WoW Woman in Marketing I Gaby Jesson, founder of The Prospect Society
Gaby Jesson is the founder of The Prospect Society. She has spent 25 years working in PR and digital marketing, winning awards for her work in business launches, team culture and effective PR and social media campaigns. Gaby has consistently worked for global and UK clients and businesses in health, fitness and wellbeing and more recently, this has been predominantly in digital services and tech innovation.
She sold her PR & Marketing agency in 2016 and for the past 8 years, Gaby has focused almost entirely on supporting tech startups in-house and agency side.
In 2020, she launched a new growth marketing agency: The Prospect Society – a team of talented freelancers to operate on a cost-effective, flexible and remote basis. Gaby wears a few different hats. Sometimes a part-time CMO or in-house PR Director and other times as an expert PR consultant in a remote marketing team or marketing mentor.
The Prospect Society offers a comprehensive range of marketing and communications expertise including digital growth, SEO, social media advertising and influencer outreach, content marketing, PR and copywriting – and more recently – training too!
Since its launch, The Prospect Society has worked on a diverse range of projects in healthcare, wellness, fitness, mental health and tech innovation. In addition to hospitality, recruitment and accelerator programmes for tech innovators. The most recent PR project is a launch campaign for Breathable Cities – a health accelerator for anti-air pollution startups.
Gaby, tell us a bit about your background and your projects so far.
I’ve been in marketing and PR for about 25 years working on a mix of consumer and B2B brands from Nike to Nokia. I have led PR and marketing agencies and worked in-house as a consultant and full-time CMO.
I sold my PR agency a few years back and for the past 8 years, I have focused my work on supporting startups, scaleups and tech innovators with PR and marketing growth. I’ve been lucky to work with a broad range of innovators from circular economy startups to coworking kspaces, hospitality, food, drink and wellness.
In 2020, I launched a new consultancy called The Prospect Society, which focuses on cost-effective growth marketing solutions for fast-growth, lean businesses. Like many, I recognised a fantastic post-pandemic opportunity to work differently and more cost-effectively. I eliminated office and running cost overheads and engaged a team of trusted and brilliant marketing freelancers – who also wanted to avoid the commute and embrace a working life with more freedom.
I work with a range of clients from sports to wellness, hospitality, retail and recruitment – as well as other marketing agencies, helping with business development and culture change – something I wasn’t expecting - but I love!
Work has been wide-ranging from designing brand strategy and marketing plans to writing award submissions, building and implementing CRM systems, PR, SEO, briefing websites, designing and writing E-books, copywriting and social media. I love the diversity and have operated with a few different hats - as a CMO, PR Director, Marketing Consultant and Director of Social Media.
I am also a Board Advisor for Impact Hub – an innovation hub for startups and I’m now also PR Director for Growth Studio – an accelerator programme for purpose-led businesses.
I coach startups and lean scaleups with marketing guidance via the government’s Help To Grow scheme. I love coaching and leading monthly training courses in PR and digital marketing.
How did you get into this industry? Has it been an easy industry to get into or have you had many challenges?
In terms of the communications marketing industry, I think I was destined to pursue this type of career (considering I’m still doing it 25 years later!) but initially it was very difficult to break into.
I sent so many letters and CVs to marketing agencies and particularly, sports marketing agencies. I think/hope my relentlessness paid off! I finally managed to secure 2 weeks of work experience with IMG (not great – treated like a Director’s PA) but this led to my first paid position as a Marketing Executive at First Artist Corporation. This agency had grown from footballer management to handling all commercial rights for the England Football and Cricket teams. And the agency founder then secured the rights to bring American sports associations like Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association. It was a fantastic 3 years spent learning about global events, TV rights, sponsorship and USA-style sports marketing – and having a lot of fun with my fellow team members too.
How long did it take you to be where you are now? What was the biggest obstacle?
I don’t think I’ve taken a straight-line route in my career and I think it’s suited my DNA for diverse challenges, learning and also flexible working!
I’ve been working in marketing communications for over 25 years so that’s probably how long it’s taken me to reach where I am now. But it’s not necessarily all vertical. I’ve diversified my skills so I can work on projects that to me have more rewards and better social impact too.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle in my career has been faced has been personal. Trying and failing to balance good family life. Feeling guilty about not giving enough to either! And the inevitable imposter syndrome. Having said that, both of the latter are mental health challenges that have got better with age/confidence/experience - and meditation!
What are the challenges of being in the industry you are in?
In terms of my marketing skills, it’s about keeping ahead of changing trends and technology. ChatGPT is one of them which is impacting copywriting.
What are your biggest achievements to date?
I hope I’ve been a good mentor. I genuinely want to see everyone succeed and enjoy their careers. I think my creativity has stood me in good stead and my work supporting startups and early-stage founders makes me proud.
What are the projects you are currently working on?
I am particularly excited about a new role I have started. Breathable Cities from Growth Studio is an accelerator programme tackling air pollution. We’re seeking to support clean-air startups with accelerated growth and investment support. Air pollution – both indoors and outdoors - has devastating consequences and affects everyone from cradle to grave.
Is the #WomenInTech movement important to you and if yes, why?
Absolutely! For me, it’s about opening up access and diversity to STEM sectors. I see brilliant women already doing great work and I hope this is helping to overcome past lack of visibility. Big shout out to Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon.
What will be the key trends in your industry in the next five years and where do you see them heading?
Of course, AI and automation will play an increasing role in digital marketing and in many ways, this will be a benefit. Reducing costs and access to business growth tools. Meaningful data has become increasingly valuable in marketing tools too. However, I also believe in counter-trends and I predict the need for human creativity and intuition to balance data will surge for the future.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to anyone who wants to start a career in this industry?
Never give up, be flexible and open-minded! Careers in marketing communications are a broad church so you might start your career in a place that isn’t ultimately where you want to be. But that’s ok. A willingness to learn related skills is still important and recognising that reliability and showing up is a much prized and sometimes overlooked trait!
Who are three inspirational women in your respective industry you admire?
Well of course Marija herself – an inspiring person with amazing vision! I also love the former co-founders of AllBright – Debbie Wosskow and Anna Jones. Their original vision of connecting females in an inspiring and connected workspace still continues today. And finally of course Anne-Marie Imafidon – her commitment to helping young females in STEM is unrivalled.
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This interview was conducted by Marija Butkovic, Digital Marketing and PR strategist, founder, and CEO of Women of Wearables. She regularly writes and speaks on topics of wearable tech, fashion tech, IoT, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Follow Marija on Twitter @MarijaButkovic and read her stories for Forbes here.