Sophie Pontoppidan, Digital Marketing Apprentice
Sophie Pontoppidan is a graphic design graduate who recently started as a digital marketing apprentice at Alexander Daniels Global, a recruitment partner for the 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing industry. For CEO Nick Pearce, the departure of its one-person marketing team earlier this year meant the business was effectively going to stop marketing. They needed someone who could hit the ground running.
We recently caught up with Nick and Sophie to see how it’s going:
Nick: “The need for us was somebody who could continue to work on what the previous marketer had done in building the brand and the identity of the business, as well as working with an outsourced marketing company for certain elements such as SEO. We wanted more inbound inquiries coming in from clients so there were a number of tweaks that were needed also.
“One of my fears was that we’re a busy small team, and I’m not an expert in marketing – so I was worried about how I’d manage and develop someone. But with the programme, they have a mentor who provides that learning and development support as an expert alongside the work they’re doing at the Academy.
“If we were at this point now, in 12 months, I would be happy. But the fact that we’re here [in 4 months]…is just incredible. The programme provided the right platform to be able to recruit somebody at that level who could learn and grow with us.”
Sophie: “The course has already given me the confidence to do things that I never thought I would be able to do: from starting market research to onboarding packs for new clients, and now data analysis of our online engagement. All in just four months, it’s no time at all.”
Nick: “Sophie’s identified how we create a deeper relationship with our customers, all touch points we have with them and she’s working on developing that. Not only will she help us to potentially acquire more clients, she’ll help us to have better relationships with those clients and help us to get more of the types of clients that we want. I see huge potential benefit from the work that she’s doing.”
Sophie: “When we get to discussing the marketing of the business after masterclasses, we always come away inspired and well-aligned on the direction we want to take; and that seems to replicate itself month after month as the course broadens my knowledge. The business is allowing me to improve and to grow as a professional within digital marketing and so I’d love to stay here for as long as I can.”
It’s stories like these that are why we do what we do.
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