David Gilbert

As digital marketing lead, I oversee initiatives for both MILE, an exclusive members-only luxury app, and HEAT, a Gen-Z-targeted streetwear fashion e-commerce brand. This multifaceted role encompasses collaboration with UX and product designers to enhance the customer journey, driving increases in acquisition, retention, and loyalty.

• Define and manage top level marketing strategy (CRM, organic & paid social, SEO, influencer, press, affiliate, membership & loyalty, sample sale) and KPIs to measure effectiveness of campaigns and initiatives.
• Providing insight such as GMV cohort analysis, subscription renewal rate, churn rate, demographic & gender split, and, purchase frequency which was used as part of £20m investment from private venture capital funds.
• Planning and managing all direct communications (email, app push, sms, WhatsApp) and working with @Outlandermagazine to build hype and exposure for brand launches (Givenchy, Burberry, Jacquemus, Khaite, The Attico, Pucci).
• Managing MILE membership applications and HEAT loyalty program
• Working with influencers, content creators and affiliates to help increase brand awareness, membership applications and downloads for MILE.
• Managing HEAT membership & loyalty program for UK, US and EU regions which rewarded customers with free HEAT merchandise, discounts off orders, and access to exclusive HEAT & MILE events.

Key Achievements

• Created a full 360 marketing strategy for an exclusive in-store OFF-WHITE sample sale, generating national press and viral TikTok engagement with over 407k views, leading to 4.3k MILE app downloads, 511 purchases, £119k in revenue, and 428 new paying members.
• Collaborated with the Sidemen's (SDMN) team to promote HEAT mystery boxes and MILE in their Christmas day advent calendar on TikTok, achieving 151k likes, 14.7k comments, and 150 member referrals.
• Developed an affiliate referral model with UK & US fashion influencers, securing over 1k new members and generating £40K in subscription revenue and £53k in app revenue within six months.
• Orchestrated a campaign with NFL player Stefon Diggs to gain insight about his fashion style and sell his pre-owned pieces exclusively on MILE.
• Introduced new HEAT streetwear boxes at lower price points, increasing new customer acquisition by 47% and repeat purchases by 53%.
• Grew the HEAT Loyalty Program, adding £6.3k in revenue, with 131 VIP members spending £40k and achieving a 62% repeat purchase rate over the past 180 days.
• Led a customer insight project to gather feedback on potential improvements across customer service, marketing, app/website usability, operations, and partnerships to prepare for scaling in 2025.
• Implemented a private MILE WhatsApp business account for VIP members, offering exclusive access to luxury fashion pieces.
• Increased monthly recurring revenue from £5k to £28k from MILE members, with an AOV of £736 and 61% return customer rate

As the UK CRM Lead, I collaborated closely with the e-commerce, content, trade, and brand marketing teams to develop comprehensive marketing strategies aimed at engaging, acquiring, and retaining customers. My responsibilities included daily trade planning, content management for the website and app, executing go-to-market strategies for product and brand launches, enhancing and personalising the digital experience, and driving sales and revenue across multiple channels including email, app, website, and in-store.

• Reinvented UK CRM strategy to include 4 pillars (digital, retail stores, events, community groups) to drive brand awareness, sales, database growth and engagement for PUMA.com and social channels.
• Managed the PUMA UK app which included trading, merchandising, creating content, raffles & competitions and direct communications to customers.
• Working with global digital leads, brand marketing, partnerships, social media and merchandise teams to activate local and global product launches (MCFC, Mercedes AMG-Petronas, Future, Ultra, King, Deviate Nitro, Palermo, Skepta, FENTY, Speedcat, Paris Olympics and Forever Faster brand campaign).
• Defined and managed KPIs to measure effectiveness of CRM campaigns and initiatives, working with analytics and BI data teams to build and maintain global dashboards and reporting performance to the wider business.
• Collaborated with global PUMA team to create a UK Loyalty & Membership strategy, working with the finance team on P&L to forecast costs and ROI, coordinating pitches from vendors, organising focus groups and customer insight sessions, and assisting retail teams with POS integrations.

Key Achievements

• Developed a Halloween-themed app 'hunt' for the LaMelo Ball MB.03 Halloween sneaker release, attracting over 850 participants and achieving a 40% sell-through rate.
• Increased website transactions by 12%, revenue by 7%, app sessions by 44%, app transactions by 55%, and app revenue by 34% YOY.
• Supported RUN/Train and social teams in promoting PUMA community run clubs in London and Manchester which also gained feedback from testing new running products.
• Orchestrated a communications strategy for the exclusive Raeburn x Mercedes AMG-Petronas F1 drivers event, leading to over 2000 app downloads and a 67% sell-through of the Raeburn collection.
• Enhanced Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) from £1.2k to £1.7k through strategic upselling/cross-selling, targeted offers, and value-added engagements such as raffles & competitions, raising the average order value from £60 to £68 and increasing purchase frequency from 4 to 5 times per year.
• Presented at the Retail Kick-Off, advocating the benefits of CRM to retail teams and outlining the importance of the PUMA UK Loyalty & Membership program.

As a key member of the senior e-commerce team at Castore Sportswear, I managed the CRM and marketing team, overseeing all direct communications (email, SMS, app, and direct mail) and executing multichannel marketing campaigns and kit launches. My role extended across 14+ international multi-language sites, supporting the brand, athletes, and partners.

• Defined Castore's CRM and DTC strategy, which resulted in YOY +£7m revenue from marketing campaign activity and +£3m revenue YOY in automated campaigns.
• Growing Castore Sportswear and partner database by +1m in past year through activations, competitions, PR and added incentives to sign up.
• Working with influencers and ambassadors in UK region for brand awareness.
• Creating marketing calendars for pre- & post-launch of new products, kit launches and new partnerships (Rangers, Newcastle United, ECB, Harlequins, McLaren Racing, AMC Tennis).
• Using Klaviyo to design, build, and A/B test emails and SMS journeys while also segmenting and targeting customers based on purchase history, buying behaviour, geo-location, and engagement behaviour with site, content and products.
• Copywriting for multichannel (email, SMS paid social, SEO, blog articles, press releases).
• Trading Castore online store which involved working with buying and merchandise, product, and creative teams to maximise sales and sell through across Castore.com.
• Creating assets and graphics for websites, email, and social using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Managing Castore Sportswear App to send app push notifications for key product launches and during reactive sporting moments.
• Working with +12 Castore retail stores to grow databases and send targeted retail communications to in-store customers.
• Launched new sites products and expanded into new international markets (AU, US, DE, ES, NL).
• Project managing conception and creation of direct mail catalogues which delivered +£200k revenue.
• Management of CRM marketing budget (circa £250k).

Key Achievements

• Redesigned email templates, significantly improving aesthetics and performance of email campaigns, which led to a 5% increase in open rates, a 7% rise in click-through rates, and a 2% boost in conversions.
• Introduced NFC tags with NUFC club shop which improved customer experience within store and educated customers on technical aspects of the shirts.
• Implemented YOTPO customer review platform, gathering over 15,000 reviews with an average rating of 4.3 stars.
• Onboarded fan engagement tool Campaignware, enhancing engagement through score predictors, surveys, and competitions to gain deeper insights into customer behaviour.
• Project managed the launch of the Castore Sportswear App, generating over £540k in revenue and achieving more than 60,000 downloads in its first year.
• Established a referral program via MentionMe, enrolling 156,000 customers and generating £46,000 in revenue with a 13% purchase rate.