Merle Bennett – Marketer

With 13+ years of dynamic expertise in brand marketing within the gaming and publishing industries, I’m passionate about unlocking audience insights, expanding brand potential and driving sales through innovative, data-driven strategies.

I am here to help dive deep into consumer behaviour and craft captivating content, leverage insights to optimise your campaigns (especially on platforms like Amazon) and build lasting customer loyalty. I thrive in turning ambiguity into opportunity.

At Square Enix, I honed my expertise in digital and content marketing alongside publishing strategy. I played a key role in launching high-profile AAA titles, such as the acclaimed FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH, by developing innovative marketing strategies that resonate with the gaming community and elevate brand engagement.

This role required constant collaboration, refining my ability to work with cross-functional teams to optimize publishing tactics and enhance brand visibility. Leveraging consumer insights and data analysis, I crafted targeted campaigns that foster meaningful player interactions and solidify market presence.

Optimised global sales and marketing for James Patterson, one of the world's top-selling authors with over 450 million copies sold worldwide. Led a cross-functional team, driving a cohesive brand message that boosted global sales by 18% YOY, totaling 3.7 million copies in 2021. Revamped the email marketing strategy, using automation and CRM to expand reach, nurture leads, and enhance customer retention.

Spearheaded a testing roadmap with A/B testing, KPIs, and ROI analysis to optimise brand channels. Managed the annual marketing budget, forecasting, and P&L review in the UK. Leveraged social media listening tools to maximize consumer sentiment and tap into influencer leads, increasing UK brand awareness from 42% to 70% (2017-2022).

Brand Managed and executed the multi-award-winning campaign for Jamie Oliver's 5 Ingredients: Quick and Easy Food, driving sales of over 3.3 million copies across 24 territories in just one year. Orchestrated a groundbreaking approach by inviting top UK design agencies to pitch for the campaign, ultimately partnering with Kota to bring the book and campaign to life.

Worked across a wide range of fiction and non-fiction campaigns Including; Joey Barton's autobiography No Nonsense; Girl Up by Laura Bates (for which I won a marketing award); Lynda La Plante and Milly Johnson.

Held various roles within PRH, in Michael Joseph and Ebury.