#BehindtheSelfie: Pierre Coetzee, marketing manager at Letsema Consultancy

Image supplied: Pierre Coetzee, marketing manager at Letsema Consultancy

Where do you live, work and play?

I live in Honeydew, on the Western side of Joburg. Technically work is in Rosebank but we have fully embraced remote working, so work is wherever I am.

What’s really behind your selfie?

I took this while visiting really good friends of mine who emigrated to Vancouver a few years ago. I went specifically to experience a white Christmas, and while the snow hadn’t quite reached us yet on Christmas day, we drove up a mountain so I could get my wish!

Tell us some of your few favourite things.

Friends, family and dog are top of mind. And as a fully grown adult, I still rate the Harry Potter series as the best books ever written, so that would have to count as one of my favourite things.

Describe your career so far

After studying mathematical statistics, I wandered into market research by pure coincidence. This awoke a passion for customer insights in me, and the rest of my career since has always contained some form of that.

I developed much of my career with the now sadly defunct Edcon Group, working across all the brands in the group at one stage or another. From there I ventured into banking, heading up brand insights for FNB, and ultimately also working on brand strategy and even some digital marketing. This was a great learning experience that now allows me to advise on marketing and customer strategy at Letsema.

What are you streaming/reading/listening to right now?

I’m on a big nostalgia kick right now, rewatching things like Scrubs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

At the same time, I’m listening to rewatch podcasts of shows like Boy Meets World, when I’m not listening to more topical things (I enjoy some of Joe Rogan’s stuff). I don’t get nearly enough time to read, although I’m always in the process of re-reading a Harry Potter book.

What’s your favourite gif?

Pretty much anything Schitt’s Creek related (I was obsessed with that show), but I’ve gotten a lot of use out of this one:

If we took your phone and scrolled through it now, what would we find?

A lot of photos I took of the gardening department of various stores and nurseries for a project we recently completed. Plus a variety of memes that I took screenshots of and have never looked at since.

Do you have any secret talents?

Not so secret, but I’m fairly musical, playing both the piano and the church organ

What are some of your best loadshedding survival tips?

If you can, invest in some sort of battery that can at least keep your TV and internet running for the duration of loadshedding. And keep your laptop charged! I’ve paid dearly for not following that one a few times…