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Communication Director Digital Strategist
Linus Gathara’s Post
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The best… go go go
Come and join our strategy team, working alongside me, Richard Kirk, Lucy McMullin, and Claire McAlpine, on some of our most exciting clients. Apply now through the link below or let me know if you have any questions - and please do share with anyone you know who may be looking. We're interested in people already in strategy roles or who work in a related field (especially comms planning) who want to move into a strategy role. https://lnkd.in/eSQYSUn3 #strategy #mediastrategy #mediaplanning
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Strategic communicator and leader with a passion for building trust, driving excellence, and inspiring progress through people-centric leadership.
What does APO Group offer and what's your need? - 360 PR support - Communication strategy development and implementation - Tactical planning - Strategic Media pitch - Media Roundtable - Meet & Greet - Influencer management - Media event organisation & management - Media Invitations - On site media management - On ground press conference - OPC - Hybrid OPC - Interview organisation - Op-ed m/thought leadership - Speaker opportunities - Event attendance identification - Industry awards - Strategic consulting - Key messaging - Advocacy - Media training - Trend analysis - Insights reports - Landscaping - Research analysis reports - Government relations - Sustainability & social impact - Crisis communication - Reputation management & monitoring - Risk assessment - Reputational repair - Pan African news release - International news release - Photo distribution - Radio content distribution - Video content distribution - Live streaming - Qualitative pitching - Copywriting (opinion piece, thought leadership, feature articles, press releases, blog post, white paper, listicles, infographics, case study, byline articles, annual sustainability reports, annual reports, research, script, speeches, talking points, interview questions - Copy editing - Design (logo development, corporate identity materials, branded content, creative campaigns, website design) - Social media marketing - Social media listing - Search engine ads - Digital strategy - Influencer engagement - Social media content management - SEO - You dream it at a Pan African level, we talk about it, and make it happen is part of the package. What are you waiting for?
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At a very interesting scaleup event this week, I was talking in a group of founders and most of them agreed on one thing; they need #PR and #communications but didn't have the money to pay a full timer and most had had a less than positive experience with a freelancer. What became apparent is that their bad experience stemmed from not being clear about what they needed with regards to comms, not really understanding what it could achieve and therefore not having a clear goal and - most importantly - they thought they could just jump right in and 'be in the FT'. What could have been different for these companies? 🔹 Firstly, they need to get their foundations right; audience segmentation, channel mapping, messaging and a clear #strategic plan. A lot of people think their marketing people have done this job and it can just be rolled out across any discipline. But, if you're moving to longer term activity like PR, all that work needs auditing against your new objectives. Remember that you can't build a solid house without a base. 🔹 Once you have that in place, you'll need to plan out your tactical execution, integrating each element with your sales and marketing. There is a lot of overlap between the disciplines and a solid plan that incorporates every channel will ensure efficient across the team, as well as consistent and impactful communications. 🔹 The final step is measurable roll out, which needs to be a sustained effort. PR won't yield overnight results and you won't know what is changing if you aren't tracking against stringent KPIs. I always recommend a #brand awareness and sentiment exercise at the start of a contract, which can be used for regular [at least annual] benchmarking. That will be the best show of whether activity is moving the dial for you. A lot of the initial work can take up resources that growth organisations don't really have. But, it is worth doing. Hiring in senior, strategic consultancy to get the fundamentals in place and support your marketing team can be a strong alternative to hiring a CCO. The most important thing is to find someone who understands your brand and who you can be honest with. If you need some senior comms support or just have a question about how you could get started, do feel free to drop me a line!
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Impact-driven comms consultant. Strategy & brand positioning, creative campaign development, writing & editing. Co-founder, Catch - a B Corp certified communications agency for impact-driven brands
Five weeks ago we announced that our agency, Catch, was no longer operating in its current form. We downed tools and what followed has probably been the strangest ‘holiday’ of my life. So here I am, new year, same me and I’m looking for work. After running an agency for eight years, I’m struggling to know what I actually ‘do’ - but if you’re an impact-led company (big or small) or a comms agency in need of some help, and you think any of the following sounds useful then hit me up… 🤝 Agency matchmaking (more on this soon) - if you’re a startup that’s wasted thousands of pounds finding the right comms or PR agency, I can help - auditing the problem, working to develop a (practical) brief and holding your hand through the hiring process to increase success for everyone. 🎯 Impact strategy & positioning - with 8 years working specifically for brands and organisations with a social purpose, I can help you find white space and devise an approach to comms that builds long term value. ✏ Messaging, copywriting and editing - I’m a writer at heart and this is my happy place - from mission statements to op eds, writing, cutting and moving around words. 🎨 Creative campaign ideation - does what it says on the tin, hopefully. Clever, human-centred campaign ideas that resonate in the real world and bring your mission to life. 🗞 Media strategy - more bread and butter stuff - whether you need advice on an announcement or a more in depth approach to PR. And finally…agencies - if you want any support on how to build an inclusive culture, manage remote teams or need an extra pair of hands on biz dev and proposals, I can bring a fair whack of experience into the mix. I’ll leave it there…
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Communications and Marketing Director | Nonprofit Professional | Brand Strategist
In looking for a #communications or #marketing director, smaller companies sometimes try to hire a comms "superstar" who can do it all: digital marketing, content, writing, editing, social media, graphic design—you name it. ✨ Not to mention budgeting and management. I think this approach is wrongheaded for a number of reasons. 1. Eventually, a comms director who has to do all of those things (and more) will burn out. 💥 No one person can realistically produce every deliverable or meet every single deadline, especially if the organization wants to grow, which brings us to... 2. It's not scalable. 📉 Constantly pinch-hitting for every potential member of a functional comms team will keep the director from being able to do their biggest job: assessing, reevaluating, and charting the best path forward. 3. It limits the amount of talent you can bring in. ♻ If the comms director ever leaves, then the organization has to spend time and resources looking for another unicorn to take their place, rather than promoting internally from talent that the director has been able to identify and develop. Are comms and marketing chops important? Unequivocally, yes. But they shouldn't come at the expense of #leadership ability.
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Morning Peeps!! Picture this: Bring your business savvy to the table, seamlessly integrating marketing communication strategy into our 360 media campaigns. 📈 And let's not forget your digital prowess-knowing exactly what it takes to captivate audiences on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. 📱 Are you a problem-solving maestro with a knack for project management? Let's chat about this exciting role, where every day is a new adventure in creativity and innovation! 🚀 Apply now and let's shape the future together! 🌟 #CreativeConsultant #DigitalCampaigns #FMCGMarketing 🌟
Content & Creative Marketing Lead, APAC
aplitrak.com
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Comms, PR & Marketing may seem the same to many but all of these elements should always be respected and treated differently than the other. But having them together as a strategic package will definately brings the intended message to the target audience to the objective. That being said, Comms is not Marketing and both of this is definitely not PR, but together they will deliver a compelling strategy, telling the right story to the right audience. On top all these three, coupled with the right graphics support, you will get the message across the intended target with better impact. #comms #PR #marketing #strategy
I don't know who needs to hear this, but: Comms ≠ Marketing ≠ PR I'm a scientist by training and it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the subtle -- but substantial! -- differences between these functions as I have transitioned from the lab to having my own comms consultancy. Here's a **very simplified** rubric I came up with to describe the basic activites of these groups and how they overlap. Typically, for a biotech/techbio startup, you'll want to first engage a (sci) comms specialist to help you develop your corporate and scientific narrative and apply it to your key channels (pitch deck, website, maybe social media). Then, when you are ready to make a public announcement, you'll need a Public Relations expert who can connect you to reporters and can help tailor the comms messages to get coverage. Lastly, once you are ready to engage a boarder audience (typically of customers or patients), you'll be ready to engage a marketing expert who can create things like paid social campaigns and ads to drive specific outcomes (sales, signups, clicks, etc). Now, there are some people and agencies who do all of these functions. There are also lots of activities and similarity/differences that I didn't cover (audience and channels for two). But hopefully this is a good starting point for understanding how these functions work together to tell your company story. Do you have other questions about comms/PR/marketing? Ask away! Do you disagree with my description of these roles? Let me know!
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A great graphic-at-a-glance on the differences between comms, marketing and PR. (Much more could be added -- marketing should include product and pricing, not just promotion; marketing and PR are not the same as advertising; need to know your audience(s), not just your message(s) ...)
I don't know who needs to hear this, but: Comms ≠ Marketing ≠ PR I'm a scientist by training and it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the subtle -- but substantial! -- differences between these functions as I have transitioned from the lab to having my own comms consultancy. Here's a **very simplified** rubric I came up with to describe the basic activites of these groups and how they overlap. Typically, for a biotech/techbio startup, you'll want to first engage a (sci) comms specialist to help you develop your corporate and scientific narrative and apply it to your key channels (pitch deck, website, maybe social media). Then, when you are ready to make a public announcement, you'll need a Public Relations expert who can connect you to reporters and can help tailor the comms messages to get coverage. Lastly, once you are ready to engage a boarder audience (typically of customers or patients), you'll be ready to engage a marketing expert who can create things like paid social campaigns and ads to drive specific outcomes (sales, signups, clicks, etc). Now, there are some people and agencies who do all of these functions. There are also lots of activities and similarity/differences that I didn't cover (audience and channels for two). But hopefully this is a good starting point for understanding how these functions work together to tell your company story. Do you have other questions about comms/PR/marketing? Ask away! Do you disagree with my description of these roles? Let me know!
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VERY important. Very different specialties and expertises. The shifting from Comms to Marketing and PR is not something that is simple.
I don't know who needs to hear this, but: Comms ≠ Marketing ≠ PR I'm a scientist by training and it took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out the subtle -- but substantial! -- differences between these functions as I have transitioned from the lab to having my own comms consultancy. Here's a **very simplified** rubric I came up with to describe the basic activites of these groups and how they overlap. Typically, for a biotech/techbio startup, you'll want to first engage a (sci) comms specialist to help you develop your corporate and scientific narrative and apply it to your key channels (pitch deck, website, maybe social media). Then, when you are ready to make a public announcement, you'll need a Public Relations expert who can connect you to reporters and can help tailor the comms messages to get coverage. Lastly, once you are ready to engage a boarder audience (typically of customers or patients), you'll be ready to engage a marketing expert who can create things like paid social campaigns and ads to drive specific outcomes (sales, signups, clicks, etc). Now, there are some people and agencies who do all of these functions. There are also lots of activities and similarity/differences that I didn't cover (audience and channels for two). But hopefully this is a good starting point for understanding how these functions work together to tell your company story. Do you have other questions about comms/PR/marketing? Ask away! Do you disagree with my description of these roles? Let me know!
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