Can you tell us about Marketing Talk and who it’s for?

Marketing Talk is an online community and events series designed especially for marketers who want to take their skills and knowledge to the next level, from students to mid-level roles or those making a career change. 

Over the course of my career in marketing, I noticed that a lot of marketing events and conferences are often geared towards senior marketers – especially decision-makers and those who hold the purse strings. In reality, often it’s the less experienced team members who would benefit from the knowledge shared and connections made, especially those who work in a small team or are even the sole marketer in their business. How are you supposed to gain those skills if you don’t have easy and regular access to those resources and groups? 

 Marketing Talk felt like a way to help level the playing field and provide free, accessible insights for everyone.

What can attendees expect from the events? 

Our talks have ranged from specific marketing channel insights through to more general knowledge-building such as what a top agency CEO looks for in a new hire, and how to map out your career progression. 

 Our talks are held on a Friday lunchtime every 6 weeks or so, via Zoom webinar and usually have a presentation followed by a more informal fireside chat. We always upload the recording to LinkedIn and the Silicon Brighton Community Hub afterwards too, for anyone who missed it or wants to watch it back.  

“We’re focused on working with speakers who can provide genuinely useful, actionable and fuss-free insight – and who aren’t trying to sell you something.”

You had some fantastic speakers at your last event, how did you come to approach Kristian Bannister and Megan Saker?

I can’t take credit for that, Steve Rackley and the team at Silicon Brighton have an amazing network of marketers from across Brighton they’ve been tapping in to, including Kristian and Megan! I’ve also been reaching out to my extended network and casting the net more wid

ely, as it’s really important to us that we provide a platform for a diverse range of speakers from all backgrounds.

Anyone who comes to a Marketing Talk event is invited to speak, whether they want to deliver a full presentation or even just a brief update to share a campaign or something they’ve learned. Getting your first taste of public speaking can be really daunting, but one of the great things about remote events is that a lot of the anxiety of getting up there is taken away! 

“The work the team at Silicon Brighton is doing is so important, especially in the current climate. There are so many fantastic people looking for roles at the moment, so the more we can support our local talent and bring new opportunities to our city, the better.”

What did you learn or find most valuable from the talks? 

Across our three events so far, it’s been great to get such a broad range of insights. At our very first event we had my CMO from a previous role, Jess Stephens, who has been a huge influence on me and my career. Being able to work with Jess again and include one of the people who has been so important to me was a real highlight.

I was also incredibly excited when Phill Agnew of Brandwatch agreed to speak at our September event. Phill hosts one of my favourite marketing podcasts, Nudge, and shared some fascinating insight about behavioural psychology and how it can be applied to your campaigns. Over 400 people registered for that event – we were blown away. 

What’s in store for the future, will this be a regular event series?  

The future is exciting for Marketing Talk. Just this morning I spoke to our fireside speaker for our next event on January 15th – I can’t wait to announce who it is. Our vision for Marketing Talk was always also to grow the community elements too. Via the new Silicon Brighton Community Hub we hope to grow an interactive forum of marketers in Brighton and beyond, who can connect, compare notes and bounce ideas off one another. 

Who knows, maybe we’ll even be able to do an in-person event one day…

“we hope to grow an interactive forum of marketers in Brighton and beyond, who can connect, compare notes and bounce ideas off one another.”

Can you tell us a bit about your own background? And the work you do outside of Marketing Talk?

My career started with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and since graduating in 2013 I’ve worked across a few brands in industries including environmental, financial services, pet care & travel. 

I specialised in CRM for a number of years and my experience of becoming part of the email marketing community was a big inspiration for starting Marketing Talk. I connected with so many passionate CRM marketers at events and virtually, and had the chance to speak at a few events in the UK & Europe. Thanks to the support from those around me I was able to go from being a terrified panellist to a keynote speaker – I would love to be able to help others do the same thing.

Recently, I started a new job as Head of Brand at Brighton-based independent tea mixology company Bird & Blend, which I am absolutely loving.  

How did you come to work with Silicon Brighton? What benefits and support have you seen?

Many moons ago, Steve and I worked in the same building and crossed paths in the lift now and then. I had been following the work of Silicon Brighton and came to the launch event back in 2019 which was excellent. Soon after, Steve and I reconnected and planned to start a series of events at my office, which never came to be thanks to COVID. We decided to give it a go virtually over the summer, and the rest is history.

The work the team at Silicon Brighton is doing is so important, especially in the current climate. There are so many fantastic people looking for roles at the moment, so the more we can support our local talent and bring new opportunities to our city, the better. 

“Silicon Brighton have an amazing network of marketers from across Brighton they’ve been tapping into”

Where can people connect with you? Or learn more about Marketing Talk? 

On my profile you’ll find links to watch back our previous events and more information about Marketing Talk. I would love to hear what you think or if you would like to speak at a future event, so please get in touch.

Anything you’d like to add?

Our next event on 15th January should hopefully blow your socks off… We’ve got two amazing speakers lined-up and we can’t wait to bring them to our Marketing Talk community! Details will be announced on the Eventbrite page very soon!

 Hope to see you there!