This week the Digital Marketing MSc students received a lecture on influencer marketing from Julie Brander of Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global public relations agencies. At RGU we are lucky to have great connections with industry and as a result, we get to hear from a range of speakers about their work in digital marketing.
Julie introduced herself as a former RGU student, having been part of the first cohort of Fashion Management BA Honours students. She has spent 6 years at Weber Shandwick and built her way up through the ranks to become a manager, specialising in influencer marketing.
When sharing her experience of working in public relations, Julie highlighted that everyone has to know a little bit about everything when it comes to marketing. Life in a PR office is fast paced and can consist of a variety of activities, from writing press releases and attending photo calls, to crisis management, or creating a digital strategy. Weber Shandwick has worked with many clients, including Cromlix hotel, owned by tennis champion Andy Murray.
A big part of Julie’s work involves creating buzz through influencer marketing and she shared stories about challenges she has overcome in her career. Influencer marketing is a type of PR which focuses on influential people in a target audience. Marketers will often work with bloggers, celebrities or experts in order to promote their campaigns through platforms such as Instagram. This is a growing industry due to 92% of people trusting individual recommendations over brands. Julie shared more about the power of influencer marketing and the process of working with clients to form briefs, campaigns, and measuring success.
Julie drew the talk to a close by highlighting her main piece of advice to young professionals looking to start a career in public relations: if you are hungry enough, you will make it happen. Oh, and make sure you get lots of experience along the way.
We want to thank Julie for speaking to us this week. It was great to hear more experiences of digital marketing. The class of 2017 interviewed Julie last year as part of their Career Series, find out more about her role here.