Meet the team: Ashlea Turner, Senior Account Exec

How long have you been working at Fieldworks and where did you come from?

I have been working at Fieldworks for a year, starting in September 2014. Since leaving university in 2013, I have worked consistently within integrated marketing agencies in both B2C and B2B environments – across a variety of sectors including; hospitality, food service, automotive and retail.

What are the main responsibilities of your role and what is your favourite part?

As a Senior Account Executive my main responsibility is ensuring that I support my manager across  accounts and in all areas such as; project management, client liaison, email marketing, content creation or simple admin tasks.

I really enjoy working with the creative team across all design work, especially larger pieces of content such as; market reports or websites – ensuring they are to the best possible standard. I also enjoy email marketing creation and strategy.

What does your typical day in the office consist of?

This is a difficult question, as one day is never the same as another. In a typical day, I will tend to work across a multitude of clients, completing a variety of tasks within campaigns, whether this is creating and sending an email campaign, pulling the campaign results, updating a website, proofing artwork – as I say, every day is different.

Are there any challenges in your role? If so, what are they?

Personally the main challenges in my role are managing client expectations and meeting deadlines. As we work with a multitude of clients, across a range of projects it is important that we prioritise and stay organised. Additionally, giving specific deadlines to clients (ASAP is definitely my taboo word that I try to avoid at all costs) is important to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the account.

What’s the key to a successful email marketing campaign?

Strategy.

Having a clear strategy in place is fundamental to a successful email marketing campaign. No longer are emails sent to one mass audience at one time. To stay ahead of the game, it’s important to mature your email marketing ensuring it is segmented, targeted and personalised as much as possible.

In addition, make sure that you follow best practice for creation of the email and the sending. There are many articles/guides and webinars online that give you top tips and hints – use these where you can, but remember that every audience is different, so evaluate what works for them by analysing the results after each send and adjusting your strategy accordingly.

What attracted you to a career in marketing?

I have always been interested in the media, studying Media Studies at school, Media Production at college and then getting a degree in Advertising and Marketing – so for a while I have known that this is the path for me.

But why marketing? I guess it all started when I saw the Sony Bravia ad for the first time – this ad has stuck with me ever since. This ad was shot entirely without any digital enhancements, it moved away from modern technologies and went back to basics which created a stunning outcome. This is when I knew I wanted to be involved with something that changed peoples perceptions of the world and would make individuals stop and think.

Why does email marketing work so well as a promotional tool?

From a B2B perspective, email works well as it is a trusted channel for brand communication. With 99% of consumers checking their inbox at least once a day, and as it’s quickly becoming the preferred method of communication highlighting its serious potential for sales growth and ROI.

Email marketing also produces consistent results across all industries – as it’s so dynamic and can be changed, amended and adapted to match any and all company requirements. In the digital age, it’s important to meet the demands of a tech-savvy consumer and email is vital to do this.

What are the biggest challenges for marketers going forward?

I think the biggest challenge for marketers will be the rapid pace of the media landscape. Technology is continuously changing how people are interacting with brands and it will be important to stay at the forefront of this change by endlessly evaluating new touchpoints to reach the end recipient. This then leads into the next challenge of measurement. As the digital space is continuously evoloving, it is getting increasingly difficult to monitor ROI and meaningful results. The industry will need to look beyond the standard measurement of a ‘click’ or impression to fully reach and understand the person on the other end to  be able to take conversations further and lead to that ‘sale’.

How do you think marketing will continue to develop over the coming years?

Different types of technology will continue to change the marketing industry – whether it’s a new means of communication or the introduction of a ‘virtual’ reality – this will be an ongoing element to be watched.

Transparency will also become an important tool of marketing. Consumers will want a realistic view of a brand/company and expect them to deliver truthful and honest content. They will not want to receive a ‘soft’ and fluffy sale that forges a fake friendship – it will be important to develop a direct open approach to selling.