Get to know Josh – he joined the PAB Studios team back in November 2023, as our Media Project Coordinator!
What Is your day-to-day role/what does your job involve?
My position is Media Project Coordinator. I often find myself involved in new and exciting tasks every day. The bulk of my work surrounds handling client requests, liaising on projects with internal and external contacts, meeting deadlines and developing strong marketing campaigns for our clients. I handle quarterly events and work with clients to find influencers to promote them further. Every day is different and it’s one of the reasons I love the job.
How did you become interested in your area of work?
My interest in the marketing industry was sparked during my A-level studies. We had been tasked with writing a report on the marketing material used in the previous year’s Christmas adverts for companies like John Lewis, notably the ‘Man on the Moon’ Ad. I remember how fun it seemed to be able to create short, story-driven film with the purpose of promotion. At the time, these adverts were so recognizable, and it just flicked a switch. While I’ve always had an interest in cinema, I wanted to pursue particularly advertising as a means of channelling creativity and expression.
What is your favourite thing about working at PAB?
My favourite has to be the people and the culture that surrounds us. I have worked in positions, in the past, where negativity was an occupational hazard, but at PAB this is the total opposite. After working here for a few months, I can safely say the thought of coming to work has never been a negative one and I enjoy my job. This is down to the individuals. Everyone enjoys the work, conversations are never anything but a delight and everyone has something to bring to the table.
What trends do you think are upcoming in marketing?
More and more, we see product placement and paid advertising in our day-to-day lives. From podcasts to placements on physical media, we are going to see prominent sponsorship and creative ad-space used to promote in new areas.
An example that always comes to mind is ‘Free Water’, which made rounds on social media in the past few years. The basis of this ‘start-up’ product In the US provided bottled water, free of charge to anyone and everyone. The cost and any profit was covered by advertising space sold on the bottles. I feel we will see more product advertising used to subsidize or even remove the cost of items altogether, particularly with the cost of living increasing at its current rate.
What does PAB’s value ‘data drives decisions’ mean to you?
I think this concept is true to most things in life. We base our decisions on the experiences, opinions and information we collect or is provided by others.
When It comes to marketing any well-read marketer knows that shooting in the dark is a gamble. If you want to attempt marketing strategies that aren’t practice-proven, you will need some form of data to prove its potential effectiveness. For example, cross-referencing target consumer reactions within a market sample against audience size and demographic. Even on more basic strategies and decisions, we need to ensure we know why we are doing what we are doing, and how this benefits us, the client and most importantly the customer/consumer. This isn’t to say this will always work, as with anything there are NO guarantees, but by offering these solutions, we can prepare for failure and aim for success.
Being able to see where one’s marketing does well and where it needs to improve will lead to stronger targeting and data manipulation.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
At this moment in time, I’d love to move to a city lifestyle with a flat in the middle of it, everything on my doorstep and plenty of events going on in the area.
Eventually, I want to move to a beachside area, possibly somewhere a bit warmer than West Yorkshire, though this is a long way off yet.
What are your hobbies/interests outside of work?
I enjoy working on my car, attending ‘Cars and Coffee’ and in the summer, attending events and car shows. I enjoy live music, both smaller gigs and concerts though it has been a while and I would love to get back into this soon.
I have had an on/off relationship with boxing training, having been part of the university boxing society for a short time and attending sparring sessions after university once a week. I’m looking to partake in a White-collar boxing event and train for it soon, with proceeds going to charity.
What’s your favourite part of marketing?
I love the creation of campaigns, their activations and being able to see the work I have been part of out in the world. I enjoy working out how a message should be delivered, from conception to proof and final piece, seeing how all the elements come together and understanding the finer details when working with brand guidelines.
What’s something people don’t know about you?
I don’t shout about it, but last year I tried my hand at painting, and not just walls or alloy wheels, but oil-based paint with a brush on canvas. It’s something I haven’t done for a few months as I haven’t unpacked my paints since moving to a new house last September, but I promised my mum that I’d paint her something for Christmas… It’s still outstanding, so I definitely need to get the brushes out soon!
How has your perspective on the world changed over time?
When I was younger, I was so conscious of the opinions of others and the social consequences of non-conformity to trends and fashions. As I have entered my mid-20s, I have realised people tend to appreciate individuality over false interest.
With this, I have been able to become my own person, having my own opinions and being interested in things because I like them. I’ve realised that this makes you a more interesting person. This gave me so much more confidence to push my ideas, both in my career and personal life, and grow as a person. The more we grow and learn, the more we realise there is to learn.
