What do you do?
As the Communications Director, I oversee our writers and social media experts to keep our approach focused on achieving the best results for our clients. Keeping up with my roots as a writer, I am still active in producing the content that our clients receive even as my main responsibilities have become more managerial over time.
I manage the accounts of a range of clients, keeping their marketing strategies tailored to both their needs and the changing expectations of their target audience. This lets me maintain a coordinated approach across our experts so that each of us is able to contribute our skills most effectively and give our clients excellent results.
My background in journalism has been carried over into my focus on getting clients well known in local press and trade publications, as well as having some featured in the national press. Considering the span of my career, the real highlight is seeing the growth of some of our clients from the day they first start working with us, to them picking up a trophy or seeing their name in the national press.
Have you done any speaking engagements?
As well as hosting a number of podcasts for ourselves and many clients, I have engaged with some external speaking engagements.
This includes:
- The Alternative Events Accountancy Management conference
Tell us a bit about yourself
Before joining Imagine That, or JE Consulting as it was once known, I spent four years working for one of the UK’s largest regional newspapers, the Express and Star, as a reporter for its Dudley and Sandwell edition. This taught me a lot about how the media works and what drives better engagement.
Having left the Express and Star, I joined Imagine That in 2014 as part of its fledgling social media team and was later promoted to a PR Executive and later PR Manager. I ultimately became the Communications Director when I was 35, a career crowning achievement for me.
During my time at Imagine That, I have helped to secure national coverage for clients across a wide range of sectors and, in my role as an account manager, supported the strategy and delivery of effective marketing for care companies, law firms, accountancy firms and businesses operating in the technology sector.
I value tenacity, transparency and positivity and work to encourage those values in the teams that I lead. All of our work should be driven by the angle that best engages with the audience and supported with the kind of open conversations that allow effective strategies to be built. I am a positive person and like to encourage others to focus on optimism, rather than be distracted by the negativity that occasionally creeps in.
What do you enjoy outside of work?
I am a bit of a “petrolhead”, so I love tinkering with cars and going to car shows. History is also a great passion of mine and I can get quite nerdy at times about the specifics of WW2 history.
Of course, I have to mention my lovely family. I am a father of four boisterous boys who keep me busy most of the time and my lovely wife, who helps keep me sane.