DetailsClient/Company Lidl (Global Retail)

RoleDigital Strategy Lead

Timeline24-Month Strategic Roadmap (Year 1 Execution)

FocusNew Territory Launch (Serbia)

Lidl, a major global retailer, was preparing to enter a new territory (Serbia) with zero existing digital footprint. The market was already saturated with established local and international competitors. The core challenge was structural: The organization needed a dedicated digital strategy that could stand alone from the general operational market entry. We needed to avoid treating digital as an "add-on" and instead treat it as a primary battlefield to establish immediate brand dominance and capture significant share within a strict 24-month timeline.

I recognized that entering a saturated market from zero required a strategy that was both aggressive and structurally sound. I engineered a standalone digital ecosystem designed to outpace competitors who were resting on their laurels.

Pillar 1: The "Digital-First" Roadmap: I developed a comprehensive 24-month strategic blueprint that decoupled digital marketing from general trade marketing. This allowed us to be agile and aggressive online without being bottlenecked by physical store rollout logistics.

Pillar 2: Infrastructure & Talent Acquisition: A strategy is only as good as the people executing it. I built the internal engine from scratch, hiring and training a dedicated 3-person digital team (including a Social Media Manager) to ensure we owned our brand voice internally rather than outsourcing our core identity.

Pillar 3: High-Precision Agency Partnerships: To scale quickly, I established strategic partnerships with top-tier advertising agencies. We utilized these partners to execute Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and high-precision targeting campaigns, ensuring we reached the right households with maximum efficiency.

Operational Blueprinting: Successfully defined and executed the digital roadmap, ensuring all stakeholders (Local Board, International HQ, and Marketing teams) remained aligned through the chaos of a new country launch.

Team Construction: Sourced, vetted, and onboarded the internal digital unit, establishing the workflows and governance needed for them to operate autonomously.

Agency Orchestration: Managed complex relationships with external agency partners, driving them to meet strict KPIs regarding reach and penetration during the critical launch window.

The strategy of separating the digital narrative from the physical rollout paid off, allowing us to dominate the conversation before the doors even opened.

Market Domination: Secured a staggering 56% online market share in Year 1, instantly positioning Lidl as the digital category leader in the new territory.

Operational Success: Successfully executed the 24-month roadmap ahead of schedule, moving from "market entry" to "market maturity" faster than anticipated.

Brand Footprint: Established a fully functional, high-performing internal digital department that continues to drive the brand today.