Other Women's Jobs // A Day In The Life & Career Of Marie Bianca Esquijo

NAME: Marie Bianca Esquijo

AGE: 34

INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @mabiesquijo

JOB TITLE: Marketing Manager at Emirates Leisure Retail

MOVED TO THE UAE IN: October 2022

At Emirates Leisure Retail, Marketing Manager Marie brings big brand energy to some of the city’s favourite hangouts – from the fresh and vibrant Pret A Manger to the lively and laid-back Mr Toad’s, plus plenty more in between for Corporates and Events.

Marie is the one cooking up buzz-worthy campaigns, eye-catching content and fun activations that get people talking (and tasting) with the help of her wonderful external agencies. Whether it’s launching a new menu, driving footfall, or keeping the brands at the heart of Dubai’s dining and social scene, her role as Marketing Manager is all about making every experience memorable and unmissable.

Marie has +13 years of Marketing and Food & Beverage experience and moved to the UAE in 2022.

Today Marie shares with us a day in her life and career:

6.30am: 

Wake up time. After snoozing 2-3 times, I give in and it’s time for the day. A quick silent time for reflection followed by scrolling through social media to check what’s trending, if there’s anything major that launched or happened while I was asleep, keeping an eye out on what other brands are doing, and noting down a few ideas. 

7.30am: 

I check my WhatsApp groups and work email to check if there’s anything urgent that needs addressing before leaving the house. As soon as I reach the metro station, I automatically set my Spotify morning playlist to a volume enough to only hear important announcements. My everyday train rides are the perfect opportunity to browse through different brands’ social media pages, I also check DMs on Pret & Mr Toad’s Instagram page. 

9am: 

My workday officially kicks off with a quick check-in with the marketing team. We use our team chat group to share updates and stay informed about everyone’s whereabouts since most of us work remotely from our respective brand shops. After that, I review my to-do list for the day to plan how to tackle tasks efficiently and make the most of my time.

11am:

Do a roll call: Give some partner suppliers and marketing colleagues a call to check the status of their deliverables. After checking in with the supplier, I do provide update to relevant partners/team members.

Noon: 

Lunch break. I take my breaks religiously, it’s my time to enjoy the amazing freshness of Pret food (ofc) and just observe other customers in-shop, also a way to understand who’s the target market of our brand, their behaviour, their preferences, what they order, and how long they usually stay at the shop – people watching with a purpose.

2.30pm: 

Social Media time. I spend some good time checking different brands on social media, this is my way of getting some content inspiration. I usually compile content ideas and share them with our designer and social media agency partner.

3.30pm: 

Breathing break. I find time to allocate some time for myself in the middle of the workday and just walk, breathe, and clear my head. It helps me manage what I want to do, what can I do, and what needs to be done for the brand. It’s also a catch-up time with my colleagues.

4pm: 

Final to-do check-in of the day. I do another round of checking my emails, WhatsApp, Teams chat, social media DMs to double check I have not missed out on anything urgent. I then start to list down my priorities for the next day and start doing pre-work (i.e. coordinating for content shoot, drop offs to offices or influencers, delivery status of collaterals).

5-10pm: 

My workday wraps up. My train rides after work are different from the morning ones, this time, I usually just listen to my Spotify playlist and have a debrief from an entire workday. I try to squeeze in some time for my night walks. Then I head back home, enjoy dinner, and catch up on my favourite TV shows. I get some quiet time for self-reflection then lights out.