Visionary Senior Executive with over 20 years of strategic, commercial, and marketing communication leadership experience, including 18 years across marketing communications and events within various industries and countries. Strong track record of maximising value through strategic partnerships and engagement programmes and driving revenue across complex multi-channel commercial environments. Ability to draw on deep understanding of customer behaviours and story-telling to develop highly effective marketing communications campaigns to increase awareness and relevance. Also brings a breadth of experience across business operations, and a focus on building high-performing organisational cultures and teams.
– Leading delivery of creative vision and seamless fan experience for opening and closing ceremonies, sports presentation, Fan Zone, and links to Liverpool's River of Light Festival, creating immersive, youthful, digital-first inclusive programmes that captivate audience imagination and engage with fans.
– Established best-in-class readiness programme and team for 'Get Set for the Games' communications campaign, consulting on digital products and website content, and influencing communications strategy, including significant increase in social media as a key customer service tool.
– Defined marketing and customer strategy forthe Rugby League World Cup event reporting directly to CEO and board, accountable for brand development, ticketing revenue, hospitality, merchandise, communications, social media, PR, media and public affairs, digital, insight, research and CRM. Managed £9M budget and 25 FTEs. – Exceeded ticket sales goals by 25% despite COVID-19; smashed revenue target running first-ever Rugby League public ticket ballot and award-winning marketing communications campaign. Grew CRM database by 50%, introducing new demographics, some 53% to the sport, and launched ticket-selling via affiliates, a sport first. – Developed and delivered innovative refund strategy that retained 81% of ticketing revenue, well above industry average, following postponement of the event in Jul 2021. Created member loyalty programme for those with retained tickets. – Won one Gold and two Bronze marketing Effie awards across three different categories – Entertainment and Sports, Rising to the Challenge of 2020, and Small Campaign Budgets. Won Best Social Media Campaign of the Year 2021 through Prolific North PR Awards.
– Created go-to-market strategy for speedway events in four countries, managing social content creation and delivery, driving ticket and hospitality sales, and managing media operations. Worked with commercial partners (GoPro / Monster Energy Drinks), led marketing and content team, and reported to Group CEO of Motorsport. – Boosted ticket sales by 20% within four months; pioneered marketing ticketing plan, and influenced social media and content teams to improve targeting and tracking, as well as creating PR and communications plan that increased social engagement by 46% for important profit-making hospitality events in Cardiff. – Developed new brand look and image strategy for 2020, including commemorative 20th year event in Cardiff.
– Trusted advisor to senior executive leadership, ensuring readiness of communication and transport team, and responsible for devising resilient mitigation strategies to resolve all operational, messaging and channel usage roadblocks to best reach Japanese and international audiences.
– Senior thought leader, developing fit-for-purpose communications and mobility strategy for 12-country Euro 2020 tournament covering environment, audience, channels, timescales and full landscape of marketing and communication operations for implementation plan. – Advised on deal negotiation and procurement of a digital tool, embedded into UEFA App that integrated location-based services and notifications, as well as digital ticketing and journey planning.
– Created Spectator Marketing Communications strategy that met all key milestones and event deliverables across end-to-end spectator experience, designing cost-effective plan and overseeing implementation by transport and communication teams.
– Appointed senior advisor to multistakeholder executive leadershipteam, comprising Queensland Government, Gold Coast City Council and 2018 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, creating overarching marketing strategy for Games messaging across all touchpoints. Managed $6.5M budget. – Achieved 98% campaign awareness, 55% intention to change, and 35% claimed behaviour change; masterminded 'Get Set for the Games' brand, and developed integrated, multichannel transport communication campaigns with >35 executions, including TV and cinema advertising, digital and social. – Drove ticket sales of 98%, neutralising severe media and community resistance; delivered four phases of PR campaign messaging (digital, social media, electronic and print channels), gaining >25K Facebook followers, and created 300-page website as single source of truth for locals, businesses and visitors with >650K unique visitors.
– Led fully integrated transport marketing communications programme, achieving 35% travel behaviourchange, outperforming 25% target needed to ensure efficacy of Cardiff's transport systems by successfully galvanising complex array of UEFA, Welsh Government and transport agency stakeholders. Garnered significant positive media and political post-event stories, against previous immensely negative reputation.
– Developed strategic framework for transport communications that delivered 15% increase in parking revenue and 20% change in behaviour; developed parking ticketing and pricing strategy for each venue, and led integration of transport plans into messaging for target audiences, including real-time information and advice.
– Headed multi-audience, complex messaging campaign that delivered 85% campaign awareness and 42% behaviour change (against 35% target), including award-winning approach to social media for real-time messaging with prompt service response, achieving 85% overall spectator experience levels. – Introduced and implemented new games time communication structure, now industry standard, where all stakeholders took part virtually to deal with incidents or media enquiries quickly and consistently.
– Spearheaded world's first integrated marketing communications strategy for Contactless Payment Cards (payWave) on London's transport network, working with Barclays, Visa, Mastercard and Amex for launch of contactless payment cards. Member of SLT, managing 35-strong team and £6M budget. – Met 12-month usage target within one month, and twice target in three months; developed visionary strategy that achieved local, national and international awareness, behaviour education and conversion, establishing collaborative workflows that drove successful launch. Secured yearly funding for acquisition / retention campaigns.
– Developed and delivered 13-time award-winning, £18M marketing strategy for 2012 London Olympics, including brand building, PR, social media, advertising, CRM, and digital. Led multidisciplinary team of >25 in most successful ever travel behaviour change campaign in the UK, affecting 8.5M additional London trips. – Outperformed all transport marketing deliverables; managed >35 PR events with >£2.5M equivalent value advertising space and 86% audience engagement levels, secured >76K Twitter followers with >113M impressions and >7.4M PR-related activity related impressions. Delivered 'Get Ahead of the Games' website, securing 7.4M visitors in seven months and £5.5M 'free' advertising space through delivery partners.
COMMUNICATION ROLES 2001 - 2010