Interview With Barney (Bluebell Marketing Director & Owner)

1) Where were you born and raised? Also tell us something unique about yourself.

I was born in the Army Hospital at Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire in the UK - my Dad was in the RAF and we were stationed nearby. Because of that, I have lived in Scotland, California, Norfolk and for most of my life in Sussex as my Dad worked for British Airways after the air force.

2) What got you interested in marketing and what was your journey?

I started work in publishing, but I was really interested in the Internet and got a job for a search directory called LookSmart around the time of the first Internet bubble in the early 2000s.

They weren't well known but provided the search results for MSN globally at the time. I left there when they company lost their deal with Microsoft and had to close.

After living in France for a year, I got a job at Google in London when there were only about 100 employees and worked there for 7 years. I managed large clients like Vodafone, Apple, HP, Three and Disney during my time there. I have run my own digital marketing consultancy, Bluebell Marketing , for the last 10 years since I left Google.

3) What skills and industry do you specialize in?

I don't specialize in any particular industry, although I do have a tech background as I mainly worked with tech and mobile clients at Google. My main work is with large-scale Google ad campaigns alongside some SEO, paid social media advertising and copywriting from time to time.

4) What is your best soft skill?

I try to be easy to work with and like to demystify digital for my clients by explaining core concepts in plain language.

5) What softwares and tools do you use regularly?

I use Moz for SEO and whichever video meeting platforms my clients prefer, plus ChatGPT, Google Docs and many, many spreadsheets.

6) What are your goals for the next year and into the future?

I aim to keep developing myself and my business and work with high quality, adventurous clients who want to push their businesses forward with digital. I'd like to finish some creative writing projects that I have under way and visit Japan and New Zealand.

7) What has been the hardest thing you dealt with in your career path?

Really bad managers who can completely change the enjoyment and trajectory of your career through no fault of your own.

8) What is the biggest mistake you made that you want others to avoid?

Don't wait to be picked - you have to make your own luck and can't rely on others noticing your talents.

9) Who are your favorite people in the industry that you follow?

It has to be my friend Philip Taylor , who I worked with at Google - he's an ace at Google Ads and runs courses for people to level up their skills.

10) Who has had the biggest influence on your career to date?

Larry Page and Sergey Brin - without Google, I would have been doing something else for the last 17 years.

11) What has been your favorite course that you taken and why?

I can't recommend the Mini MBA in Marketing with Mark Ritson too much. It's a real essential for marketers in general and is particularly useful for someone like me who has no formal marketing education and has come up through the digital route.

12) What would you tell yourself or someone who is just starting out in marketing?

Experience is key and although marketing degrees and certificates might be useful for your CV, they will be super outdated by the time you graduate, especially if you want to work in digital.

Principles can be learnt at school, but you need to get your hands dirty to really grow. Do get a degree though - just make it a more interesting one.

13) If the entire world was listening to you, what would you have to say? *

Be kind, live in the moment, love your neighbor as yourself and don't argue with people on the Internet.

14) Where can we find you?

bluebell.marketing