Freelance Brand and Creative Strategist / Strategic Planner and Fractional Strategy Director
Last week Timewise's 2014 Power Part Time List was published. It proves, it says, that "part time working is possible at senior levels, in all types of business". Included in this year's list from my industry (the whole list changes annually) are the Marketing Director at Diageo responsible for Smirnoff, the Senior Director for Marketing and Insights for … Continue reading all hail the Power Part Timers
I get the impression that the marketing community are currently somehow under the impression that the only UK cities producing decent work are London and Manchester. And that really winds me up. Not only because as a Leeds-based planner there's an implication that I'm coasting along in the second division, but because I know for a … Continue reading home is where the stealthily good work is
I don't know what it's like Inside London, but Outside London the Planning scene seems to me to have changed quite dramatically in the last 18 months. After agencies limped through the recession on a minimal headcount they've now staffed up again. And Planning/Strategy is one of the specialisms that is in growth. But in many … Continue reading Planner or Strategist?
I read this great post from Ben Kay over the weekend about the awesome documentary about backing singers 20 Feet from Stardom (which if you haven’t seen yet, you should). His agency-relevant take on it was that like many backing or background singers never becoming famous in their own right because they have the voice … Continue reading why Planners are the backing not the star
1) We’re in the business of communication and persuasion, not putting-cool-stuff-on-screens (be they tv, pc or mobile). Making sure that the right message reaches the right people is what matters. Deciding which media is right for the job is vital – but the answer might just as easily be ‘supermarket car park experiential sampling’ as … Continue reading ten things everyone under 25 who works in agencies needs to know
I didn't get much work done last week because I was focused on riding in a side saddle display at the Great Yorkshire Show with the Yorkshire branch of the Side Saddle Association. In my world, riding at Great Yorkshire is a big deal, bucket list type event and the stakes were upped further by … Continue reading when amateurs do it better than the pros
There seems to be a movement in the marketing community towards better work-life balance. Whether it’s Chime’s Amelia Torode championing flexible and part-time working for Mums or what seems to be a massive increase in senior staff switching to freelance, it feels like the traditional 10+ hours, 5+ days a week agency model is under … Continue reading on allowing good people to work where and when they work best
I’ll have been an Account Planner for 15 years this Summer. Although it’s not up there with the longevity of some planners in London and perhaps Manchester, certainly in my neck of the woods I think I’m now scarily one of the most experienced (at least in years) Planners on the circuit. So much has … Continue reading 15 years a Planner
When I went freelance nearly four years ago I promised myself that from then on I’d try to only work with nice people. Life is just too short to be bullied, harassed or otherwise made to feel rubbish by people you work with. I’m not saying that my previous life as an agency staffer was … Continue reading why being nice matters
There's been the odd occasion over the last few years when I've felt like I've been researching something in order to get that box ticked on the client's project plan, rather than to use fresh insight to move things forward. There's simply no point in spending money on research if the answer is staring you … Continue reading do you really need to research this?