position-spotlight-phocuswire-interviews-our-cmo
Leadership
Nov 29, 2019

Position Spotlight: Phocuswire Interviews our CMO

GetYourGuide
Careers Team

Our CMO, Emil Martinsek, was interviewed by Phocuswire as part of their November series, focusing on how marketing chiefs employ technology and data to tackle challenges in the travel industry.

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Emil started at GetYourGuide as VP of Product Management back in 2013 before becoming our CMO and overseeing a multidisciplinary Marketing department consisting of:

Phocuswire sat down with him to talk about how our brand has evolved over the years and how we use technology and data to drive us forward. Get the highlights below or read the full interview by clicking here.

On how our brand evolved under his tenure:

I’d call it an emergence rather than an evolution.

Our big brand revamp in 2018 was the culmination of our in-depth journey to uncover the emotions that underpin our product, both positive and negative, and distilling what we found into an identity that resonates with travelers.

We emerged with far more in hand than just a new logo and in a way, it wasn’t a revamp at all: It was the beginning of the first real conversations we’ve had with travelers and experience providers.

On the role of data and technology when determining marketing initiatives:

It’s a cliche at this point, so it bears underlining: We are a data-centric company. We don’t invest in what we can’t track and learn from.

That said, we see ourselves as (very) data-informed, not data-driven. For my teams, it’s the difference between engaging in a healthy, conviction-driven debate in a meeting that starts with data and avoiding the debate (or the meeting altogether) by leaning too heavily on the data. We prefer the former, and it’s what we do every day.

On his greatest challenges as CMO:

The most difficult leadership challenge I’m facing now is the transition I’m helping my marketing organization make, as we move toward a more data-rich and data-driven world.

This shift is a cultural one as much as anything. To make it, I need to hire and empower more leaders who can set new standards, bring on more marketers with technical skills who can raise the bar within their teams and ensure everyone is committed to our shared journey to give the whole world access to incredible experiences.

On the advice he would give marketing experts from another sector considering a move into travel:

So, if you’re a senior marketer looking to get into this industry, be prepared to work extremely close with your counterparts in product management —and I mean every day close — to make sure your conversion rate is in good shape and your checkout flow is fully optimized. You can move beyond transactions to loyalty, but if and only if you get that right first.

On the future of marketing in the travel industry:

In travel experiences, we are truly at the beginning of the curve when it comes to the potential of personalization. And for GetYourGuide, as a two-sided marketplace, that means facilitating a one-on-one conversation with our two counterparts: travelers and experience providers.

For the rest of the insights, jump over to Phocuswire to read the full interview.

Interested in joining our Marketing department and work under Emil’s vision? Check out our open positions in the Marketing and Business Development teams.

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