Luckily for me, I loved it.

My marketing journey started while at university studying photojournalism, inspired by the iconic LIFE magazine, the early days of VICE, legendary photojournalists such as Robert Capa or Henri Cartier-Bresson and the writing style of the infamous Mr Gonzo - Hunter. S Thompson. 

For a while, this was the direction I thought my life would take.

A few things happened that changed that. Photography began to feel more of a chore than a hobby as the course progressed, and an opportunity to explore music and events presented itself via a friend studying event management. 

I’ve always had a passion for music, having been at college in Manchester and discovering dance music, the illegal rave scene and The Warehouse Project back when its home was under the arches. This new opportunity presented a chance to pursue music despite having no real musical abilities, and hopefully make some cash along the way. 

With my new business partner pulling in a favour from friends who just so happen to have become DJs that were rapidly growing in popularity, we set about arranging our first club night.

It was a success, earning us more money than any part-time job and with a lot more fun.

Unfortunately, we’d later find out that they can’t all be winners and forking out thousands from student loans for headline DJs was a risky business. Everything costs money, from graphic design, print, poster and flyer distribution, to social media advertising, and that’s before paying venue hire and artist costs. 

By reducing these costs we could reduce our risk, and a simple way to reduce the cost was by developing new skills. Here we have it, marketing out of necessity. 

Photoshop became my new favourite pastime, social media marketing a field of study and it was here that my marketing journey really began.

While our humble little events brand didn’t last beyond university, it saw us host events at some of the city's most renowned venues including Wire, The Faversham, HiFi, Canal Mills and Mint Club. We worked with brands including high-street retailers Schuh hosting promotional events, took to stages at festivals, threw some legally questionable house parties and made incredible memories along the way.     

During this time, while still working to complete my degree in photojournalism, I also took on an internship with multi-award-winning festival producers From The Fields, the team behind Kendal Calling. The festival had grown over the years from a small festival situated in Kendal, not far from where I grew up, to a large, nationally recognised event located in Penrith. It was amongst the first festivals I’d been to, one I’d even jumped the fence into on more than one occasion during my teens, something I’d share years later with their director after a couple of beers.

During this internship, I developed a further understanding of event-based marketing at a national scale. From festival campaign cycles, content marketing, PR, social media management, email marketing, customer communications, paid media and more. I was a sponge, one with lots of ideas I'd happily vocalise. Some of which had legs, while others probably weren’t that great - but hey, I guess that’s how ideas work. 

Upon completing my degree I’d later work with From The Fields at their Manchester office before making the jump and going freelance as an event and music-based digital marketer.  

Over the years that followed, I maintained my relationship with the team at From The Fields, working on-site across their festival portfolio including Kendal Calling and Bluedot, assisting the marketing team on part-time contracts, and even standing in as their Head of Marketing to cover a maternity leave.

In addition to this, I worked with multiple Leeds-based venues and event organisers managing hundreds of campaigns across social media, content strategy, paid media and email marketing.

From 300-400 capacity venues such as Wire and HiFi Club to a 1600 capacity venue in a Grade II listed Church, large-scale music events including The Garden Party and cultural hospitality projects such as ChowDown. During this time I also worked with independent record label 20/20 Vision Recordings across a broad range of releases with artists including Crazy P, Voigtmann, Carl Finlow and many more.

When COVID came and the world stood still, being a digital marketer who specialised in music and events wasn’t ideal. City centres had become ghost towns and all the clubs had been closed down (yes, I’m referencing The Specials here). But although dance floors collected dust, music was still being made and the label still had releases to be marketed. 

So with the spare time that would have otherwise been consumed by event campaigns, I chose to pursue a piece of paper with my name on it that says I actually know what I’m talking about. All my marketing knowledge had been self-taught, learned on the job or via the experience of others, so why not do another degree? 

I completed a post-graduate degree in Digital Marketing and now have two pieces of paper stating I know some things about some things, and I’m still not entirely sure of their value, however, it did feel like time well spent. 

After the world re-opened, when we reemerged from our self-contained chambers of isolation, blinded by the natural light and struggling to remember how to socialise, I decided to further develop my digital marketing knowledge across new sectors. 

While still working with multiple clients in the world of music and events, I also branched out into new territory, managing paid media campaigns in new sectors, developing digital strategies and managing b2b social platforms.

The years since the last lockdown of 2021 have moved fast and in Q4 of 2023 I took some time to reflect. Where am I going, what am I aiming at, and how do I plan on getting there? 

The first thing that dawned on me during this period of reflection was that despite spending the last ten years working within the field of marketing, I had never actually done anything to market myself. All of my work had come from long-standing relationships or some form of referral.  

While word of mouth is still considered by many to be amongst the best forms of marketing, it isn’t the most proactive.  

So I guess that brings us here, why I’m writing this. 

I could have just listed some accolades, key clients, qualifications and skills, closed my laptop and been done with the job. Then maybe, if they ticked the right boxes for prospective clients new and exciting opportunities would emerge.

But my job, or at least one of them, is to sell stories, and if not sell them, at least have them heard. So with that being said, if you’ve made it this far I can’t be too bad at it. 

If you asked me today to answer the question - what is great marketing? I think I have an answer, however, ask me tomorrow and maybe that answer has changed.

Today, and for me, great marketing happens as a result of a genuinely committed purpose. It exists at a point of synergy between strategic and analytical thinking, the boundless possibilities of creativity and the power of modern technology. 

So what is my commitment, and what is my purpose?

My commitment to those I work with is to assist in developing their potential. It is that simple.

My commitment to myself is to one day master my craft while sharing knowledge and ideas along the way. 

My purpose on the other hand, well I guess that’s a little more complex.