NDA has launched a new series, Marketing the Marketers, talking to the marketing and comms leaders behind the success of our leading companies.
Kim French is Head of Marketing at Preen, a video production agency. Outside of her day job she has built an online community for women and gender diverse video/ film editors working across advertising, TV and Film called Edit Girls. She was previously Head of Brand at women’s network Bloom.
What exactly does your job entail?
I work alongside our MD, Neil Van Ginsburg, on the new business side of our agency. This involves both an account based marketing approach and various other marketing tactics including mailers, social, awards and speaking opportunities.
The most important part of my role though is relationship building. Which means lots of chats and getting to know people, exploring what they need, as well as nurturing the clients we have and how to add more value to their business with what we can offer.
What campaign or piece of marketing/communications are you most proud of in your career and why?
I’m particularly proud of the work we did with Treatwell for their Life Saving Wax initiative, the concept of which was about encouraging women to get their cervical screening test and prioritise their health. Humour was at the heart of the content whilst also communicating a really important message (that your cervical screening test is less painful and more important that your bikini wax!!). Mixing humour and a serious message is a great combo in my opinion.
Who has been your biggest inspiration in your career to date and why?
I joined a network called Bloom back in 2019, it was a time in my career where I felt a bit lost and aimless and to be honest, lonely! Joining Bloom opened my working world up and brought some incredible women and men into my life, all of whom remain inspirations to me today; Victoria Brooks, Dinah Williams, Richard Bon, Zara Bryson, Karen Carter, Sally Keane and too many more to mention.
What is the biggest challenge in your sector and how is your company helping to address it?
Over the years we have seen both brands and agencies bring production in-house in various guises due to the demand for ‘always on’ content. I hear time and time again about how in-house video teams grew really big, really quick and have now had to scale right back.
Often times we can come in and help support a brand or agency whilst they work out whether having an in-house team is right for them but the benefit with using us on an ongoing basis is that we can provide what an in-house production team provide without companies having to invest the time into recruiting/ hiring and retaining production staff. Because we have production as our foundation, with both people and infrastructure (studios, edit suites, office space) our offer has stood the test of time.
What is the biggest opportunity in your sector and how is your company helping to make the most of it?
The opportunity that lies in our relationships with Digital PR companies is massive, case in point, we’re currently working with Ketchum on an exciting new account of theirs and have been able to add value by setting up an ‘always on’ video content studio for them. The idea for this began in September 2022 and we were brought in as experts in-order to ensure the processes and approach were sustainable.
We’ve been the reason they’ve been able to say ‘yes absolutely!’ to offering their client this video team option and it’s opened up lots of potential future projects for all parties. The consistency of output that comes with long term ongoing relationships is one of my favourite things about what we do. We’re incredibly close to the City which has meant we’ve been able to partner with the finance sector. The financial sector are always looking for an injection of creativity and we’re able to provide it when it comes to video production with our offer!
How important, and why, are the following in helping your promote your own company:
The press – This is an area I’m keen for us to push forward with and start showcasing our company talent with thought pieces. I believe it will give us an opportunity to reach new people and sectors.
Events – Historically I’ve found smaller, breakfast events with a focused group of individuals coming together (both organised by ourselves and other organisations) to share experience on a specific topic work really well in building trust with potential clients. Over lockdown these turned into zoom chats and I still get a lot out of the ones I continue to go to now.
Your company’s owned media –
Our website does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to showcasing our work, it’s bright and punchy and shows off our personality as a company. Instagram is an extension of our website but we’re very clear on not falling into the vanity metric side of social as it can be all consuming and not hold the ROI that many think it does. One of our biggest clients is TikTok so of course we have a TikTok channel. It’s been great for our company culture and getting a good understanding of the platform for our clients.
