We’re a friendly bunch at Realia Marketing and like to get to know our clients and working partners, so we thought it was only fair to share a little about ourselves too.
For the next instalment of our ‘Meet Team Realia’ series, meet Art Director, Tom, who joined Realia Marketing back in February 2018…
Tom, can you share three things about yourself that not many others may know?
Growing up on a working farm in Kent, meant that I learnt a lot of interesting skills, including driving tractors! I have happy memories of sitting on my Dad’s lap when I was seven or eight years old steering, whilst he controlled the pedals.
As well as my tractor driving abilities, I’ve always been a true creative. When attending primary school, I remember drawing a pretty impressive version of my Dad’s Range Rover. The headmistress of the school was so impressed with the drawing, she wanted to show it to some other children. My Range Rover drawing was never returned, which was deeply upsetting!
Following on from my creative tendencies at school, knowing that I wanted to work within the creative industry, I went to West Kent College to study for a National Diploma in Graphic Design. It was here that I met my wife, Emma (who is also a creative!). From there, I went to work at a local farming magazine, which gave me invaluable experience into the world of design.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?
When I’m not working, I like to step away from the Mac and channel my creativity into home DIY projects. I’ve built many things out of wood and brick, although, my biggest project to date was the creation of our patio, which involved building a 6 ft high retaining wall. While the project was difficult, it was actually very rewarding.
Can you explain how your role has changed during the pandemic?
Technology was always a big component of my work in a pre-pandemic world and Coronavirus has certainly amplified the use of technology even more. It has been good to introduce Zoom calls to our clients. I can receive a brief directly and am able to understand their needs more fully.
But, one thing that I’ve also encountered during the pandemic (which I’m sure many others have encountered too) is technology annoyances which come hand in hand with working from home. Occasional slow loading times and intermittent internet (which comes with living in a rural town!) has certainly improved my patience – life is too short.
I’ve also found that due to the rapid changes within the pandemic, and our desire as an agency to support our clients fully, I have needed to be even more agile in my work to meet some pretty tight deadlines. I’ve enjoyed adapting my ways of working and I do believe we’ll see more of this in a post-pandemic world.
What type of changes do you think we’ll see as marketers in a post-virus world?
Similar to what Steph speaks about in her Meet the Team piece, I do believe we are going to continue to see more marketing initiatives going online.
I also believe that video will become even more important in the social media landscape. With social distancing in place, I feel that people will turn to video to get the human contact they are missing. I think more than ever we want to see the people behind the brand.
What advice would you give to businesses that need to step up their marketing in this current climate?
I really do feel that people should try to make video a key component of their marketing strategy going forward. The more personable the better, people buy from people! There is always a risk that you can alienate some people, but it also means that you’ll be attracting your ideal customer who shares your organisation’s ethos and mission.
Realia – July 2020
