About Stuart Murphy
There are many fascinating theories about marketing, advertising and design in the forest of textbooks that have been written on the subjects. For every theory textbook there are 10,000 enthusiastic course graduates eagerly seeking their first commercial role.
We must not forget the army of marketing, advertising and design workers who are ordering pens, mugs or working in-house producing mind-numbing dross for their employers who don’t appreciate their true worth and haven’t a clue about the skills they possess.
I guess that I’m one of the lucky ones whose potential was identified early on by a multinational company who thrust me head first into a marketing role. I had the training, the support and by 2008 I’ve had 16 years exposure to the real world of marketing – the world I want you all to become familiar with… no… no, not everyone, just those who aspire to get their foot on the ladder and use their talent.
I’ve worked up from junior to senior marketer with blue chip companies, even spent time on the board of a public sector company followed by setting up a marketing & advertising agency, so I guess that I’ve seen a great deal and handled annual budgets from £5,000 up to £40,000,000. Often the best marketing is done at the lower end of the spectrum, because it’s here where all the ideas have to work, rather than the big companies where it doesn’t matter if half your ideas fail.
Anyway, this site is dedicated to the many who wish to get their foot on the ladder and simply need a little guidance, information and an insight into the realities of marketing. It’s also my way of letting off steam about the nonsense that I encounter on a regular basis.
In case you’re in any doubt, I’m a great believer in a mix of a strong theoretical grounding, backed up by real world experience – a place where deadlines, humans, egos, emotions, company politics, lack of foresight, poor planning and complete madness co-exist in abundance. In many places one or more of these factors rule.
There’s no substitute for seeing marketing, design or advertising first hand. For the lucky ones who work in major agencies, well done and you’re welcome here too, however if you haven’t worked your way up the road like a lot people have to do, then I hope you appreciate how hard their lives are when they haven’t reached your level yet.
So, I urge you to get involved and respond. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy sharing the experience.
Stuart Murphy, BSc(hons), FCIM, FInstSMM, F IDM
.. or to my friends, plain old Stu.
