I'm Jo, and I'm a marketing consultant specialising in marketing to families
Describe your job
My alarm goes off around 5:30 am and I go for a run, then I'm back showered and dressed by 7 am when my girls get up for nursery and school. After the school run, I start my day.
I’m a marketing consultant working with a number of different brands. The beauty of being self-employed is you get to work with brands you LOVE and are really passionate about!
My day is generally a mix of zoom calls, planning, and face to face meetings. I have the pleasure of working with AMAZING people, one of which is a close friend who has a number of businesses in the wellbeing sector. She’s local so we’re often in her home or at locations, thinking and planning ideas for events and campaigns to create magical experiences for her audiences. Then we make the ideas happen, which is the fun bit, she’s just as creative as I am, and our ideas bounce and flourish. It’s so good having the freedom to think BIG and do exciting things, watching them come to life and shaping them to drive results.
Throughout my day I work with my clients to define their objectives and ultimately their marketing strategy. So, there’s a lot of research and discovery understanding their audiences, identifying their mindsets, and always keeping an eye on what competitors are doing!
My day is so diverse, no day is the same, I never switch off…I’m constantly connecting with people and brands looking for new opportunities.
What are the most important skills you need to do your job?
Communication and understanding people…being able to see things from someone else’s eyes and putting yourself in their shoes to truly understand your audience.
An inquisitive mind, creative imagination, and intuition. Unconventional thinking and being tenacious is key! Oh, and you always have to be one step ahead.
My brain doesn’t stop, I’m constantly thinking of ideas and solutions.
I left school and...
I went to Art College to do an Art Foundation course, at this point, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do. I loved being creative but was torn between graphic design and fashion/ textiles. Advertising had always fascinated me, so I changed direction and studied an HND in Business Studies with Marketing followed by a CIM in Marketing…so I could use my creativity strategically!
My 1st job was in marketing for a Publishers. After 2 years I then went on to work in various creative agencies. I stayed in the agency world for 18 years before I had my first daughter Poppy and decided to move client-side and work for Harrods as Marketing Manager for Families. After 5 years I had my second daughter Hattie and decided to ditch the commute into London and set up my Marketing Consultancy, PopHats & Play.
I’m most proud of...
There are so many projects I worked on that I’m so very proud of; from a youth gamification program where we created a life under the pitch to find fans of the future for Tottenham Hotspur to the relaunch of the Dove Self Esteem project for mothers and daughters. Oh, and not forgetting the multitude of projects I ran whilst working as Marketing Manager for Families at Harrods such as the Toy Detective Experience, The Toy Concierge and of course the renowned Harrods Grotto.
But my proudest project has to be around 11 years ago whilst working as Account Director for an award-winning digital agency called 20:20 London. We launched the world's first mobile soap opera for teens to drive awareness of sexual health as part of the Governments campaign ‘Want respect? Wear a condom!’ – it was hard work, long days but we had so much fun, creating characters, casting the crew, writing scripts, researching events, filming and delivering a 60-second episode to the mobile phones of 16-18-year-olds every Friday at 6 pm! What an eye-opener that was! The best part was pitching the idea on a piece of paper to the Minister of Education at the Houses of Parliament and getting her approval! A story I will continue to tell forever.
Before I started my career, I wish I knew…
Positive energy is limitless!
Never doubt yourself, never look back, don’t dwell on the past, always dream big and there is no such thing as ‘I can’t’. You really CAN!
A mistake I made which you can avoid repeating is...
Don’t always ‘go with the flow’…never be scared to challenge, if you feel in your gut that something doesn’t sit right then speak up!
So, what’s next?
I want to continue making an impact to small businesses and shaping the success of the bigger ones. Working with brands I LOVE both creatively and strategically.
Here's my: