Genius applies strategic, commercial, and conceptual thinking to help money flow into the places where it is most needed. To companies and organisations that are making the world a better place. It’s an agency where great ideas are given oxygen, then brought to life in the most beautiful and compelling way possible. Our mission is to make marketing work for our clients. To help the people with the power to change the world for the better, to do that work faster and more effectively.
Genius prides itself on bringing the very best people into the fold. We invest heavily in top talent, but we don’t fritter funds away on meaningless agency status symbols. So you get to work with some of the best names in the business, but still at reasonable rates.
Marketing Genius
Sales Genius
I started out in media sales and soon discovered writing clients’ ads was the bit I really liked. A few years of in-house digital and direct marketing showed me that I loved strategy as much as creative. As marketing director, I wasn’t getting enough time on either, so I then spent another few years in creative agencies to finesse my skills. That done, I was ready to go it alone. And thus, Genius was born.
It’s those special moments when you see someone’s face light up. It might be a team member who’s just got some incredible feedback from a client, or a client who’s reporting killer results on a campaign. Seeing someone experience sheer joy in being awesome at what they do, that’s what makes my day.
And this is the question I fall down on. My musical taste is wildly varied, everything from the dance tunes of my misspent youth to folk music, but I’m rubbish at remembering what things are called or who they’re by. I’m not a big tv person at all. My current favourite app is picturethis which helps me identify plants that I find on my wanderings.
I’ve always been creative and enjoyed drawing and building models and despite taking completely the wrong A-Levels I managed to get onto the Industrial Design course at the old Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, I loved it! After graduating and working briefly in an art shop selling watercolours to old ladies, I moved down south and worked for Toys R Us on their instore signage which was great until they wanted me to write store instructions. I was far more interested in the design aspect so moved to a promotional merchandise agency in Staines which would give me a more diverse and creative role, not only did I have the opportunity to work on concepts and product development for companies such as Sony, but I also honed my graphics and packaging skills and worked with some fabulous people.
After 10 years there I decided to go freelance in 2015 and that’s where Genius comes in, Emma was my first sparkly new client in a “new world” and I’m sure she’ll agree it’s been a fun rollercoaster ride since then!
I’m not sure where to start! I like making things work, being given a suite of assets or creating my own, and putting them together into attractive, engaging documents is what I love doing and ensuring our clients have exactly what they want and exceed their expectations. I like jobs that make me think and are a challenge and I also enjoy learning new skills and improving the ones I already have. It’s those Eureka moments and happy clients that make my day.
Hobbies now or the back in the olden days, circa February 2020?? I’m a very sociable animal so enjoy meeting up with my mates, normally over a drink or 2 and if possible, with some football on a big screen too, I’m a Villa fan so I’m riding the crest of the wave at the moment. I play football every Sunday, love a nice long walk with something entertaining in my ears, enjoy a gig, no matter what the size and with any luck I’ll be in a field at a festival at some point this year. My New Year’s resolution is to cook more and do more of my own artworks.
For movie recommendations, I’d better message one of my sons, but I like sci-fi (I’m a self-confessed Star Wars geek) or a good old gritty British crime drama like Luther or daft London based Guy Ritchie style movie. I generally have Radio X on while I’m working so anything on their playlist is good and I’d suggest checking out Nothing But Thieves and Declan McKenna from last year and Catfish and the Bottlemen always make me work faster! I’m a 90’s Indie kid at heart and also have an affection for old soul too and I’m a shoe in for the music round at pub quizzes. I love Danny Wallace’s podcast on Radio X as well, “Dinner Winner” is hilarious.
I spent the past 2 decades working for an online ‘casino’ marketing agency in South Africa. After the company sold out to a competitor, I suddenly found myself on the market for a job but decided to go the Freelance Route. Sounds cool right? But finding clients and work was NOT as easy I had initially thought! Luckily, I landed with my bum in the proverbial butter by ‘virtually’ meeting up with Emma through a random contract job. Emma quickly recruited me on several of her own projects, and last year invited me to join the GENIUS Team full time – let’s just say I haven’t looked back!
Goodness, where do I start?!?! I have a passion for designing, rejuvenating, and propelling the brands that GENIUS has in its portfolio. The Creative License I’m afforded keeps me on my toes and allows me to really bring my own flare to a lot of the brands. It’s also amazing to work with a team that is scattered all over the globe but comes together to work on such diverse projects – and bring ideas to Life! Let’s be honest, I love what I do, and I have fun doing it! The Genius Team is a close-knit family and I couldn’t imagine a day without them…
Take your pick!!! When I’m not binge reading on my Kindle (and nodding off intermittently) I’m hooked on any combination of the following = Family – Fitness – Weight Training – Hiking – High Heels – Miniature Daxies (that’s ‘Sausage Dogs’ to most people) – Maincoones – Tequila, Wine or Whiskey! Yeah, Baby!
I’m ashamed to admit I don’t even know what a podcast is!!! gulp – does that give my age away? My taste in music is erratic, to say the least – Nicki Minaj to Disturbed, Britney to Neyo, In This Moment to Cardi B… and let’s throw in some Pink, Taylor Swift, and Five Finger Death Punch!!! BOOM! There – told you it was all over the show hahaha. If I had to list my taste in Series I would take up most of your day – fair to say my husband and I enjoy nothing more on a Friday evening than 2-5 episodes of our latest ‘FIX’ and a bottle of Tequila between us (and No, we clearly don’t have any ankle biters to our name)
“I was working as a waiter in a greasy spoon down by the docks in Dublin- bacon butties, sausage sarnies, you know the story. In walks this burd and orders eggs benedict”.
OK… that’s not really how it happened but it’s a good analogy. I was freelancing in a creative shop in Dublin and was teamed up with Emma, also freelancing. It was creative cordite/dynamite/plutonium… whatever your creative catalyst, we applied it in spades until it was time for a change.
Creative solutions that make people smile. We get a lot of clients saying ‘wow, it’s not what we expected’ or they’ll say ‘we never knew you worked at this level’… and that makes my day. Many agencies have an ’us and them’ relationship with clients. At Genius we’re in it together, as the line says, we work for you.
Music, both playing and listening. Also typography. If you suffer from insomnia I’m available for hire at a very reasonable rate and I guarantee I’ll send you into a deep coma while describing the virtues of Baskerville Bold and Mrs Eaves. And finally, fly fishing. It’s not about catching, it’s about thinking up new expletives as you’re made a fool of yet again, by a fish.
BBC Sounds is a must for me. Radio 3 at the weekend has great world music programmes and features on classical music deconstructed by those amazing musicians who actually perform the works. On 4, I’ve listened to From Our Own Correspondent since before time. I might even grab an odd episode of The Archers… the accents help me understand our boss 😉
That no two days are the same, I never get bored and being constantly challenged. I love working with such a creative team in Genius who are motivated by originality and have a great sense of humour.
I took up cycling during lockdown and love it. And that’s about all I manage to do in my free time with three kids at home.
Podcasts: Listening to The Frost Tapes at the moment which is really good.
Movies: Tenet, I liked it despite the negative reviews / Series: Bridgerton is trashy fun which is perfect for lockdown.
After leaving college unsure on what my future plans would be I ended up working in the bookies for around 10 years, which clearly wasn’t the plan I had in mind but during this time I developed a passion for writing. After starting up my own blog and moving onto writing for clients on a freelance basis, I started working full time at various copywriting and marketing roles, before eventually landing at Genius.
Freedom, flexibility and variety. I love writing and Genius offers me a platform to do what I love across a range of subjects and topics. Despite my short time here so far, it’s also quite clear how nice and supportive everyone is and there’s a real ‘can-do’ attitude when it comes to work which is lovely to see.
Outside of work I am obsessed primarily with football which stretches to not just watching my beloved Celtic but also coaching two teams – (Mytchett U13 boys and Adult Women’s First Team at Rushmoor Community FC) and working on attaining my UEFA B coaching licence which is exciting and keeps me busy.
Carrying on the football theme Ted Lasso is a must watch, even for non-football fans. The Office and Parks & Recreations are two great timeless series, as is Stranger Things.
I have worked in many different sectors as an operations specialist in one form or another. I helped found and expand a financial services company in London, reaching the heady heights of COO. After 15 years, I decided I needed to feed my creative side and left to train to become an upholsterer, whilst at the same time working as a business consultant for a variety of companies. I was then lured back into one more senior role for a couple of years in the construction and manufacturing industry, before deciding to work for myself once more.
I worked full time as an upholsterer for two years before realising I was greatly missing working within a team. I met Emma and it feels like fate, rather than the power of LinkedIn!
It’s early days, but I’m already loving getting stuck into all manner of things that need sorting out. The sheer variety involved in this role is awesome and I do like a challenge. This is my first experience of working within a creative industry and I’m looking forward to learning more about it.
When I’m not working at Genius, I am upholstering. I love anything to do with furniture and interiors. My real spare time is spent walking/running with my dog, Pilates, socialising with friends, cooking and reading literally anything I can get my hands on.
I know I’m massively late to the party, as usual, but music-wise I’ve just discovered Sub Focus. Great tunes for running/working out. I’ve recently watched the two Bridgerton series, which were visually quite amazing – beautiful locations/sets and costumes. Not my usual thing, but quite addictive in a Mills & Boon kind of way. By complete and total contrast I’m now watching Orange is the New Black. You can’t beat a bit of dark humour! 😊
