Judge: Ian MacDonald
Company and position: Director of eCommerce at The Pond Guy
Years as an MCM Awards judge: This is the first.
Q&A
How would you describe your job and what you do?
As Director of eCommerce at the nation’s largest mail-order pond, lake, water garden and water feature supply company, Ian is responsible for growing the e-commerce business, with a focus on advertising and marketing, web site and back end systems, and conversion optimization.
Why do you think you were chosen to be an MCM Awards judge?
Century Novelty won a silver MCM Award the last two years! Ian recently joined multichannel retailer The Pond Guy after nearly 10 years at Century Novelty. While vice president and general manager of Century Novelty, they enjoyed recognition as an Internet Retailer Hot 100 website, a two-time Multichannel Merchant Magazine web design award winner, and a two-time INC 5000 recipient.
What direct marketing subject could you talk about all day?
Website site search: Its (unappreciated) ability to drive new traffic to your website; the awesome reporting and what it tells you about your businesses strengths and weaknesses; and, of course, how it improves the customer experience. The importance of sharing marketing analytics across marketing channels: What do the reporting tools of your SEM, SEO, site search, comparison shopping engines, Amazon/eBay, Google Analytics, and order management systems tell you about each other? How do you apply what worked in one venue across all others?
What excites you most outside the office?
Watching Law & Order and other crime dramas, reading INC, Fast Company, and business books, and attempting to walk our 3 dogs on a regular basis with my wife.
What was your first job?
Paperboy. Then a cashier at a book store. Interesting that I started with industries that are being transformed by eCommerce.
In high school, I was:
a band nerd. Marching Band, Jazz Band, Concert Band, and Pit Orchestra. The Saxophone was more fun than you’d expect.