I’ll start by quickly introducing myself, my name is Leah, I’m 23 years old, and that’s me in the photo.
In my spare time, I enjoy spending my time (and money) with my horses, hiking with my mad spaniel and skiing – which is, unfortunately, a hobby that I can only enjoy for one week of the year; probably not the best choice in hindsight.
I graduated from university in 2020, during the pandemic (typical), and started as a Marketing Executive a few months later, with lots of supermarket checkout work in between! My first marketing job was at a window fabricator, and I worked there for just over two years before moving to Lasco as a Senior Account Executive in November last year.
I’ll tell you some things about Lasco in case you’re new here.
Lasco is a full-service marketing and PR consultancy, specialising in the building products, home improvement and construction sectors.
We’re niche. We know your target audiences, your competitors and what’s happening in your markets. It’s marketing and PR for the construction and building product industries made painless.
We are also slightly obsessed with our dogs, and they often feature in team meetings!
The move into agency work had the potential to be daunting, as I was suddenly faced with multiple clients, each with their own product range, demographics, competitors, and the rest, as opposed to just one company which I was previously used to. However, my previous knowledge of the home improvement sector did help me with my move, as I understood how dynamic the industry can be and about building regulations etc.
Luckily, John and Nathan were extremely supportive during my transition process. Introducing me to each client progressively and allowing me to understand who everyone was and what they do.
During my interview, I mentioned that I wanted to develop my videography and editing skills. The team at Lasco were very aiding in this, and dedicated lots of time to helping me improve. I can now confidently conduct my own interviews, film B-roll and comfortably create multiple videos for our clients as part of their monthly retainer.
When interviewing for this role, I explained that I had a strong personal interest in direct marketing and enjoy handling and cleansing data (a strange niche, I’m aware). Slowly, I have been allowed to take ownership of client direct marketing for our clients and build their mailing lists and send out regular email marketing campaigns.
We hold quarterly strategic meetings, outlining client objectives for the following three months and key messages they want to push out, including adverts.
We then have monthly forward planning meetings with my team to track our monthly outputs for our clients and cross reference this on the activity planners, ensuring that no work is missed, and our clients are fully serviced every month. We also have daily review meetings where we use an online visual planning tool to monitor our daily workflow.
I can’t believe how quickly my first six months have gone, and I feel as if I’m already bedded into the team, with more work becoming my own to manage.
Lasco has given me the freedom to work remotely, meeting with clients on a regular basis. This has given me a lot of work-life balance back and means I’m saving money on a daily dog walker; a win is a win.
Looking towards the next six months and the future beyond that, I recognise the opportunities for growth in my career as I am working in a fast-paced, growing company. I am now also being exposed to a broader range of clients than I would have if I’d stayed in an in-house marketing role.
Since my first day at Lasco, I have been seen and treated as a key, valuable member of staff where I am judged on merits and results.
