Can you tell us a little about your role at Sofology?
I’ve worked for Sofology for almost 2 and a half years, and was originally recruited as Marketing Manager. I had seen a lot of activity around the brand and read in passing about its pioneering spirit. Combined with my desire to move back into home interiors, where I started my career, I decided to apply for the role.
I went into store and did some research on the sales teams to see whether Sofology really didn’t hard-sell their products, and I was blown away by how different this brand was amongst a sales driven competitor base.
Retail marketing is my specialist area, with design and colour being something I have learnt over the years. Even so, I could see that, whilst it was a visually “standout brand”, it was young and there was so much to do to make it even better. What more could a seasoned Marketeer want?
What has progression looked like for you?
I was recently given a title change to Head of Marketing, which involves taking on further strategic dimensions to my role, but essentially my job is still running the Marketing team alongside Sebastian Brown, Director of Creative - our team means everything to both of us. It’s a dynamic and engaging group, and it’s one of the most skilled and experienced departments I’ve worked with during my career.
It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me, and I am grateful. It’s great to see the work that we’re producing, exciting to think about the work we’re going to do and the plan to take the department to the next level. I look forward to getting each project off the ground with the team, executing it to the highest standard we can and making a difference - that’s the end goal.
I have found Sofology to be a unique place to work. There’s always such a positive, can do approach to the work we do - there’s no politics, no egos and that’s so refreshing for a work environment.
What does success look like for you?
The Marketing Department is such a fast paced, busy and energetic environment that it’s good sometimes to pause, receive feedback and understand it. Are things working? What value are we adding? How can we improve? What’s not so good?
Every department in every business needs this, and the vital point to take away is: it’s what you do with the feedback you receive that matters. I’m always trying to push myself and encourage improvement. I always like to do better not just for me, but for the team too, so they get recognition and get to do more and more exciting new things. Plus, if it’s something that you love doing then that’s easy!
What’s your favourite thing about working at Sofology?
The people I work with are everything to me - not just within my own department, but the wider business as well. Simple things, like being welcomed into a department when you open the door, just makes work so much easier and interacting with new people much less daunting and stressful - we don’t need stress!
The camaraderie at Sofology is amazing - more so than in previous places that I’ve worked. Work is full on, but because of the people it’s also fun and interesting, and it makes us all believe anything is possible - that we’re always on the cusp of something great.
I think I fit the Sofology values - I’m committed to the organisation and passionate about our brand. I believe I have the trust of my department and of the other leaders in the business. I’m always looking to progress my own learning, my department and to progress the brand to new heights and I always try and keep work fun and exciting.
At the moment we are immersed in the new TV ad, and planning and executing that absorbs a lot of my time and a lot of everyone else’s in the department - we have to ensure that we get the maximum return that we can from the campaign. It’s a costly investment from the company, but it shows how committed everyone is to increasing the reputation of our brand, and I feel proud to be part of it. Our ESG project is another exciting mission for us all - it’s all inclusive and it’s going to be fun, so watch this space for more news when we launch it.
How do you help every customer to feel at home on a sofa they love?
Marketing has a key role in this mission. We have to present our customers with this message that conveys the emotion and the feeling of relaxing on a sofa they love. We’re the ones who capture the content to portray this. We’re at the heart of brand building, working hand in hand with every other department to deliver what we want to communicate to our customers.
Marketing is a big investment for any company, and so I feel honoured to be delivering a positive difference with the team. Everything we do, both in marketing and across the business, is always teamwork, it has to be. We all have an important role to play towards the growth and uniqueness of our brand, and it’s Sofologists who help with this every day.