TV Star: The Young Marketer of the Year 2008
Lindsey Nuttall, head of marketing, BBC2, BBC4 and Knowledge is changing the way TV promotes new programmes. She talks to Elen Lewis about bread, Big Brother and BBC branding.
What's the most valuable lesson you've picked up in your marketing career?
Don’t take no for an answer.
What's the best decision you've ever made?
Moving from bread to TV. Those who know me would probably say TV was a more natural fit and the onsite bakery was playing havoc with my waistline.
And the worst?
Agreeing to take on Big Brother. It shaved years off my life.
What brand do you most admire and why?
Marc Jacobs for his astounding ascent to world domination and Honda - for playing the long, hard game of using jaw-dropping creative to build consumer love. It’s a road less frequently travelled these days but one I wholly believe in.
What's the biggest challenge facing you over the next year?
Building in some downtime. I only seem to have one speed – fast!
What achievement are you most proud of in your career?
Being crowned Young Marketer of the Year was brilliant. The Manchester Evening News ran a piece on me and my mum got to show it to the neighbours. Being nominated for a Bafta was also pretty good and of the three IPA awards Skins picked up, I was particularly proud of ‘Best New Learning’.
Any lessons from bakery that can be applied to broadcasting?
Being a graduate trainee selling flour to regional bakeries taught me to think about where the money is coming from. A focus on effectiveness and ROI is still a relatively new thing in broadcasting and measuring success is less straight forward. Having a commercial focus and understanding the elements that make the business go round have been crucial to my career.
How did your time at Channel 4 inform your new career at the BBC?
It taught me to have enormous ambition for my brands. When the BBC thinks big and acts confidently it packs an unparalleled punch and I intend to make the most of that.
What was the secret behind the success of the much-admired Skins launch campaign on E4?
The secret of its success was an insight that came from our digital agency, Holler. They pointed out that a record label would spend two years courting fans of a new band before they would dream of launching an album. We, on the other hand, were launching TV shows for them from a two week standing start. We rethought the build up completely and everything else fell into place.
What advice would you offer to fellow marketers keen to target elusive teen audiences?
Invest in building a relationship with them over time that is as rewarding for them as it is for you. Be aspirational but totally authentic.
What kind of marketing can we expect to see from the BBC TWO and FOUR in the future?
Bold, imaginative campaigns for amazing public service content. We will be having a lot of fun bringing viewers into knowledge building content that they might not have thought they would like. The Medieval Season launch on BBC FOUR is a good example of when we have recently got this right.
Where would you like to be in five years time?
Continuing to help lead the BBC or another big brand led business.
Your time at C4 has ensured you're more in touch with youth audiences than many other marketers. What are the most important things the marketing industry should know about the consumer behaviour of 'the kids of today.'
Their friends are far more interesting to them than you are. If you can become what their friends are talking about, you’ve cracked it.