“MY love for Digicel comes from being 13 years old, and Digicel coming in when I was in third form, and giving me my first phone.”

Chief marketing officer at Digicel Tari Lovell fondly recalls how Digicel impacted his life through promotions, attributing his marketing success to a dedication to community giving.

Lovell began his journey in marketing as a Digicel intern working in social media operations, and expressed his early goals to ascend to the top in marketing. He always believed in giving back to the community, which has always been the basis of his marketing strategy.

“The importance of marketing is the brand itself, it’s the story that you tell your consumers. It’s not just trying to make money, but giving back to the country and providing economic growth in certain areas — not just through employment but through what you do in the communities and how you give back through the foundation,” he explained.

Since being given the role of chief marketing officer nine months ago, Lovell has led six major promotions so far.

These include the $40 million in 40 days promotion in April; 4 cars for 4 weeks promotion in June; the 61 iPhones for 61 years promotion to celebrate Jamaica’s 61 years of independence, and others.

Lovell said these promotions serve as prime illustration of expressing gratitude to customers, aligning with his marketing philosophy of giving back.

Whilst sharing his personal experiences during his 10-year journey in marketing, Lovell mentioned it was a dream come true to lead promotions for many legendary figures in the music industry, connecting with his passion for music and production.

“When I moved into a new role of brand manager for online digital services I started managing music, sports and radio streaming apps. This took my marketing journey to a new point where I had to think about how to work with artistes like Shenseea and Sean Paul for their album launches — along with their music — and the opportunity to push that through the Play Go app — and really making sure that we leverage that through our streaming platforms was a really exciting journey I did for two years,” he said.

He emphasised that a crucial principle in crafting effective marketing strategies is to stretch limits, which would spark public conversations.

“I have a rule: If my boss kind of feels uncomfortable about me doing it then I know I am in the right space, I know that I am making people feel uncomfortable, which is going to create a conversation which then extrapolates some form of emotion…but marketing is about how you can emotionally touch somebody, so even if someone has a cheaper product or someone might be giving a little bit more than what you are giving them, at the end of the day, how do you provide value to that customer’s life and how do you touch that customer’s life?”

Lovell explained that having mentors who consistently challenged his ideas was crucial for his journey and growth in marketing. He aims to share ideas, promote growth, and contribute to Jamaica’s development by nurturing brilliant minds.

His advice for newcomers in marketing is to make it enjoyable, prioritising creativity and emotional connection with the public.

“Marketing provides an internal satisfaction because it is the opportunity to bring ideas to execution, it’s about being creative and taking ideas to different places through collaboration. So when you do get into the field, always believe in yourself and push the boundaries,” he encouraged.