Our annual Marketing Game Changers feature aims to recognise and celebrate those client-side marketing leaders whose actions and insights have made the greatest impact on their brands, their industries and the region’s marketing community over the past 12 months.
One of them for this year is George Schempers, who is the Head of Marketing at Deliveroo.
With more than 13 years of experience, including four in his current position, Schempers oversees a team of 18 people at Deliveroo.
George Schempers
Head of Marketing, Deliveroo
Years in current position: 8
Years in the industry: 13
Size of team: 18
Size of department: 18
What would you place at the top of your brand and marketing priority list in 2025?
Deliveroo has never been a brand that does what everyone else does, and I’m excited to continue innovating throughout 2025. We’re still scratching the surface of creative excellence and what we can learn from our media mix.
What is the one thing you would change about the industry if you had a magic wand?
There is a general lack of creativity in marketing today. The way I see it, the industry has pivoted to overly functional, bottom-of-the-funnel creative and media, and it has really made marketing bland and boring. I don’t hear people talking about marketing the way they used to in the 90s.
Are we using the latest technologies optimally to enhance the brand’s overall customer experience?
We’ll always try to be the best in class when it comes to extracting the maximum value across all the platforms and technology that we have available to us. The challenge that marketing leaders face is balancing budget and workload, which goes hand-in-hand with extracting the maximum impact from these channels and technologies.
Is there a say-do gap and a green skills gap within sustainability that need to be addressed?
What I’ve come to realise is that there might be all the intent in the world to be more sustainable and implement more regenerative practices, but if the technology and infrastructure don’t exist, or the cost doesn’t outweigh the benefit, you won’t get companies or the general public to adopt sustainable practices. We’re all excited for the day when sustainability becomes more attainable and accessible.
What is the top challenge facing brand safety and reputation management?
The UAE is an incredible place with so many people from all over the world residing here. The challenge is balancing marketing efforts while also being sensitive to the cultural nuances from so many countries, and the tragedy that so many people are facing due to disasters in their home countries. There is a lot going on in the world right now, and it’s becoming increasingly easy to alienate our audiences.
What were the top demands and expectations of consumers in 2024?
Consumers have started expecting more from brands in the last year. Prices of goods and services are increasing across the board, and consumers want to see and feel more value from the money that they’re parting with for products and services. The brands that will win are brands that can help customers feel that they are getting the same value for money despite rising prices.
How can marketers be a better voice of customers in the boardrooms or on the executive committee?
A challenge for marketers will always be to communicate creative and emotional concepts in rational and quantifiable terms. The board and executive committee care about the bottom line, and as a cost centre, the marketing team’s challenge is to quantify our spend and the contribution to the bottom line. I believe in setting aside a budget for a decent data science team or paying an agency to support developing a media mix model against marketing spend so that you can quantify the in-year impact and long-term impact, which is typically where marketing moves from being a cost centre to a profit driver.
RAPID FIRE
Next destination on your bucket list?
I cannot wait to go hiking in Uganda. While I am there, I’d love to see the gorillas.
Go-to cheat meal?
Give me pizza.
Advice to the newest member on your team?
Mistakes are OK. You’ll learn as we go.
Most thought-provoking quote you’ve heard in 2024?
“The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people.” – Unknown.
Your favourite place in the
Middle East?
Oman for scuba diving.
A personal goal you want to achieve?
Invest in a piece of land.
The first thing you do when you get to work?
Coffee, and make a to-do list.
The person who has influenced you most in 2024?
Taghrid Oraibi, Deliveroo Head of Comms. Incredibly creative and a total perfectionist.
Agency Reference
Fadi Yaish, Group CEO and Chief Creative Officer, And Us Group
George Schempers is the best example of an aspirational marketer; I have only met a handful in my more than three decades of career. George would do what makes most marketers uncomfortable. He understands the impact of great ideas, and how they are essential to his business. He never turns down a good idea and trusts his agency. I believe George really loves what he is doing and has fun doing it. This shows in every meeting. It’s always a great pleasure listening to him talk about his marketing strategies and plans, and how he is planning to do better for his customers while contributing to the bottom line. In advertising, and marketing at large, it is very difficult to find people like George, and those who do are very lucky.
