More than a copywriter…

I landed my first job at the tender age of 21 – with global advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH).

What an introduction to the industry. I spent three happy, hard-working years learning my craft on the Audi UK, Barclays, AEG-Electrolux and Zanussi accounts, won a couple of industry awards for an Audi TT launch campaign and made friends for life. I stayed on the agency’s payroll for a further 12 years, supporting their copywriters on a freelance basis when the going got busy. My Creative Director at the time, Colin Walker, left me a thoroughly lovely recommendation on my LinkedIn page if you’d care to read that.

A relocation to Nottingham took me in-house at the UK’s largest weight-loss organisation, Slimming World, where I spent a year writing and handling the company’s internal communications. I was 25 at the time and keen to gain more ad/design agency experience, so when the opportunity came up to join DBA Gold award-winning branding agency Purple Circle, I took it. My five very happy years there were spent writing and project-managing brand/tone-of-voice strategy, guidelines, advertising, digital and marketing copy for a huge mix of clients – including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Trent Bridge, Go Ape and Nottinghamshire Police.

Then came the babies. After becoming a mum, I became a freelancer – and after a stint as a Senior Copywriter working across Retail brands DFS, Boots and Wilkinson at True Story, Slimming World got in touch and asked me to cover a maternity leave for six months, part-time. That six months turned into nearly 10 years (and counting). By now, the company had grown (and was still growing – fast) and the creative team had quadrupled. The work was – and still is – a super-diverse 80/20 mix of strategic comms and copywriting. Working for Slimming World teaches you the value of purpose. It also demonstrates beautifully the impact that a positive, people-led culture has on a company and its success. Working with colleagues at every level of the business, from strategy to creative to internal and external comms planning, I’ve worked across national advertising campaigns, publications, digital content and launches, as well as owning the packaging and point of sale for Slimming World’s food range at Iceland.

I’ve been pipped at the post (by one vote, tsss!) for our Employee of the Year award, and won a ‘Golden Moment’ award in the company’s 50th anniversary year – “designed to celebrate outstanding achievement – people and teams who go the extra mile to deliver exceptional service (to other team members, to Consultants or to members), have suggested effective innovations and changes, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to create astonishing results, or who go above and beyond”.

Outside work and mum duties, you’ll find me justifying my penchant for tasty food and a good drop of wine – either on a spin bike or scrambling about in the Peak District.