manager at Zip, meaning I manage a number of our strategic enterprise merchant accounts from a marketing perspective. This involves the ideation and execution of end-to-end partner marketing campaigns that drive incremental value for Zip and its partners. Some of my key accounts include Amazon, Qantas, Jetstar, Webjet and Thermomix.

With a background in retail marketing, prior to joining Zip I spent eight years driving experiential campaigns and marketing strategy across some of Sydney’s top shopping centres. This experience served me well as I transitioned to Zip, enabling me to apply my passion for fostering meaningful retail partnerships and leverage my customer-first attitude.

My decision to join Zip was instigated by an intrigue of the Finance landscape and a resonance with Zip’s customer-centric mission. I particularly enjoy the B2B2C nature of my marketing role at Zip, which allows me to navigate the intricacies of strategic partnership marketing whilst ultimately remaining customer centric at heart.

You’ve been a Zipster for 1.5 years now. What has enabled you to accelerate your career fastest during your time here?

Having spent eight years in shopping centre marketing prior to joining Zip, my transition into the weird and wonderful world of finance marketing brought with it a wealth of career-accelerating opportunities. The sheer pace at which the business and industry pivots is enough to keep anyone on their toes. I’m grateful to Zip for the access and opportunities I’ve had to fast-track my development, which have empowered me to take charge of my own career story.

In your experience, what are some of the opportunities you get working in Marketing at Zip that you wouldn’t get working elsewhere?

By far the most appealing aspect of Marketing at Zip is the generalist nature of our roles and remits. This provides the opportunity to work cross-functionally with numerous internal stakeholders who are subject matter experts across all aspects of the business including CRM, creative, commercial, product, analytics and beyond.

In addition to this, the opportunity to partner with strategic enterprise merchants across a range of industries definitely keeps things interesting…. I mean, where else would you get the opportunity to devise a marketplace marketing strategy one day, and pitch to industry-leading retail brands the next?

A recent highlight for me was getting the opportunity to execute integrated marketing campaigns with travel merchants Qantas and Webjet in partnership with content publisher Urban List. These exciting initiatives enabled us to leverage and go beyond owned channels to reach new audiences and deliver on strategic partnership objectives in driving awareness and conversion outcomes.

Give us an example of a time at Zip when you’ve ‘Owned it’? What was the impact?

In line with the business’s expansion within the travel vertical, I’ve been fortunate to have Owned a number of marketing initiatives in partnership with Zip’s strategic travel merchants. Over the past year, I’ve delivered the Webjet marketing launch campaign, as well as countless sales-led and tactical activities with the likes of Qantas, Jetstar and more. It’s rewarding to know that I’ve made an impact by contributing towards Zip’s strategic vertical initiative.

What excites you most about writing the next chapter of your career story at Zip?

As Zip enters its second decade, I look forward to contributing to its maturation and continued growth. This next phase brings with it the excitement and opportunity of redefining our position within the finance landscape. As a marketing team, I believe we have an important role to play in this, and for me personally, I intend to embrace the opportunity to expand my technical skill set and challenge myself through new experiences.

Ultimately I aspire to leave a meaningful mark at Zip through my career story, and look forward to continuing to grow along with the business.