Remarkable Marketers: Meet Mars Food’s Matt McInnes

Remarkable Marketers: Meet Mars Food’s Matt McInnes

There are some pretty remarkable people in our industry, each offering their own unique perspective to adland.

While we spend so much time learning about our peers’ career highlights, B&T, in partnership with Carat Australia, thought it high time to dig a little deeper, and find out what makes the shining stars of our industry tick and, at times, tock.

So, for the next little while, we will be publishing a series of personal profiles.

Get ready to laugh, cry and be taken on an emotional rollercoaster as we hear more about adland’s most remarkable marketers.

Mars Food Australia’s acting marketing director, Matt McInnes: The golf-loving Volvo driver

I grew up on a farm in country NSW and when I was 10, I always wanted to be a farmer. I always remember my pop driving around in a tractor and I just thought what a fantastic job that looked.

My Myers-Brigg profile is INTP, which is only ever evident in two per cent of the population. And that means you’re imaginative but decisive, ambitious but private, amazingly curious with a lot of self-confidence but an aura of mystery. It’s the same profile as Elon Musk and that’s the best way to describe it.

What were my reports like at school? All I can remember is that each comment from the teacher revolved around sport, sport, and more sport. If I wasn’t a marketer, I’d be a struggling amateur golfer. I’d be broke, but I’d be happy.

One of my favourite brands is Volvo. It was a brand that used to be so boring and dull, and it’s so good now that I’ve got two of their cars. It has a goal that by 2020 that it doesn’t want to have a single person killed or injured in car accidents, and I always think it’s those brands that try and be brave like that who are doing the best work.

Marketing still works at its most basic. You can’t beat having a great product or, should I say, one that gives you the best chance of success. It’s always an uphill battle when you’re working with a not so great product.

You just have to keep tinkering and readjusting and reinventing and meeting the needs of your customers… we all know what happens to things that refuse to change – you’re very quickly out of fashion.

I enjoy the thrill of the chase. I think if you’re too rigid in the way you do things then you can miss a lot of possibilities. It’s the thrill of the hunt and trying to chase something down.

Excuse the bias, but I still think Mars’ “A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play” ad is still one that’s stuck in my mind since I was a wee nipper. And I think the best ads are the ones you remember from your childhood.  ere was just so many classic slogans, so many classic ads from that era from the 70s and 80s. It really was a golden time for advertising.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from one of my first bosses, who gave me a carpentry tip. It was “measure twice and cut once”. And that means you should never act too early – well, at least until you’ve got all your ducks in a row. It’s even simple things like re- reading an email before you shoot it off. Who hasn’t sent an email that’s quickly turned into a disaster.




Latest News

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!
  • Media

It’s Friday Quiz Time Again!

Take B&T's trivia quiz for your chance to win a $100 booze voucher and possible cirrhosis of a major internal organ.

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Big data technology and data science illustration. Data flow concept. Querying, analysing, visualizing complex information. Neural network for artificial intelligence. Data mining. Business analytics.
  • Marketing

SenateSHJ Launches New Trans-Tasman Practices

SenateSHJ has launched a new digital, data and insights capability designed to help clients tackle the growing complexity of communication challenges. SenateSHJ Digital, Data and Insights (DDI) will combine the firm’s existing Digital and Insights functions to create a Trans-Tasman capability focused on digital communication, and the generation and use of data to improve communication. […]

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile
  • Media

New BrandStory Format From Bonzai Allows 3x More Ad Space on Mobile

Creative technology platform Bonzai has announced the launch of BrandStory – a new premium mobile ad format. BrandStory offers triple the ad space and 2.8 times greater time in view than single scroll ad formats, addressing the surging demand from brands worldwide for more real estate to drive real results by seamlessly intertwining awareness, exploration […]

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7
  • Advertising

B&T’s Search For Australia’s Greatest Ad Heads To Channel 7

B&T went through the looking glass this morning, with editor-in-chief David Hovenden (above) appearing on Channel 7’s The Morning Show to get the general public involved in our search for Australia’s Greatest Ad. Hovenden chatted with Kylie Gillies and stand-in host Matt Doran about what makes a great ad and showcasing some of our favourites […]

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma
  • Opinion

Opinion: The Tall Planner’s Kate Smither On The DBA Dilemma

The science is not in question – smarter people than I, with far more data, have codified it. The logic is not up for grabs…it makes sense that creating mental shortcuts to your brand keeps you at the top of your mind. Lead image: Kate Smither – Owner, The Tall Planner I wouldn’t even take […]

Opinion

by B&T Magazine

B&T Magazine
African woman using a cellphone in an office alone
  • Marketing

Ortto & Tall Bob Partner To Deliver Better SMS & MMS For Australian & NZ Businesses

Two Australian-born technology providers have joined forces to bring more power and choice to marketers in Australia and New Zealand with mobile messaging that is more local, cost-effective, and integrated. It’s a partnership that sees two Australian software companies come together to deliver a world-class mobile-first solution for marketers building data-driven, personalised, omnichannel campaigns. While […]

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.
  • Media

Slew Of New Hires At Snap Inc.

Snap Inc. has announced a number of new recruits. B&T unaware if it positively impacted SEEK's share price.

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh
  • Technology

Reddit Gets Playful Brand Refresh

This will be of interest to any Reddit fans, graphic designers or lovers of an orange so bright it burns the retinas.

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market
  • Advertising

Zitcha & Broadsign Partner To Drive Global In-Store Retail Media Market

Zitcha and Broadsign have teamed up to integrate the Broadsign out-of-home (OOH) advertising platform with Zitcha’s retail media platform. The collaboration empowers retailers to maximise and monetise in-store digital display networks and enables advertising partners to easily view and book available in-store inventory and review campaign performance alongside the retailer’s other media channels. With the […]

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label
  • Marketing

Double Rainbouu & 7-Eleven Launch Exclusive Summer Fashion Label

Today, 7-Eleven has announced a one-of-a-kind collaboration with the popular Sydney-based anti-resort wear label Double Rainbouu. Dropping tomorrow, December 1, just in time for summer, this limited-edition capsule will infuse the fashion brand’s rebellious spirit with a distinctly iconic 7-Eleven flavour. The unisex collection features five must-have styles comprising two signature Hawaiian shirts, a peaked cap, a bucket hat […]