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While we’re as keen as anyone on sound campaign planning, setting clear objectives and generally demonstrating the ROI of what we do, I get pretty frustrated by the amount of brands that seem unable or unwilling to take any risk when it comes to their marketing & PR spend.

Yes, money is still tight and no, brand owners shouldn’t carelessly throw their budget around without thinking carefully about it, but, at the end of the day marketing (in whatever form) always has and always will carry an element of uncertainty about it.  It’s just not possible to guarantee that any campaign will work before you execute it – there are too many factors in play.  Good planning, great creativity and hard work can minimise this risk, but you can’t eliminate it altogether.  It seems that marketing people recently have become less willing to accept this.  Perhaps it’s because they’ve grown up in the digital age and are used to everything being instantly measurable and trackable, or maybe it’s just a reaction to tough economic times.

Whatever the cause, the net result of this risk-avoidance approach is that these brands will end up doing nothing at all, apart from a narrow range of tactics that they feel will “definitely” work, but which won’t truly engage with consumers or make a lasting impact.

Think about the great ad campaigns over the years – Skoda, Meerkat, Cadbury Gorilla etc… –  most of them could easily have fallen flat on their faces but the agency and the client were willing to step outside their comfort zone and do something different based on gut instinct.   The same applies to PR campaigns, and I’m not talking just about taking  creative risks.  Sometimes, just deciding to work with an agency and commit to doing something is enough of a first step, but you have to take it, otherwise we just end up writing endless proposals that could have made a difference, but no-one will ever know, and the client ends up doing what they’ve always done, but not really getting to where they want to be.

Eddie M.

We are looking for our first ever head of digital.  Job spec below – is this you??

JOB SPEC:  HEAD OF DIGITAL

Threepipe is an independent PR agency that integrates digital, social and traditional media to create campaigns that shape perceptions and influence behaviour.

We regularly pick up industry awards, including Best Small Agency, Best Digital Campaign and Best CSR Campaign at the PRCA Awards in 2009.   We are PRCA members with CMS certification.

Our current clients include Vodafone, EA Sports, Campari, Rachel’s Organic, ATP World Tour, Dunlop, Slazenger, Seven Dials, Scalextric, Leapfrog Toys, Kiddicare.com and The Football League.

Founded in 2004, we are now a team of 20 people based in Covent Garden.

Although we already offer digital and social media services to our clients and have won several digital PR awards, we are now looking for a Head of Digital to help take this offering to the next level.

The Role

This is a brand new role within the agency. The Head of Digital will

• help to shape our overall digital and social media offering
• work with all account teams and clients to provide strategic and practical advice
• develop and sell “add-on” digital services to our existing client base
• coach and mentor other members of the team to develop their knowledge and skills
• play a key role in new business and pitching as a digital and social media expert
• take the lead on maximising Threepipe’s own social media presence

You would report directly into the Managing Director and Creative Director, and work closely alongside all of our account teams, from AD through to AE.

The Person

We would expect the successful person to:

• Be degree-level educated with a minimum 2.1 and strong A level results
• Have a strong agency background (either PR or digital) with a real emphasis on digital and social media, to at least AD level
• Have a genuine passion and knowledge for social media, with their finger on the pulse of what’s coming next
• Have a deep understanding of how PR integrates with social media
• Be creatively and strategically strong
• Be an excellent presenter with the ability to sell campaigns and projects to new and existing clients
• Be a great communicator and able to share knowledge with others
• Be entrepreneurial with a desire to work within a smaller agency
• Have an established profile within the industry and an established social media presence of their own

Package:

Competitive salary dependent on experience

Performance-related bonus

New business bonus

Potential for share options after first year

Benefits include:

• Detailed personal development meetings every six months
• Tailored individual training plan & £2k annual budget
• 25 days holiday, plus an extra day for each year’s service
• Half day off on your birthday
• £250 personal development allowance
• £1000 Travelcard loan
• Free financial health checks
• Wellbeing Wednesdays each month
• Company away day/weekend each summer
• Annual exchange trip to New York for one employee
• Quarterly agency updates and regular social events
• Company pension (3% employer, 3% employee)
• Laptop & mobile phone

Status: Permanent with three month probation period

Start date: ASAP

Contact:  eddie@threepipe.co.uk

About Threepipe

Our vision is to be recognised as the best place to work in our industry.

We will create an environment to attract, reward, develop and retain the best people in the industry.

As a result of this, we will have the best people producing outstanding, award-winning campaigns that successfully integrate digital, social and traditional media.

All of our campaigns will combine rigorous strategic planning with creative inspiration to produce results that make a real, tangible difference to our clients.

As a business we will grow consistently and profitably through growing our relationships with clients and winning new business.

Our Values:

People-focused

Strategic

Creative

Professional

Passionate

Effective

Innovative

For more, visit www.threepipe.co.uk