It was fabulous to present Rachael Roberts with the Award for Marketing Director of the Year at the 2022 North East Marketing Awards in December. It was great catching up after the event and exploring the benefits of winning awards.
What does winning the award mean to you?
It means a great deal to me. Marketing has been a fantastic career choice that has allowed me to work with amazing brands, teams and individuals and has provided me with many exciting opportunities and experiences. It has also required a lot of hard work and flexibility!
Like many, I have experienced imposter syndrome at some points in my career – either when the role wasn’t suitable for me or when my children were younger (juggling home life and deadlines can be challenging in any profession)!
This journey and the belief in the commercial value I can bring to a business through marketing enabled me to confidently demonstrate my research-driven approach in my interview for Marketing Director of the year.
What are the key characteristics of being an effective Marketing Director?
Being able to see the whole picture. Using market research to create datadriven campaigns, customer insights to clearly define your segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and having clear reporting metrics in place to evaluate return on investment.
Another fundamental characteristic is prioritising building relationships and seeking opportunities where you can. A simple conversation with someone new could turn into a brilliant collaborative opportunity and a new route to market.
My team has heard this and has grown to live by it, but my motto is ‘progress over process’. Marketing is an ever-changing discipline, and although it is fundamental to have plans and strategies in place, you need to be empathetic to fast-paced markets (such as the one I work within), which requires us to be agile to capitalise on changes, new ideas and ventures. Therefore, testing is another critical characteristic.
In an unpredictable market where it’s hard to spot trends, the only way to know if something works is to run with it. If it works and you get loads of leads, great. If it doesn’t, it’s been a learning curve -which is also great.
As the business grows, how will you go about building your team?
The marketing team started with just me in September 2020, and over the last couple of years, we have grown to a team of five. We are all parttime, but our dedication, enthusiasm, and effort are still strong. We have an open and trusting culture where all ideas are welcomed, so I want to nurture and coach my team further over the next few years.
We are currently working with Newcastle University Internships. We have been lucky to have secured two talented interns over the last year who have shown fantastic potential and are an asset to the North East marketing industry. We hope to continue with our partnership moving forward.
What essential skills will the business need to bring in to help you grow?
We are in a digital landscape, selling a digital product to schools, and our website is our shop front. As the business grows, I plan to invest in digital and SEO to maximise our online marketing efforts.
Our market is unique as we don’t necessarily have direct competitors. We sell an online reading programme to schools, and yes, there are other reading programmes available that we are competing against, but in essence, we are all competing for a school’s budget.
Do you have a message for anyone thinking of entering the NEMA awards next year?
My colleague entered me for this award, and I didn’t think anything would come of it. But, after seeing all the hard work, effort, and success laid down from the last year on a submission form, I’m glad that she did, as a testimony to the achievements of our whole team. Yes, I’ve won this award, and it’s an honour to be recognised, but it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my colleagues.
If anyone is considering entering the North East Marketing Awards, please do so. Winning the award has reinforced why I love marketing and the power we have to make a difference.
As a corporate sponsor of the Awards, nesma is always delighted to be part of the judging panel to see first-hand the exceptional talent we hold in the North East.
