BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE

Well, I've had enjoyed a lot of 'stepping stones' towards branching out on my own, some larger than others... but, when you skim a pebble across water, it makes plenty of longer lasting ripples which is far more 'me' than a huge splash which quickly disappears   ;-)

I'm happily married to Ben and blessed with our two children aged 13 and 14, so life can be busy.  Over the years I've supported and guided brands and companies with their marketing or design needs but, I've always played it safe in working for an organisation.  Now that our children are at high school and becoming more independent, I've plucked up the courage to take a leap of faith and see my dream of working for myself, and having my own little company, become a reality.

My career path began as a graphic designer after qualifying in multi-media and visual communications.  I spent holidays gaining work experience in a busy Leeds design studio and was lucky to receive several job offers months before the completion of my course.  My first job was in an advertising and design agency where I was involved in all areas of the business - including a little bit of account management.  

Fast forward a couple of years, I moved  client-side, joining the Marketing Department at Wolseley Centers.  Initially involved in the design of brochureware and packaging, I was offered the opportunity to complete the CIM Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing.  After gaining a Distinction in this I was promoted to Marketing Manager for the Lightside Division (Plumb Center, Drainage Center and Just Bathrooms - which later bought Bathstore).  My role then involved being line manager for a large team of designers under the mentorship of the Marketing Manager and Director for Wolseley.  I gained such valuable experience over the years spent at Wolseley, product launches, handling vast marketing budgets, organising national and regional events, attending trade shows and designing the stands and graphic displays - as well as ensuring we had the sales teams available to 'man' the stands.

Choosing to further develop my knowledge in areas I'd not had much experience, I took an Account Managers role at Brahm, a full service agency in Leeds.  Working on one of their flagship accounts I liaised with the client and our design and production teams to support their promotional work.  After a while I realised I was missing the 'whole picture' that a role 'client-side' provides so I handed in my notice and started looking for alternatives whilst carrying out  freelance work for Wolseley Centers.

Financial Services marketing is different to anything I'd done before, but I was particularly pleased to be recruited by HBOS shortly after the merger of Halifax and Bank of Scotland.  Responsible for the brand development and growth of the High Net Worth brands of Bank of Scotland International Banking, Private Banking and Investment Service, we had more freedom to explore beyond the stricter limits of the Halifax brand, creativity was key, targeting an exclusive sector of the public and in doing so, working with key London agencies. This gave a great insight into outdoor media, commercial radio including Classic FM etc as well as marketing to mass audiences.

I'd worked at HBOS for several years when I took a call from a former Regional Director of Plumb Center.  He was working for a company called GroupAuto Union and he asked me to join his team and develop an in-house marketing team similar to the one we had at Wolseley.  This led to many happy years with the company, building a fabulous team, creating exciting initiatives and working with some inspirational colleagues.

Moving to Nexus gave me some exciting professional challenges.  When products are good, they need the brand image to reflect that - I knew nothing of paving products when I started but very quickly was able to recommend which products should be used in certain situations.  Over the 6 years I worked with the team we saw fabulous growth (from c £600,000 turnover to c£4m). The brand was well respected for quality and reliability, recognised across the industry, and stockists were eager to take our products, as we offered practical point of sale support and superb customer service.

I have now reached a time when I need to branch out on my own - I know what I'm good at and I now what I enjoy:  it is important to me that I get to know a brand, uncovering its strengths and areas of improvement.  I love the feeling of being able to make a difference for a company - whether it's a large company such as Wolseley or HBOS - or a smaller, start up business - or, anything in between.

As Pebble Design & Marketing I aim to be a flexible part of the team, as and when you need the support and guidance or specific projects completing.  I don't want hundreds of Clients where the work is just produced to brief, my aim is to make a  difference with what I create for every business I'm lucky enough to be involved in.  

For more information, please email me: catherinelthompson@mac.com