Driving national marketing initiatives and commercial precision for one of the world’s leading ophthalmic lens manufacturers across the South African market.
Role Overview
A dual-function role spanning brand-led marketing and data-driven commercial operations — translating global brand strategy into locally impactful campaigns, while ensuring pricing integrity and financial performance across a complex, multi-channel market.
Four Core Competencies
Brand & Campaign Marketing
Executed national promotional campaigns designed to strengthen brand awareness and drive product engagement across optical retail channels. Developed marketing collateral — from in-store materials to digital assets — ensuring consistent alignment with campaign messaging and Essilor’s global brand framework.
Commercial & Pricing Operations
Managed the full pricing lifecycle: calculating product margins, monitoring profit and loss, updating price lists, and administering import duties and tariffs. Maintained accuracy across medical aid tariff schedules and supported product launch pricing strategy in coordination with sales and finance teams.
Performance Tracking & Reporting
Designed and delivered campaign tracking and performance reporting frameworks that translated marketing activity into actionable business insights — supporting leadership decision-making with clear metrics on reach, engagement, and ROI.
Retail & Launch Support
Collaborated across internal teams to support retail marketing initiatives and new product launches — coordinating promotional assets, pricing materials, and point-of-sale content to ensure seamless market entry and trade activation.
National Campaign Delivery
From strategy to shelf — leading the end-to-end execution of promotional initiatives that brought Essilor’s product portfolio to life across South Africa’s optical retail landscape.
Campaign Execution
Planned and implemented national promotional campaigns spanning consumer awareness, product education, and optician engagement — adapting global brand direction to the nuances of the South African market.
Collateral Design
Produced a broad range of marketing materials including brochures, point-of-sale displays, digital content, and trade communications — each piece rigorously aligned with campaign objectives and brand standards.
Product Launch Support
Supported go-to-market execution for new lens product introductions — developing launch materials, pricing documentation, and retail activation assets that drove trade awareness and consumer conversion.
Performance Reporting
Built campaign tracking mechanisms to measure key marketing KPIs — translating data into clear, decision-ready reports for marketing leadership and commercial stakeholders.
Brand Consistency
Served as a brand guardian ensuring all produced materials — from trade promotions to consumer campaigns — upheld Essilor’s visual identity standards and strategic messaging priorities.
Retail Marketing
Activated in-store marketing programmes with optical retail partners, providing them with tailored tools, promotions, and content to support product sales and brand presence at point of purchase.
Pricing & Financial Management
Beyond marketing, this role carried significant commercial responsibility — owning the accuracy and integrity of Essilor’s pricing infrastructure across a regulated, import-dependent market.
Margin Calculation
Calculated product and category margins to ensure pricing decisions delivered target profitability across the lens portfolio.
P&L Monitoring
Tracked profit and loss performance, flagging variances and supporting commercial teams in maintaining financial targets.
Price List Management
Maintained and regularly updated comprehensive price lists for the full product range, ensuring accuracy across trade and consumer channels.
Import & Tariff Administration
Managed import cost calculations and tariff updates, incorporating landed cost factors into pricing models to protect margins.
Medical Aid Tariffs
Maintained and updated medical aid tariff schedules, ensuring compliance with scheme requirements and alignment with industry pricing standards.
Bridging Marketing Strategy With Commercial Precision
Operating at the intersection of brand and business, this role required equal fluency in campaign storytelling and financial rigour — a rare combination that delivered both market impact and margin discipline.
Pricing Strategy | Margin Analysis | Import Tariffs | Medical Aid | P&L | Price Lists
Delivering Results Across Both Functions
National
Scale of campaign execution across South African optical retail markets
Dual Function
Role spanned creative marketing and analytical commercial work
End-to-End
Campaign ownership from concept and design through to performance reporting
Capabilities Applied
This role developed a distinctive cross-functional skill set — equally comfortable shaping brand narratives and interrogating margin reports.
Campaign Management | Brand Strategy| Marketing Collateral | Promotional Design | Performance Reporting | Campaign Analytics | Retail Marketing | Product Launch | Pricing Strategy | Margin Analysis | P&L Management | Import & Tariffs | Medical Aid Tariffs | Price List Management | Cross-functional Collaboration | Stakeholder Reporting | Trade Marketing| Commercial Operations