Q&A with John Jess – To Asia and Beyond!
By Rebecca Factor & Calista Vantarakis on February 14th, 2018
(From Above) Emily Hall, John Jess and Matthew Richardson.
We sat down with John Jess to discuss Edge’s recent expansion to Asia and what this means for the business. One thing that’s clear, technology is king!
“One common denominator is that people all over the world love and expect to be rewarded.”
Q: How long have you been working at Edge?
A: 8 years at Edge and I worked at Village Roadshow beforehand for 5 years. During my time at Village I met Nick Sims and we hit it off instantly.
Q: In one sentence, what does your role involve?
A: Driving expansion of Edge throughout Asia.
Q: What does the average work day look like for you?
A: My day starts off with a strong coffee, turned into lots of prospecting, whats app calls and consulting strategy plans for regional clients.
Q: In your eyes, what has been Edge’s biggest achievement in the past 6 months/year?
A: The advancements we have made in our digital capabilities to become a world class leader in Incentive Technology, allowing us to now easily cross borders.
Q: Tell us, why did Edge choose to expand into the Asian market?
A: We saw there was a demand for our services, with no one else offering an end to end solution like us in the market. Given our client base, it was a natural progression for us.
Q: How has the Edge business had to change to support this expansion?
A: There were numerous things we had to re-asses but three key areas we instantly changed were:
- We now run programs in 5 different languages.
- Our Customer Support hours have expanded to accommodate different time zones.
- Our Rewards Partnership Team added new content across 15 countries, extending our portfolio to 750+ brand partners.
We are always looking at new ways of progressing, so this is just the start for us.
Q: How have you found the Asian promotional market differed from Australia’s?
A: Consumer preferences differ, but one common denominator is that people all over the world love and expect to be rewarded.
5 Short Fire Questions…
Q: My favourite place for a business lunch is:
A: Supernormal – Melbourne.
Q: My choice of ‘poison’ is:
A: Tempranillo
Q: The phrase I most over-use in emails:
A: “Look forward to seeing you soon.”
Q: Last photo taken on my phone was:
A: My three kids on a train ride from the City.
Q: So far, my favourite place visited in Singapore was:
A: Anywhere I can find a pool!
Rebecca Factor & Calista Vantarakis
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