The ultimate position is understanding what guests want and having an open connection with them,” she said.Ĭusack noted Max Brenner’s customer rewards program was scoped out before she joined the organisation. “We’ll see what insights we gain from that, and what people are redeeming.

Read more Report: Amazon looms large in online retail journey They also gain $5 credit upon signing up. She noted customers paying through the app will accrue points. ROI for Cusack in the shorter term includes building the member database and redeeming offers. As we get more robust, we’ll then look at more customer building through the app, as it can be linked to our loyalty program.” “We have the fundamentals in place, and we’ve kept it simple. “Once the online shop was live and justified, we could invest more and build this up,” Cusack continued. Max Brenner Australia’s mobile app was developed in partnership with Loke, and is integrated with the retailer’s point-of-sale and counter systems. It’s also a way for us to execute great promotions.” “There’s the potential already there to do all the other rewards elements, but we led with contact-free buying and payments and rewards became secondary. However, during COVID, we changed tack to emphasise contact-free payments, the ability to browse our menu and providing the functionality to order,” she explained. “A mobile app is more seamless, trackable and measurable. Cusack noted with Max Brenner’s 20 th birthday coming up, the app would play an important role in driving engagement to mark the milestone. As well as the ability to connect to a customer rewards program, the app provides a much-needed digital mechanism to execute and fulfil promotional campaigns and redeem customer offers. Meanwhile, Max Brenner’s latest initiative was debuting a mobile app on 19 May. Read more John Frieda's brand launch rethink leads to marketing innovation While shop launches have slowed as a result of COVID-19, Cusack said the intention is to grow even faster as the country recovers from the crisis. It’s also refitted a number of sites, beginning with Southbank, Victoria. From a low of 19 stores, the group is now up to 21 locations and will shortly open in Broadmeadows, Victoria. Cusack noted the experiential nature of the retail shopfronts, which include a 100KG block of solid chocolate staff chip away at with a hammer. In addition, Max Brenner has opened two new chocolate bars in November and December in Queensland. While that work progresses, launching an online shop in time for Christmas ordering enabled the local business to get product sales up during the busy festive season. “We have a website, which is all tied into the main one out of Canada brand and we’re still tied to that,” she explained, noting this has limited development and rebuilding. “It’s also an exciting opportunity to build a broken brand.” Prioritising digitalĪmong the first priorities for Cusack was getting a Christmas campaign in order, work that not only included visual merchandising, but also an online shop that could fulfil gifting digitally. I’m fascinated by that, and want to understand how a brand that has under 50 stores gets that kind of awareness. As a group, the brand has spent very little on advertising, yet has built up this significant brand awareness through PR and making marketing noise. “The other thing is Max Brenner’s brand awareness, which is outstanding. “I’m big on brands I can be passionate about, and those that make people happy and bring joy,” Cusack said. She also noted the pivotal role marketing is playing in this transformation, with strategic plans taking advantage of her experience working for the likes of The Cheesecake Shop, Soul Origin, Healthy Life and FoodCo (former parent company of Muffin Break).

Among the many attractions of the role for Cusack was this opportunity to rebuild an iconic brand.

Max brenner logo