There’s a lot of strategic planning and creativity behind ensuring that consumers choose a Diageo beverage over the competitors’. It’s a methodology that Brand Manager Andrew Anguin must perfect to stay ahead. The newly appointed brand manager for Stouts shares with Branded some on-the-job insights.

Thursday Life (TL): How did you land this job?

Andrew Anguin (AA): My story is quite unusual. I won a Facebook competition to be a marketing intern in the summer of 2011. The day after winning, I packed up all my bags and moved halfway across the country with no idea of where I would live or how I would survive. Before walking through the doors at Diageo, I knew there would be no turning back. I have relentlessly pursued my passion for customers, having spent time learning the business from the ground up in various sales and marketing roles before being appointed to brand manager, Stouts (Guinness, Dragon and D&G Malta).

TL: How long have you been in this job?

AA: While not new to brand management in Diageo, I’m still very new to the role of brand manager for Guinness, having started on January 5, 2015.

TL: What’s great about your job?

AA: I take great pride in continuing the legacy of amazing work that has laid the foundation for the brands in my care. With that said, I am most excited when consumers fall in love with our brands over and over again as they inspire and delight in the most meaningful of everyday occasions.

TL: What attracts consumers to your brand/brands?

AA: The brands you choose speak volumes about who you are as an individual. I believe that every consumer has a choice and those who choose Guinness make a bold statement that they are “Made of More”: More passion, more commitment, more determination, more heart; irrespective of their gender or circumstance this is who they are!

TL: Where can consumers find out more about your brand?

AA: Consumers can visit our Guinness Caribbean Facebook page, or find us on Instagram/Twitter @GuinnessCarib.

TL: Tell us something we might not know about your brand.

AA: Here are a few interesting facts: It all started with a signature from Arthur Guinness — indeed every bottle bears the iconic mark that the visionary who started it all made in 1759. Confident and committed to the success of his idea, he signed a 9,000-year lease for the St James’s Gate brewery in Dublin, Ireland. Guinness is actually not black, but dark ruby red because of the way the ingredients are prepared. It’s a stout beer, meaning it’s created using roasted malted barley, in a similar way to how coffee beans are prepared. Guinness was first exported in 1769.

TL: Do you have any additional news you wish to share with your customers?

AA: We have recently launched our Guinness Street Football Challenge which is the “Caribbean Cup” of Street Football, which is now in its fifth regional staging. We’ll be touring the island from March, 1 until May 31 in search of Jamaica’s best talent, bringing unmatched football excitement and musical entertainment to every community. Then to top it all off, for the very first time in Jamaica 11 countries will battle over two days to be crowned the ultimate Caribbean Street Football champions!

WIN! WIN! WIN!

The first six Thursday Life readers to send the correct answer by e-mail to: marketingpromotion@jamaicaobserver.com by 12:00 noon today, Thursday, February 26, 2015 will each win a gift basket courtesy of Diageo.

Winners will be contacted by telephone. Please include your name, occupation and contact number. Prizes will be presented at the Jamaica Observer head office, 40-421/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. A valid form of government identification must be presented in order to collect the prize. Persons must be 18 years and older to enter.

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