An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Avon team, an integral division within HarperCollins’ fiction publishing stable. The Marketing Manager will bring their knowledge of the market and prior marketing experience to produce outstanding campaigns that will deliver consumer cut-through, drive sales across all formats and build upon the author’s profile. Reporting to the Publisher, the Marketing Manager is a key member of the team, working closely with both internal and external stakeholders and will be an important ambassador for the Avon brand, sharing the passion and excitement for the Avon list with a wide audience.

About Avon:

Avon is a division of HarperCollins, one of the UK’s most prolific, diverse and innovative multi-platform publishers. Specialising in commercial, high-volume fiction, Avon won Imprint of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2020, and publishes a wide range of titles across crime, women’s fiction, historical and saga, for a predominantly female readership. Selling through both the high street and the supermarkets, Avon is a leader in trend-setting commercial fiction, with million-copy bestsellers such as C.L. Taylor, Helen Fields and Sue Moorcroft to its name. Avon titles are frequently seen at the top of the ebook charts, as well as in the Sunday Times bestseller lists.

Avon offers the opportunity for employees to contribute to discussions across the division, ensuring constant learning and development opportunities as new projects arise. As an exciting, market-leading division, Avon prides itself on being at the forefront of digital and industry developments, continually challenging the norm and aiming for best-in-class commercial fiction at all times.

Key Responsibilities

Planning and delivering campaigns:

• Develop and implement high impact, highly integrated and commercially creative digital consumer campaigns to market specific titles, series or authors. This will encompass the full mix of digital media, marketing and communication channels, and must be devised and delivered in line with budgeting requirements.

• Where necessary, working with designers on creating proofs for Avon’s key titles. Ensuring that these are approved by relevant members of the editorial, sales, publicity and international teams and working with the production team to meet time requirements.

• Work closely with the book blogging and influencer community to build grassroots campaigns and amplify the reach of frontlist titles as they publish.

Planning and delivering digital strategies:

• Develop Avon’s yearly digital marketing strategy in conjunction with the Publisher, outlining divisional strategy for the year ahead and communicating this clearly to the team.

• Develop and implement strategies for SEO, PPC, CRM, social media and email marketing that benefits individual and multiple titles, in line with Division and Group strategy.

Social media management:

• Alongside the marketing and publicity assistant, take on responsibility for Avon’s social media channels including X, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube, cultivating a friendly and familiar voice that followers consistently return to for news and recommendations.

• Drive consistent growth across all Avon social media channels, in line with the digital marketing strategy.

• Work in conjunction with HC’s central communications team to promote Avon’s titles via the HC Tiktok channel and shop.

Avon website:

• Take strategic responsibility for the Avon website, ensuring regular content management/updates which communicate in innovative ways to readers. This will be achieved via close work with the wider Avon team, delivered in-line with our overarching content strategy.

• Grow the list of subscribers to the Avon newsletter, as set out in the digital marketing strategy.

• Managing a small number of Author newsletters through Avon’s own newsletter platform.  

Digital Sales and Analytics:

• Working alongside the Avon team, pitch and present to HC’s Digital Sales team where necessary, working closely with them to ensure all frontlist and backlist promotional opportunities are maximised.

• Ensure we are at the forefront on any new digital developments for HC, becoming the go-to division for testing and driving new and innovative programmes in conjunction with wider HC teams.

• Manage Avon’s relationship with external channels such as Netgalley.

Trade Engagement:

• Working with the trade sales teams to build relationships with Independent and Waterstones booksellers.

• Working with the UK sales team to create presentation slides and title roundups where necessary to engage and excite retailers.

Ensuring competitive advantage:

• Ensure continuous competitive advantage by understanding competitor strengths and weaknesses (publisher and broader consumer products and entertainment).

• Stay informed about new digital marketing insights, developments and opportunities, identify how they can be used to our advantage and communicate them to the marketing team and wider division.

• Clearly demonstrate an understanding of consumers, their needs, motivations and influences. Work with the Group Insights team, source insights from online HC author communities and share findings.

Author support:

• Create digital plans for the acquisition and retention of titles and authors, as needed

• Consult with, support and advise authors on their own personal digital communications, where relevant, enabling them to successfully manage their own marketing work.

Budgeting:

• Responsibility for the Avon consumer marketing budget, ensuring that campaigns are delivered in line with agreed budgets and timelines.

Experience and Skills Required

• Experienced marketing professional, who has worked in a trade publishing house

• Proven success in planning and running digital marketing campaigns and delivering digital marketing strategies for SEO, PPC, CRM, social media and email marketing

• Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously

• Full grasp of web-related technology and web marketing techniques

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to express technical and creative vision clearly

• Copywriting skills

• Strong eye for design

• Results focused, numerate, analytical and used to working to tight deadlines

• Strong relationship building skills, internally and externally

• Great attention to detail

• Team player but also able to proactively act on own initiative

Benefits

• Hybrid working model (3 days in the office)

• 28 days holiday plus bank holidays (option to buy and sell holiday days) 

• Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave 

• Private healthcare cover and life assurance 

• Summer Hours  

• Free access to HeadSpace, employee assistance programme (24 hour helpline), mental health first aiders, and a wellbeing portal 

• Season ticket loans (from day 1 for entry level) and cycle to work scheme 

• Relocation Rent Support Loan  

• Employee networks: HC All In (open forum), Elevate (for ethnic minority colleagues), HarperParents, Menopause at Work, Pride at HC, Social Mobility Network and Neurodiversity at Work

• Unlimited training on our Learning and Development portal, management courses (up to MA level) and mentoring programmes 

• Virtual GP and eyecare vouchers 

• Gym membership discount 

• Onsite physiotherapy (London only) 

• Charitable donation matching and 2 volunteering days 

• We're a certified Carbon Neutral company

• Green Electric/Hybrid Car Benefit Scheme (salary sacrifice)

• With Trees for Life we plant a tree in the Highlands of Scotland for every permanent hire

• Free e-books and audiobooks, digital newspaper subscriptions and discounts on books 

• Subsidised canteen and retail discounts 

• Onsite prayer room 

If you wish to discuss anything regarding this position and/or your application to this role, please reach out directly to recruitment@harpercollins.co.uk with subject heading ‘Vacancy Query’ plus the job title and we will aim to get back to you within 5 working days.

Please note, if you are interested in the role you would need to submit your application via Applied. We do not accept email applications.