Interview: Best Creative Marketing founder talks transition from teaching into online marketing

It can be argued that most, if not all, people tend to grow tired of their workplace from time to time. However, even fewer take that bold step and do something about it.

Completely changing careers is nothing short of daunting, but when budding entrepreneur Joel Peart decided that he was done teaching, he turned to a close friend and embarked on a new path in the world of digital marketing.

Last month, the East Yorkshire-based childhood friends, Joel and Adam Ward, launched a new digital marketing agency, Best Creative Marketing, with an aim of making their mark in the competitive online marketing industry.

Bdaily recently caught up with Joel to talk everything business, from why he chose to make a career change, the steps it took to setting up Best Marketing Agency, and how business is doing just one month after launching.

You and Adam launched Best Creative Marketing this past July, but prior to entering the online marketing world, you spent the last 7 years in teaching. So what made you make such a dramatic career change into marketing?

“Without going into too much detail – I have become disillusioned with the education system and the direction in which it is heading. Having said that, I’ve been extremely lucky to have worked in the sector with some amazing young people and talented teachers at great schools. However, I no longer felt the job satisfaction I once did. It all became a bit stagnated. In my role, I felt restricted because I could no longer showcase many of the attributes and skills I felt I had to offer. The ability to influence, inspire and educate young people accordingly had become lost somewhere along the way.

“Ultimately, this is why I wanted a change and a new challenge. I’d always had an interest in the media and its ability to influence, having had first-hand experience of it during my time at university, and to be able to combine this with my passion for literature and language is something I’ve often considered. Moreover, I’ve always had a good imagination and the ability to be creative. Whether it be drawing cartoons or producing educational resources, or analysing colour connotations and the use of images and graphics for teaching purposes…I’ve found it all enjoyable. The marketing world looked like an opportunity to get involved with a bit of everything whilst not constricting myself to just one role.“

Adam, who studied Sports Marketing at Leeds Metropolitan University, is very experienced in world of marketing, so how did you two become business partners? And when did the idea for Best Creative Marketing start taking shape?

“Adam, like you said, is now very experienced in the world of marketing, and as his best friend from the age of 11, I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him grow and excel in it. The whole thing was Adam’s brainchild, really. He’d noticed, when working in his various roles, that there was a gap in the market (especially in Hull) for a ’go to’ agency that could specialise in content marketing whilst offering an array of other services. He knew I was looking for a new career path and recognised my skills, alongside his own, as a great platform for a business.

“The idea started taking shape around October time 2014 and the name ’Best’ was the first one in the hat as we are best friends and, more recently, I was best man at Adam’s wedding. We also thought it’d be useful for search purposes and we knew it would motivate us to constantly do our best to get the best results for our clients.“

Although Best Creative Marketing is only in its infant stage, how is business since launching on July 20th?

“Since launching a month ago business has been good. We have a logistics and travel client, who’s head offices are based in Hull, on board which we do a full array of marketing work with. We’re also working with a large seafood wholesalers and a fitness supplements company both whom are from Hull and have recently secured some work from a container terminal in the south on the back of projects we have completed within their industry.

“We’ve also networked with a lot of other local businesses, including charities, and are looking forward to helping their businesses grow should we get them on board.“

As the marketing industry is very competitive, how is Best Creative Marketing separating itself from the rest of the pack?

“A marketing agency is all about service and delivery. What differentiates one agency to another is the people that work there and their ability to innovate. The clients and potential clients we have met so far all have the same problem: agencies tend to rest on their laurels and are not pro-active enough in offering new services or getting to know their business well enough. In East Yorkshire, in particular, we aren’t aware of an agency dedicated to inbound / content marketing, or if they do, it’s a part of their integrated services and it becomes awash with everything else.

“This is where we saw a gap in the market and realised how our skills would complement one another in order to gear up for the current rise in content marketing. We want to build a brand for clients that enables them to become thought leaders in their respective industries. The marketing industry has never been so diverse and research shows customers now look for information to feed off and educate themselves as opposed to listening to messages that are pushed at them. We feel we can be the agency of choice for this sector.“

Finally, Can you outline your and Adam’s long-term business strategy for going forward, and what aims/predictions you have for the end of 2015?

“The long-term strategy is to grow our business to be as big as it can. Yorkshire already has some great agencies - particularly in the Leeds area - and competition is rife. However, the talent is there to tackle the big agencies from London and it’s all about retaining people in the North.

“London is a big draw for most graduates and together we need provide sustainable opportunities in Yorkshire for people to have the careers they wish. Our aim, in the long term, is to offer this opportunity by creating an agency that top talent want to work for. We have short, medium and long term plans and it’s a case of working hard to achieve those whilst having fun along the way. After all, people are at their best when they enjoy what they do.“

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