Jack is currently Senior Head of Marketing for the UK’s leading youth charity, The Prince’s Trust. His team’s marcomms responsibilities are UK-wide and include brand management, advertising, video, events, active challenges, a retail store and merchandise.
Previously, Jack was Group Marketing and Communications Manager in the private sector for events agency, Crown Group. Here he managed the full marketing mix across nine businesses. Jack was awarded Chartered Marketer status at the early age of 25 and his successful cross-sector career has also seen him hold posts at the Big Lottery Fund, where he headed-up the regional communications team, and at safety charity ROSPA, as Marketing Campaign Manager.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
To make great things that make a great difference.
What do you think makes a successful career in marketing?
I think there are a few things that would be in my recipe: be a leader first, and a marketer second. Hire, develop and trust the best people. Be obsessed by audiences and their behaviours. Have a rigorous yet creatively brave approach. Know your business, and how your function adds value to it. Then demonstrate it. Genuinely care about the contribution your work makes. Kevin Murray, Chairman of the Good Relations Group, captured this spirit by saying: “I don’t care what you know until I know how much you care”.
And who is a great example of this?
Many of the marketing leaders that I have been lucky enough to meet through the Marketing Academy over the last year have demonstrated vast experience and belief in some of these principles. Sarah Warby (Sainsburys), Rufus Radcliffe (ITV) and Jenny Ashmore (SSE) all have their audiences at the heart of what they do.
What do you think are the main challenges facing marketers today?
We face some of the same challenges that we have always faced as marketers – understanding audiences, standing out, measurement and emerging technologies and markets. The difference is the speed of change, which is so rapid.
The current challenge is keeping up, being brave, moving fast and ensuring you learn as you go.
How do you keep up with constant stream of innovation in marketing comms?
I’ve been lucky enough to be involved with the Marketing Academy over the last year, so I’ve had access to some incredible mentors who have helped me navigate the ever-changing landscape. I would encourage people to seek a mentor that operates in a different industry to theirs.
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