Simon Lewis 🐝

Agency vs In-House. We hear this a lot from senior creatives considering a move In-house. It’s a tough call. There’s a big draw to both worlds. 💥 World-class (in-house teams) are emerging across Europe and the US—in both product and brand. They’re pushing creative boundaries, offering the freedom you’d expect at an agency, with the added bonus of long-term brand strategy and product influence. Plus the obvious… $￡. Agencies are still where some of the most beautiful, cutting-edge work happens. The variety, the pace, the constant push to break creative limits—why many stay agency-side. Working with top brands, keeping their portfolios fresh! Is the transition straightforward? Not entirely... – OPAL

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In-house marketers, are you considering outsourcing your Social Media? Join us Thursday for an engaging webinar where we delve into: Is your brand better off bringing the social & content function in-house or engaging an agency? How do you get buy-in from the rest of the business? Measuring success, how to do it, and justifying the ROI. The art and science of crafting compelling content that resonates with your audience on social platforms. Hit the link in the comments to register: #creativenatives

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It's time I introduced myself properly.   I'm taking inspiration from a post from my friend and fellow coach, Viviane Joynes. So here's a bit about me...   (This hashtag#BrandSpotlightPost is a great idea from Aarti Parmar - Brand Strategist. Contact her if you'd like to join in)   I’m Claire Wood, a qualified Career and Life Coach and Founder of Lightning Bolt Coaching.   I’m on a mission to empower mums returning to the work place by rebuilding their confidence and helping them carve out a career that balances better with motherhood. ⚖️🤱   The best thing about my job is knowing that I’m genuinely helping transform people’s lives.  I love seeing their confidence and self-belief sky rocket, and watching them start to break down the barriers that are getting in their way of achieving their goals and reaching their full potential.   My services include: ⚡️1:1 career and life coaching ⚡️Interview coaching & mentoring ⚡️CV & LinkedIn profile coaching & mentoring   The working world is not set up to help mums. Yes, it's getting better but there is a lot of work to do. ⚒️ My vision is to help: ⚡️mums to have the freedom and confidence to create their own future – where work fits into their family lives, not the other way round! ⚡️mums to get the support they desperately need when they return to work after maternity leave.   My Superpower is my ability to connect and build rapport easily with others. This enables my clients to feel able to talk openly, reflect deeply and be prepared to have their ways of thinking challenged – which is where I believe the magic of coaching happens! 🪄   Over the next 12 months, I’m looking to work or collaborate with:   Mums who: → are on / returning from maternity leave who have lost their confidence and need support navigating their way back into the work place. → have reassessed their priorities after having babies and realise that they need to pivot their career so that it balances better with motherhood. → have taken a prolonged period of time out of work and are unsure what to do next but feel like they need to future proof themselves before their kids fly the nest   Organisations who: → want to invest in coaching designed to support and nurture mums returning to work after maternity leave. → are spearheading change in the workplace that supports parents better   Now for a bit of fun.   These three emojis 👂✨⚡️🧭 best represent how I work with my clients: Listening and curiosity, magic (of coaching), lightning bolt moments which being clarity and help them navigate their next career steps!   Join in! What 1 to 3 emojis represent you?

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Freelance Help - June 2024 There are many conversations I have with candidates that have chosen to freelance perhaps as a temporary step, perhaps interim and for some, they are done with working full time for others. In all these scenarios, however you postion yourself, you are now 'in business' and in this marketplace in particular, you will have your fair share of 'getting business' (versus fulfilling it) unless you're smart, able and lucky, to be able to line up the client work before you leave full time employment. Based on 24 years working for myself, as a freelance/consultant/business owner, some key realities/thoughts: The work you get - Despite marketing yourself, the work you do will always act as the best calling card. Reputation is key - Being kind with all you engage with is part of the key to building the reputation, which gets you referrals. Core Referral Group - Despite all the thousands of emails, texts you send and calls you make, you will see that it's a core group of individuals and those allied to them that provide the bulk of your work opportunities. Fishing Location - Most of your competition and for a time you, will continue to seek opportunities where others seek work. Unless you have stand out content, find less crowded channels or expect low response rates. For instance, who these days sends anything in the post. Try it, most use social media! Fishing Timing - The best time to have a conversation is 'not' when work is advertised. Decide who you wish to work with and engage them now! Your Most Effective Channel - Working for yourself requires a range of opportunities and this requires raising your profile. Some newtwork well, some present well while others debate well and others prefer to write. Whatever you do you will do alot of it so, chose a path or combination of mediums which play to your strengths. The Power of in person - Digital media is amazing but what's more amazing, the connection you make with a person when you make the effort to travel to see them and the energy that's exchanged from an in-person meeting versus a phone or video connection. I swear by this simple but overlooked reality. Targeting - Topline, if you want to identify the lowest barrier to resistance to you getting work, follow the money. For instance, if an agency is pitching business even and particularly in cash strapped times, that is where money will be directed and potential great thinking welcomed and, one of 'your' best paths to working. I'll have a seminar soon to really expand on optimal targeting of freelance/new business opportunities, how to identify them and effectively engage them. Please email me if you are interested to take part at: [email protected]. Mindset - Final thing for now, when you aren't getting work the last thing you want to do is smile as the pressure mounts. That said, smile, it'll make you feel better and those you interact with are more likely to respond positively.

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‘I designed that… and it’s one of my proudest achievements’ mark whelan said to me as I walked out of the Havas London HQ. There are two things I love about out this… 1. An accomplished (British) leader being ok with saying ‘that’s one of my proudest achievements’. That just doesn’t happen. 2. The proudest achievement being something physical. That you can walk on. Look at. Touch. I wrote a thing about Spatial design making a resurgence recently. And I think a return to ‘physical’ isn’t just a counter movement to all the chat about AI and screens. I think it’s primal. I think humans want to feel things again. I think it’s why Cannes was flooded with humans. And I think it’s why Brands are investing in retail, experiential, events. Either way, if you didn’t know, now you know that Mark designed those cool stairs at Havas… and it’s actually a map of Kings Cross made from used metal from Kings Cross station. Luzz it. Thanks, Mark.

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A report I need everyone in PR, Marketing & Communications to read is One Step Forward, Two Steps Black. This report was recently released by UK Black Comms Network (BCN), founded by Kamiqua Lake, to increase the number and seniority of Black professionals in the UK PR and communications industry, which straddles over to influencer marketing and the work we do at SevenSix Agency. The report reveals that over 68% of Black and Mixed-Black professionals have considered leaving the PR industry. Black talent don't plan to stay in the industry and this needs to change. Download the report using the link below to find out more on the stats revealed. https://lnkd.in/e7YkmGYa

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🌿𝐈𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? Last Friday I had the pleasure of joining Darren Saul on his career development podcast series, to discuss the benefits of clear, consistent and constant career branding for a range of professional needs or contexts. We covered a lot of key issues/areas in our chat, such as why clear and engaging career branding matters, how it can be applied to optimise professional opportunities, and how consultants like myself can assist. A strong theme that came through was about being patient, strategic and proactive when undertaking any type of career development journey. 🛎Drop me a line or book an appointment via my LinkedIn profile if you'd like to discuss your specific career branding needs (business or professional). Also feel free to follow me on LinkedIn and subscribe to my newsletter for regular career branding tips and advice. #careerbranding #careerdevelopment #brandmarketing #personalbranding #resumewriting #linkedinprofilewriting https://lnkd.in/gU_bWSeQ

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Such a powerful and beautifully created animation by my sister's company! It’s amazing to see how storytelling can address important topics like family communication in such a relatable way. This piece is part of the (un)comfortable conversations initiative with NSPCC and Approachable Parenting, helping parents and professionals navigate these essential discussions. If you love the message and creativity behind this, please take a moment to vote and show your support!"

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This is insane... According to a report 41% of hiring managers say they're "too busy" to focus on Diversity and Inclusion. In this episode of Media Talks, I interview the lovely Giles Smith, CEO of Media Zoo whose motto is literally about "inspiring positive change." Giles speaks openly about his non-traditional background, how he came to run an award winning communications and digital production company and how important it is to leave your (positive) footprint on the world. An awesome interview that left me thinking about how more companies can adopt D&I and how #AI will impact the future of our industry... #diversityandinclusion #d&i #mediazoo #ai #careers #mediajobs https://lnkd.in/eVKRRpyZ

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The secret to creating a content strategy for talent attraction? If you want followers and engagement, give value through your content. If you want to attract passive candidates, use your content to demonstrate the culture of your company so that talent can assess whether they'll thrive in that environment or not. And if you want followers, engagement and to attract talent? Offer value through your content but leave them wanting more - so they come back again and again until you're hiring for a role that's right for both them and you. #EmployerBrand #TalentAttraction #SocialStrategy

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❔ How do you find time for professional development alongside work and home life? We’ve gathered lots of brilliant tips over the years from our students at PR Academy Ltd studying for their professional qualification. These are three of my favourites I thought I'd share: ➡ Match learning to your role. I spoke to PR Academy Crisis Comms Diploma alumni Chloe Chescoe Chart.PR, ACIPR for a feature on crisis comms recently, her advice: “Can you balance your continuous professional development with the needs of your role and your personal interests? I was interested in crisis and it was part of my role so I made that a part of my CPD.” ➡ Learn about something that interests you. Ché Donald - Chart.PR MCIPR had a similar view to Chloe when I spoke to him for the same feature: “Learning and development should not be viewed as onerous, it should be fun and when you are learning something which you are interested in or enjoy, it makes it so much easier. You can tell that I didn’t like studying to be a Civil Engineer, because I’m not one!” ➡ Make a plan. Tehmina Boman-Behram MCIPR is both PR Academy alumni and current student! She joined us for one of our regular online open events where we chat about CIPR qualifications. Her advice: “Put together a realistic, written study plan. The PR Academy Study Hub really helps with planning - there's a guide for each topic on how long it should take to complete that piece of learning, so you can write down a pretty accurate list of which topics you want to get through that week. Personally, I find bitesize learning - an hour or less at a time - suits me best and helps me to focus, rather than trying to get through too much in one go.” How do you find time? For me when I was studying for my #WSET wine qualifications I combined revision with other things. I recorded a lot of the key text book into my phone and would listen on the train or while out on a walk - it really worked! I've popped a link to the series of crisis communication profiles in the comments below.

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With yesterday being the last day of the daily print edition of the Evening Standard as it moves to a new weekly circulation, today’s (Fri 20 Sept) B2B Comms Breakdown live topic that Stacey Meadwell and I are discussing seems very, very timely.  We’re looking at the changing landscape for B2B content marketers with the lines between earned and paid channels becoming increasingly blurred. How effectively are you using paid, earned, owned and shared channels to get your company’s voice and brand in front of a bigger or more targeted audience? Are there more opportunities that you could be exploring as the mix is changing? The questions we’ll be covering are: • Have magazines had their day (earned media)? • What other avenues are open for getting more traction for your content (shared & paid media)? • Are you using your own channels effectively (owned media) See you at 1230. RSVP via the link in comments. #Marketing #BuiltEnvironment #Architects #Property

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What is a ‘Creative Strategist’ ?? 🤔🤔🤔 This is a VERY common hire right now, in particular for D2C brands. But, what does it mean and what do these people do? Take a look at this article as it explains it very well 🙌 Link in the comments 👇

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We had nearly 100 sign-ups for this yesterday and fully expect to hit capacity by the end of the week!! Who is the webinar for? 😎 Business Owners looking to bring on new business through social media. 😎 Senior Marketers looking to reduce their Paid Ad's spend  😎 Entrepreneurs that want to build their brand 😎 Anyone who works in Social media There is such an opportunity to gain traction with a well-thought-out Organic Social Media Strategy, we will have one of the best in the game 🌈 Cherie Clonan Clonan giving you a step-by-step guide to do so. This is going to be a brilliant masterclass packed full of practical tips to implement straight away that could save you $$$ and build a brand that your customers will love. Link in the comments- lets go!! #creativenatives

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Marketing comes in many forms and sometimes you just have to get right to the point. 👉Growing a business takes strategy, planning and action 👉Business goals -> marketing objectives 👉Speaking to the correct and ideal audience 👉Knowing what to say and when 👉Stepping in their shoes and understanding their pain points 👉Having the correct messaging to build relationships 👉Building a reputation 👉Growing a following 👉Being the go-to in your niche If you're struggling with ANY of these - I'm here to help. Book a FREE consultation and let's talk strategy #marketing #strategy #marketingcoach #businessgrowth #growthmindset

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For a well considered and in depth opinion on the latest rebrand from Jaguar, full of wit, intellect, opposing views and a judgement on what is right or wrong, then please scroll down. And keep scrolling. Scroll some more...... Keep going beyond this post...... LinkedIn is full of experts willing to share their opinion. Keep scrolling, you won't need to go far. You'll get all of the opinions eventually. Just not here..

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Confidence Whatever you may ‘think’… you wouldn’t do quite as much as you do… if it weren’t for… ‘confidence’…. Confidence is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something… It’s a form trust… "We had every confidence in the staff…" Or… “I had every ‘confidence’ in the place where I work… that I would be fine…” I don’t think as many people feel that way as perhaps they once did… According to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey… 23% of adults between the ages of 18 and 34 who have never been married… are unsure if they want children… and 18% say they just don't want any... 23%… Almost a quarter of a generation… This is an increase from 2018 to 2021… when the percentage of nonparents under 50 who said they were "not too likely" or "not likely at all" to have kids rose from 16% to 21%… and 21% to 23%… respectively… The survey also found that 69% of adults in this age group who have never been married would like to get married at some point… whereas… 8% simply do not want to get married… Why are these numbers so disturbingly high? It doesn’t take Einstein to imagine that increasingly… The barrier between marriage and having children… has a lot to do with… ‘confidence’… Some sense that things in one’s life will be stable enough to take the enormous step towards commitments that bind you to things much larger than yourself… The courage… As a ’culture’… we seem to have drifted into a state of such instability… that nearly a quarter of the next generation… just no longer have faith in the future… It’s too precarious… It t be a fear of war… or violence of some sort… But simple job stability It’s more often stated as a reason… Technology… Innovation… disruption… change… Those dazzling qualities that we all marvel at… Are thrilled to see… constantly arriving… and “making life better...” Just happen to also be discouraging the next generation of the our species… Just happen to be dousing our… ‘confidence’… Resulting in a generation that simply doesn’t have faith… or just can’t trust… that bringing children into the world would be a great idea… Who would? Every time you turn around… companies are being gobbled up by one another… technologies are destroying systems… And although new systems come along to replace them… those too are quickly made redundant… It’s a merry-go-round… Just one where the speed has accelerated so much that people are now flying off of it… The rapid succession of technologies obviously favor an elite few… craving billions in new wealth… Again… for a few… But for the majority… It’s a world of uncertainty… Hence… the ’confidence deficit’… Confidence comes from the Latin… ‘confidere’… "to have full trust or reliance….” ‘Con’… or ‘com’… meaning… “together… or… with one another…“ + ‘fidere’… "to trust… rely… confide… be true…” There is little certainty when bringing life into the world… Add uncertainty to one’s own prospects… And you get to 23%…

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