Building for what's next: creating digital experiences that put customers first

When it comes to accessing reliable information about wienerberger and getting expert insights on our wall, roof, water and heating products, Jessica Connolly, Digital Marketing Manager at wienerberger UK & Ireland, and her team help customers save time, make more confident decisions, and ensure quick digital access to the support needed to deliver successful projects.

Since joining wienerberger in 2021, Jessica has focused on customer-first thinking, digital innovation and delivering value for customers. Today, she leads the Digital Marketing team, helping to shape wienerberger’s online presence. Her journey reflects the evolution of customer experience and the digital technologies that help customers succeed.

"My team and I are responsible for managing wienerberger's digital presence, which includes social media marketing, email marketing, maintaining our website, and making sure that customers can find us easily online. What this means for our customers is an improved, more seamless journey to finding the right information, products and support more easily.”

"Building for what's next is a unifying belief about how we interact with our customers at every touchpoint and every day. For us in digital marketing, that primarily means providing the tools, the transparency, and the product information that our customers need to make informed decisions and, ultimately, help build the built environment of the future."

Jessica believes successful content starts with understanding the audience. This is why she encourages her team to take a customer-focused approach and share content that genuinely matters to our customers.

"It's really important to share content that resonates with our audience and is genuinely interesting to them. Rather than focusing solely on products, we contribute to wider industry conversations and address issues that matter most by sharing stories on industry hot topics and customer challenges. 

This approach recently delivered record-breaking results with wienerberger's most engaged social media post announcing our hydrogen-fired brick kiln at Denton. As a world-first project at commercial scale, it is something customers are genuinely interested in because it supports sustainability goals and future-ready builds while helping us manufacture products more efficiently. That's why it is such a significant development for both the manufacturing and construction industries."

As digital technology continues to evolve, Jessica sees artificial intelligence as both one of the biggest opportunities and one of the biggest challenges facing how digital marketers source help for customers today.

"AI is both a massive opportunity and a significant challenge because the technology is evolving faster than people can educate themselves. However, AI has been greatly beneficial to me and my team. Analysis that might have taken hours, or even days, in the past can now be done in around half an hour, and that's a real game changer over the course of a working week. The benefits go beyond speed and accurate data delivery; it also allows us to gain a better understanding of our customers and their needs through their online behaviour. As individuals and organisations, it's important that we continue educating ourselves and having open conversations about the opportunities and limitations of generative AI."

Looking back to the last five years, from her first role as Senior Digital Marketing Executive to her current role as Digital Marketing Manager, Jessica’s journey reflects continuous evolution, and her focus remains putting customers first while building for what's next.

"As technology and customer expectations continue to evolve, we need to focus on building for what's next. If we truly understand who we are and what we stand for, that translates into customers understanding us better and recognising the value we can offer them." - Jessica Connolly, Digital Marketing Manager, wienerberger UK & Ireland.

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