Welcome back to #smsms. Today we talk to Katie, the newest member of the Sound Marketing team, about finishing her degree, pitching creative ideas and starting out in a new industry...
Almost 8 months at Sound Marketing, how has it been so far?
-Time flies when you’re having fun, right?
Starting out in an unfamiliar industry has been the biggest challenge for me so far. Especially one that is as technical as the AV industry- there is so much techy lingo that is still taking some getting used to. Although, my Uni course really worked to set us up to be ready for anything and work with any products from Adidas to toilet paper!
Hopefully you find it more interesting than toilet paper?
-Yes! Although I felt out of depth to begin with, I find it inspiring when people are passionate about things- and people are definitely passionate about AV. This kind of attitude always makes me want to get involved more and geek out with the rest of them.
Maybe we’ll test you on the techy questions next time then…You mentioned your Uni course, what did you study and what was your number one take-away?
-I studied Creative Advertising at Bucks New Uni. I think my number one take-away was ‘Woah Kates. You’re actually capable”. I think that’s what finishing a degree does for you, as superficial as some people think they are, after 3 years of working to achieve it, that bit of paper does wonders helping you walk into a room and feel like you can hold at least a bit of ground.
So, what have the past 8 months looked like?
-One of the reasons Steph brought me on was to work on Sound Marketing’s own marketing and I was thrown in at the deep end with the challenge of building our new website as my first main task. This was a great opportunity because it gave me a chance to spend some time getting to know the business and starting to learn about the industry.
No pressure then! What was that process like?
-As I mentioned, in order to build the website, I had to really understand what Sound Marketing offered and who we are as a business. It was great to talk to the team and learn everyone’s roles and start to see where I would fit in. We collaborated a lot during the process, discussing the creative direction and what we wanted the website to show.
I’m sure some of our readers may have seen one or two of Sound Marketing’s new ads, did you have anything to do with those by any chance?
-Yes, that was job number two on my list! I loved creating those ads- especially because it was my first time actually creating ads that were going to be published. I will admit I was quick to grab the copy of AMI when it came through the post with our ad in it. It was amazing (and a tad daunting) to be putting exactly what I learnt at Uni into **REAL LIFE**- something not everybody gets the chance to do. Since then I’ve produced a few more ads for various clients and it doesn’t get less exciting seeing them in print.
Your role at Sound Marketing focusses a lot on creativity, what’s your opinion on how people view creativity in the industry?
-It’s an ongoing joke that ‘creatives’ spend all their time at work ‘colouring in’ (and honestly, I spent a fair time literally colouring in pictures for my Final Major Project) however, especially after putting what I’d learnt into practice here, it’s really proved its worth to me.
It’s sometimes hard to see direct ROI on a lot of creative outcomes like social media and advertising so I think it’s easy for people to underestimate its value. Choosing the creative option can also be really daunting, especially for clients, because it often requires stepping out of the box which can be a risk they’re not willing to take.
How do you get past the ‘daunting’ aspect of pushing a creative idea?
-Luckily, the SM team understand the value of creative thinking so when I pitch my ideas to clients I do it knowing that the team will back up the decisions I make. That being said, whenever we do pitch to clients, we do so without being too ‘precious’ about the idea- we’re always open to comments as this is such an important part of the creative process and it’s how the best work is produced. Luckily, we have great relationships with our clients so opening an idea up to criticism is generally a pleasure.
Well, it sounds like you’re in the swing of things…
-Putting on a good show at least! Being a smaller company there isn’t really a chance to hold back and Steph certainly didn’t hold back before adding more and more things onto my to do list! When we hold our team meetings we all leave feeling really inspired to keep working hard to grow the business.
I best leave you to it then!
-Thanks!