My story
Two decades of marketing experience.
The training ground for all things comms >>
I started as a Communications Trainee in a large national charity, that focused on diverting young people away from crime. I was part of a big, busy comms team, exposed to huge amounts of responsibility from day one. I stayed for six years and took on several fantastic roles over that time. I worked on the charities’ marketing materials before managing their corporate partnership with M&S, then their national royal event programme, before ending up as internal communications manager. We called our wonderful Comms Director ‘The Mothership’ and she had a huge influence on me. She would say, “own it and run with it” … and provided a safe place to learn and thrive. What a gift!
Festival director on youth engagement >>
I reluctantly left the crime prevention charity to go with my husband to New Zealand in 2006. (I really did not want to go, I loved that job!) We went to small town on the west coast of NZ and I found it impossible to believe there would be any interesting jobs for me. Then, of course I spotted something. A brand new festival to encourage young people to engage in the arts to develop their skills, to combat social exclusion …. I got excited! Youthfest was the first time I’d worked solo. I was part of a lovely charity but it was 100% my responsibility. I had to find and secure $250K of funding, design the programme, find the artists, market the programme and get the bums on the seats. Initially I was crippled with fear. Then, a month in, my first funding application was successful and I thought, “I reckon I can do this” and it turns out I could.
Marketing manager in a green team >>
That was a year out, and back in the UK I was in Bristol on the lookout for a marketing manager role in a not-for-profit, preferably in youth inclusion or education, building on what I already knew, which felt like a good plan. Then something caught my eye, a marketing manager advert for an environmental charity that claimed to run the wildlife filmmaking equivalent of the Oscars … that felt like something to be explored. So, with only a green jacket and a recent watch of Gorillas in the Mist in my back pocket, I headed to my interview with the CEO of Wildscreen and the chair of UKTV. I wondered if I’d be a good fit, I knew nothing about environmental filmmaking. I quickly realised how transferable all my previous experience was, and that marketing knowledge could be applied to a new sector if you put the effort in. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have a first in Zoology from Oxford University, or deep enthusiasm for Blue Planet, everyone else on the team had that, and I had marketing experience.
Agency marketing consultant >>
When my kids were small we moved from Bristol to Wales and I wanted a marketing role that was part time in hours but not intellectual stimulation. Easier said than done! Eventually I found the perfect position in a B2B marketing consultancy where I could work alongside others who, like me, enjoyed asking questions and finding creative solutions. Over time I refined my ability to offer expert marketing support, regardless of sector, working in manufacturing, retail, HR, financial management, the voluntary sector and education. I worked on marketing strategy, brand development and content creation. After 8 years I decided it was time to take everything learnt over my career, and branch out alone to see what I could achieve.
Woman of words >>
Friends and colleagues have often told me that I have a way of putting things that makes sense. That I’m good at framing things, ‘in the right way’ to help people understand a situation, or to explain a problem. So that’s what I’ve decided to do, to use my enthusiasm for explaining things in a warm-hearted, straightforward way to start my own marketing business.