Dave has been at iThinkMedia nearly from the beginning. He keeps everyone happy: staff, clients – you name it. He is also very handy to have around, catching spiders and defrosting the freezer.
DC: I joined in 2010 and was delighted to finally use my Marketing degree. After leaving university, I travelled and then took a job as an estate agent (I like to talk a lot!) but was made redundant twice in four years due to poor market conditions.
It was this that made me really think about what I wanted to do with my future and gave me the push to get back to marketing. A few job applications and hand-written letters later, Chris replied and asked me in for an interview and the rest, as they say, is history!
DC: My role has changed so much! I started out not knowing much about SEO and my first job was to carry out link building for an online computer magazine, so I learned a lot on-the-job.
I worked my way through the various facets of SEO, soon becoming an account manager for one of our first clients Mothercare. From here I moved into client relations and new business. The new business side of things grew and this is now my main remit, which I really enjoy.
DC: Not long after we had landed eBay as a client, Chris and I were invited to Berlin to present our insights to the European marketing team. It was only a day trip, but being put in front of these experienced marketers to take them through our presentation and recommendations was a great experience so early on in my career. It really pushed me to keep progressing at iThinkMedia.
Also, I’ve loved finding somewhere where I actually enjoy going to work. With so many of my previous jobs, I dreaded going in to work every day. Here, no day is the same and there’s a great bunch of people to bounce ideas around with and have a giggle.
DC: There’s no secret, Chris makes it easy. He’s not corporate or stuffy, and I’m not either. Also, we’re both some of the few parents in the office and regularly share stories of our kid’s trials and tribulations which helps keep us sane!
DC: I really would love a Tesla Model S – it looks amazing, has so much tech in it and the potential of being a driverless car is so exciting! And the Insane Mode is something else!
DC: Artificial Intelligence. I’ve been reading a lot about this and the possibilities are mind-boggling. I know AI will be a huge benefit for retailers and marketers if used in ways that can benefit their customers.
It’s something that is going to have a massive impact on digital marketing as a whole, as the premise behind the solutions could do away with SEO! But I know there’s always a need for the human element within marketing so it’s going to come down to who can utilise the technology in the smartest way possible.
It’s interesting to think about the wider impact it could have on society as a whole. Boosting digital skills now is well worth it as coding is going to be a second language in the future.
DC: Do your research and know exactly what you want to achieve by engaging an agency. Ask them to provide examples of their work and even allow you to speak with existing clients.
Be as specific as possible with what you want. It is almost a given that you are either going to want more traffic, customers or data capture (etc), but is there a particular area of the business you need to build out to achieve this? The more detail you give, the easier it will be for an agency to provide an accurate proposal and price.