30 under 30 Continued

Job title: Senior Account Manager.

Company: Propaganda.

Qualifications: “A” Levels in English, Sociology and Media.

Place of birth: Huddersfield.

Career to date: At Propaganda from November 1999 to present date. Initially employed as Assistant to the Creative Director, progressing to Account Executive, Account Manager and at the end of 2002 to Senior Account Manager.

Biggest achievement: Being intrinsic to the strategic development of the accounts that I handle, which has ensured that I am listened to and respected by my clients over and above the day-to-day aspects of account management.

Goals: Account Director at 22, Client Services Director at 25, Managing Director at 28, retired by 30.

Role model: Julian Kynaston. He set up Propaganda at the age of 21 with the £500 limit on his credit card and has taken it to be one of the North of England’s most successful consultancies.

Professional pet hates: Inaction. People who strive for 100 per cent only to get there when it’s too late. Always go at 90 per cent!

Name: Rowena Mayor.

Date of birth: 14 June 1976.

Job title: Account Manager.

Company: HRO’C Ltd.

Qualifications: CAM Foundation. BSc(Hons) Clothing and Marketing 2:2.

Place of birth: Birmingham.

Career to date: On leaving university I secured a position as graduate trainee PR Account Executive, which led to my appointment as Account Manager, where I worked and headed up accounts such as “One For All”, a consumer electronics company. This meant dealing with overseas clients on a regular basis, including presenting, researching campaign updates and results/evaluations to the board of directors in Holland. After handling many high-profile accounts, including RMC’s corporate PR strategy surrounding its return to the Interbuild exhibition after 20 years, I felt that a change of direction was needed, so applied for, and was successful in gaining, an internal post within an agency, the advertising arm of the HRO’C Group.

Biggest achievement: Taking over a high-profile consumer and trade account within weeks of joining HRO’C. This client went on to become a significant income-generating account largely because of the initial contact and development by me.

Goals: To become account director within the next three years.

Role model: There is no one individual that I look up to. I am inspired by those around me.

Pet hates: Rudeness and negativity.

Name: Nina Wheeler.

Date of birth: 4 August 1973.

Job title: Owner.

Company: Brazen.

Qualifications: 2:1 BA Hons English & Philosophy.

Place of birth: Rochdale.

Career to date: Set up Brazen in 2001 (now £1.2m turnover and 26 staff in only 2 years). Senior Account Director at Mason Williams. Account Manager at Harrison Cowley. Account Executive at Marksman PR.

Biggest achievement: Setting up Brazen at the age of 27, re-inventing the way agencies in the North West do PR, and becoming widely hailed as the “Terriers” of the PR world.

Goals: To produce an agency full of the best PR people in the country, who all love what they do and do it brilliantly. And want my job so I can retire.

Role model: Four-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong – no matter how big the hill, he keeps climbing up it. And Emma Thornley – joint founder of Brazen. She’s the calm to my storm.

Pet hates: Agencies and people who can’t bear to say “well done”.

Name: Robin Bryant.

Date of birth: 9 April 1975.

Job Title: Creative Director/Board Director.

Company: Mitham Bryant Smith Advertising.

Place of birth: Bishops Stortford.

Qualifications: BA Degree, HND, Design and Advertising.

Career to date: Worked at a number of London agencies on some key campaigns, including St Ivel Utterly Butterly and Guinness, both as art director, before helping to set up Mitham Bryant Smith. I then joined Fox Kalomaski and, as creative head, worked on some major retail and travel accounts, including Debenhams, Bluewater, Allders, Kingdom of Leather, Air New Zealand, Australian Tourist Commission and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS).

Biggest achievement: Starting my own new business.

Goals: To grow Mitham Bryant Smith to be East Anglia’s leading advertising agency.

Role model: Neville Brody.

Pet hates: Bad typography and image reproduction.

Name: Philip Pitcher.

Date of birth: 18 October 1978.

Job title: Creative/Art Director.

Company: Like A River.

Qualifications: Four “A” Levels and First Class BA Hons in Graphic Design & Advertising.

Place of birth: Preston, Lancashire.

Career to date: Pre-graduation – placements at Forepoint and Stuart Lawrence Group. Post-graduation – working at Like A River for the last two years.

Biggest achievement: Being involved with nominated and award winning work and gaining employment at a top agency before even graduating.

Goals: To continue developing and learning, gaining respect from my peers, giving clients what they need, not what they want, while picking up the odd award along the way. Ultimately ending with my own company or a creative director position and helping the continued growth of the creative industry in the North!

Role model: Impossible to pick just one. The likes of Hegarty, Abbott and Fletcher spring to mind.

Pet hates: Badly written briefs, PowerPoint, Comic Sans typeface, Clip art. “Is it possible to merge concept two with concept four?” And “Can you make the logo bigger?”

Name: Jo Phillips.

Date of birth: 2 July 1975.

Job title: Account Director and General Manager of Banks Love UK.

Company: Banks Love.

Qualifications: Institute of Sales Promotion Diploma BA (Hons) Business Studies.

Place of birth: Shropshire.

Career to date: Banks Love 2003 – present. Blue Chip Marketing 1997–2002.

Biggest achievement: Establishing Banks Love in the UK from day one and building a fantastic team.

Goals: To expand Banks Love in the UK market, developing, motivating and growing a great team as we go. Be Managing Director of the best sales promotion agency in the UK.

Role model: Barbara Cassani, founder and director of low-cost airline Go.

Name: Sarah Deakin.

Date of birth: 8 December 1977.

Job title: Account Director.

Company: Swamp.

Qualifications: BA Hons in Broadcast Journalism, University of Leeds.

Place of birth: Huddersfield.

Career to date: Account Manager at Fi System Brand New Media. Multimedia Service Delivery Manager at Orange Multimedia Operations. Account Director at Swamp.

Biggest achievement: Increased profit margins on all Swamp projects by implementing new project management process.

Goals: To turn Swamp into a top five digital agency in the next two years.

Role model: Paul Mallett – MD at Swamp.

Pet hates: Clients who change the brief, but don’t want to change the budget to match.

Name: John Lowdon.

Date of birth: 11 September 1976.

Job title: Graphic Designer.

Company: Dutton Merrifield.

Qualifications: BA Hons Graphic Design.

Place of birth: Luton.

Career to date: Junior Designer at Ledger Bennett Advertising in Leighton Buzzard. Joined Dutton Merrifield in 2000.

Biggest achievement: Working alongside the 3 global brand team to help produce and develop the 3 brand and, amongst ongoing projects, design of 3 welcome pack and user guides.

Goals: To start my own business and to become a lecturer in Graphic Design.

Role model: Doug Hamilton.

Pet hates: Saying “I” instead of “we”. Not apologising for being wrong, and wage structures.

Name: Sarah Dufton.

Date of birth: 10 May 1975.

Job title: Associate Director.

Company: Tangerine PR.

Qualifications: BA Hons Communication & Media Studies.

Place of birth: Lancaster.

Career to date: Junior Account Executive at Grayling. Account Executive and Account Manager at Stuart Lawrence PR. Senior Account Manager at Cicero PR. Account Director, leading to Associate Director at Tangerine PR.

Biggest achievement: Establishing Tangerine PR in 2002 alongside MD Sandy Lindsay, developing the business and achieving a profit in the first year.

Goals: Deliver bigger and better results for Tangerine PR to make it one of the largest and most successful PR companies in the NW in five years’ time. Win a “Consultancy of the Year” award.

Role model: Alastair Gornall, who has grown and sold off two of the UK’s most successful public relations consultancies – Scope and Consolidated Communications.

Pet hates: PR agencies that over-promise and under-deliver on results, giving the industry and the rest of us a bad name! People who aren’t willing to go the extra mile. Companies who “misuse” work experience students (they are there to learn not just make tea!). People who consider “young” to mean “can’t do” or “not experienced”.

Name: Merle Andrea Goll.

Date of birth: 1 December 1975.

Job title: Assistant Graphic Designer.

Company: Big Squid.

Place of birth: Preetz, Germany.

Qualifications: BA (Hons) Graphic Design, National Diploma.

Career to date: Started as a graphic designer at Dutton Merrifield, joined McCann-Erickson Bristol and then, recently, moved to Big Squid.

Biggest achievement: Getting a job at Big Squid and changing direction a little from concentrating on print to the moving image.

Role model: Stephanie Girard, a former Dutton Merrifield designer. Very thorough, amazing at her job and generally a wonderful person.

Pet hates: Clients who don’t listen to or trust the judgement of their design and marketing team. People who do not work as a team.

Name: Karla Doughty.

Date of birth: 19 August 1975.

Job title: Business Development Manager.

Company: National Magazines.

Qualifications: HND in Design Communications, MA in Design Management, also CAM (communications advertising and marketing) certificate, various training in the usual presentation skills, selling to clients, stand brand and deliver, etc.

Place of birth: Warrington, Cheshire.

Career to date: TMD Carat (as was) and in my time it became Feather Brooksbank; there for three years starting as graduate and leaving as Account Manager). Then joined National Magazines.

Biggest achievement: Pretty pleased with it all so far.

Goals: To enjoy it, make enough money so as not to worry and to be respected.

Role model: Jenny O’Brien/Bell – worked with her at Carat, very quick and sharp.

Pet hates: People who big themselves up and try to undermine others with their foolish and fancy vocabulary.

Name: Mike Todd.

Date of birth: 14 March 1975.

Job title: Head of Communications.

Company: Marketing Manchester.

Place of birth: Bolton.

Qualifications: A Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations – currently working on the dissertation to obtain a Masters.

Career to date: Began as a marketing officer for Bolton Council’s Leisure Services Department, moved in 1994 to work as the Communication Officer for the North West’s European Funding Programme.

Biggest achievement: Overseeing the successful public information campaign surrounding the introduction of the Euro into Kosovo and managing the media coverage of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year.

Goals: Ultimately, I would like to get back into the world of international affairs, possibly establishing my own international comms agency.

Role model: Marshall McLuhan – the Oracle of the Electronic Age.

Pet hates: One thing I think most people could do without is the petty jealousies and internal rivalries that exist in many organisations. Being precious over the smallest things when everyone is ultimately working towards the same goals is counterproductive. Also, when people are brusque or rude for no reason ... there’s a lot to be said for patience.

Name: Jenni Fryer.

Date of birth: 29 November 1973.

Job title: PR Account Director.

Company: Seal Group.

Place of birth: Sutton Coldfield.

Qualifications: Four “A” Levels, BA (Hons) in Public Relations/Media Studies, NCTJ Qualified.

Career to date: Reporter at the Sutton Coldfield Observer/deputy chief reporter at the Walsall Advertiser. Senior Account Executive at Reeves Green, in-house PR officer at TLS Vehicle Rental.

Biggest achievement: Breaking into journalism after months of work experience and managing to live on £100 a week for the first two years. Doubling the fee base of existing clients and winning new business through personal referrals based on the quality of our work.

Goals: To continue moving Seal forward, to recruit quality staff with passion for the job and to ensure that at least once a day I hurt from laughing too much.

Role model: Endemol, the creators of Big Brother, for creating a media phenomenon that has become part of British Summertime.

Pet hates: People, both within and outside of the industry, who think that PR is an easy or soft option that requires few skills and is the fluffy side of marketing. Colour separation requests. Misuse of the English language and grammar, especially apostrophes.

Name: Charles Tattersall.

Date of birth: 7 May 1974.

Job title: Managing Director.

Company: Citypress PR.

Place of birth: Southport, Merseyside.

Qualifications: Degree in Public Relations.

Career to date: Joined Citypress PR in 1995 as an account executive. Took over 100 per cent ownership and management of the business in 1998 after just three years.

Biggest achievement: Doubling Citypress’ fee income over the last three years, in a difficult and fiercely competitive market, to become Manchester’s biggest independent PR agency.

Role model: Don’t really have one.

Pet hates: Lack of business loyalty and respect, crap CVs containing basic spelling mistakes and over-enthusiastic PR luvvies.

Name: Steve Tricker

Date of birth: 5 December 1974

Job title: Graphic Designer

Company: Bray Leino

Place of birth: Barnstaple, Devon

Qualifications: HND in Graphics Design, BA (Hons) in Packaging and Design..

Career to date: Joined Bray Leino in 1998.

Biggest achievement: Persuading many of our more conservative clients to take a more contemporary approach and watching it pay off for both them and us. Establishing respect within an agency dominated by many more experienced designers.

Goals: To become creative director by the age of 35 and to retain an enthusiastic and approachable outlook.

Role model: Enduring personalities such as Richard Branson, Bruce Forsythe, John Travolta and the Cuprinol Man.

Pet hates: Arrogance, lack of self initiative, relentlessly serious people and hanging on to dead wood.

Name: Stephanie Barker.

Date of birth: 20 May 1975.

Job title: Marketing Controller.

Company: 105.4 Century FM.

Place of birth: Sheffield.

Qualifications: Degree in Business Studies from Nottingham Trent University.

Career to date: Started in 1998 as assistant product manager for London and South with BMI. Moved to become product manager for Scotland, then product manager North West. Joined Century in January 2002.

Biggest achievement: Where I am now. Century FM is establishing itself very quickly as a strong radio brand, and Capital Radio Group is a fantastic company to work for. I feel very lucky to work with the people that I do, and to be working in the industry that I’m in. I’ve never worked in such a positive, honest and flexisble working environment.

Goals: To take the 105.4 Century FM weekly audience to more than one million listeners in as short a time as possible.

Role model: My senior management team.

Pet hates: Lateness, unprepared cold callers and arrogance.