My journey to Creative Marketing Executive

After graduating with a Business and Marketing Management degree from Oxford Brookes University, I worked in recruitment but soon realised I wanted an opportunity where I could develop the skills gained in my studies. 

I was thrilled when offered a job at Fortitude Communications as a PR Account Executive and I’ve enjoyed an incredible year filled with growth, excitement, challenges, and a lot of learning. And after my first year at the agency it has led to a revised role focused on creative marketing. 

Excellent projects and clients

Right from the start, I got to work on some incredible campaigns.

This gave me insights into how communications and marketing strategies are created and delivered and the positive impact they have on businesses. The role has also given me the opportunity to help our clients engage their audiences via creative marketing and design.

I’ve had the chance to work with a fantastic range of clients, including Mercure Hawkwell House Hotel, EZ-Charge, Bradbourne Property Finders, Oxford United in the Community, Sheehan Group, Amazing lofts, Hedges Law and many more.

Every client brings something unique and different marketing and communications briefs. Working across a variety of sectors has taught me so much about adapting to different industries and audiences and adapting our approach to suit each brief. This has included brand positioning, tone of voice, design, storytelling and messaging to underpin results driven campaigns.

Creative marketing

Creative marketing has been the area of what Fortitude does where I’ve been most involved on the client delivery side. 

Reflecting on my first year at Fortitude has filled me with a great sense of pride and satisfaction, as I’ve been able to develop the skills and with support from colleagues put them into practice for clients. 

This has included re-branding EZ-Charge, an EV charge point operator, to provide it with a new brand identity. Designing brochures and marketing materials for Mercure Hawkwell House Hotel and managing its influencer management campaign, which has directly helped develop its client-base. Plus, creating a brand identity toolkit for Bradbourne Property Finders to use on social media, alongside designing its commercial brochure. Plus developing the Sheehan Group’s social media engagement, via a design led awareness campaign. 

I’ve also worked closely with my Fortitude colleagues to elevate the agency’s social media content, via creative design. It’s been particularly rewarding to work in a company where my input into its own marketing and content is encouraged and valued. 

My highlight

One of the biggest highlights has been managing the relaunch of Six By Nico’s Oxford venue, to help the brand develop deeper community engagement and build its covers. Six By Nico is a national group of restaurants renowned for its dynamic six-course tasting menus.

The on-going integrated campaign has given me hands-on experience in multiple areas of delivery. This has included designing the proposal to developing multiple activations, influencer management, event support and organisation to guest list coordination. Seeing the campaign delivering value for our client on an on-going basis has been incredibly rewarding and really helped me to build further on my skill set.

Developing with support and mentorship

One thing Fortitude does exceptionally well is supporting individual skill sets and encouraging you to use them, which in hand helps you and the business grow.

Greig Box Turnbull, Fortitude’s founder, saw potential in me early on and pushed me to build on my strengths. Thanks to that support, I’ve been able to develop quickly.

I recently had my job title changed to Creative Marketing Executive, reflecting my role and skillset. It is a role that lets me dive deeper into content creation, campaign strategy, and brand development. I’m delighted to have been given the encouragement to grow and that it has been recognised and reflected by making my role official.

I’m really excited about the role and it’s the perfect next step in my career.

What’s next?

Every day at Fortitude brings something new, whether that is a fresh challenge or deadline, a new client or an emerging trend, or skill to grasp.

The variety of clients we represent keeps things interesting, from creating social media graphics, managing influencer campaigns, or brainstorming creative content ideas. I’ve also loved learning the ins and outs of the PR and media industry and the different types of communications that help a business to grow.

Looking back on this past year, I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to grow and learn in such a supportive environment with experienced colleagues. I’d encourage graduates looking to build a career in PR, marketing and communications to seek opportunities within agencies, as the range of clients, workflows and fast-pace provides an ideal environment to flourish, with hard work, a positive mindset and ability

I’m excited to keep building on my skills, helping our clients succeed, and being part of Fortitude’s continued growth. There’s a great sense of teamwork here, and I’m looking forward to another year of success.

Get in touch

If you would like to have a chat about how the team at Fortitude could help your organisation please get in touch here.