Meet the Expert: Hannah Thame, Account Director

As the agency Account Director, Hannah keeps our schedule on track and our clients entertained. She reveals why she thinks behaviour change is important and where she wants to go on her next adventure…

How has your PR and marketing journey grown?

I started my marketing adventure as an apprentice over 16 years ago. I’ve always been interested in brands, the use of clever words in advertising and the messages businesses adopt to portray their products and services. After spending a decade in the energy sector, I made the move to Resonates. I loved working with agencies in my client-side roles and wish I’d made the jump sooner. I’ve been adventuring with cleantech and technology clients for the past six years now.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

Everyone that knows me knows I love a list, so I’d say I get the most enjoyment out of putting things in order. When it comes to translating that into the marketing world, I like creating plans and coordinating all the marketing activity together.

I liken the feeling I get to The Sims. When the characters are engaging with other like-minded Sims or in nice surroundings, they have happy moodlets – when press releases, social media, events, content and messaging are all aligned I too display happy moodlets.

What’s your favourite brand and why?

Nike. For a few reasons:

  1. Comfort. I’m not sure I would have got through my many fitness experiences without its Dri-FIT leggings.
  2. Tagline. For those of you that have tried to come up with a strapline, core message, or value proposition, you’ll know it’s not easy to encapsulate everything a company is about in just a few words. Kudos to Wieden and Kennedy. I think it’s clever, inspirational and at times has motivated me to take on new goals and complete gruelling fitness challenges. It is a strong collection of words, that works for all abilities, ages, and goals. It has stood the test of time and remains as relevant today as it was 35 years ago.
  3. Customer focussed. Nike’s marketing message is that it wants to make your life better at something you are passionate about. Its vision is ‘do everything possible to expand human potential.’ I admire Nike’s ability to cultivate customer trust and ensure it gives customers the best there is.

The future workplace is evolving – what do you think businesses need to focus on in the next few months?

There are so many things for businesses to juggle. I’ve picked just a few:

  • How they connect with customers. I’m seeing my friends and family buying more from brands they feel connected to. It’s not just about price and quality, but how honest a brand is and what they care about or do for the environment.
  • Riding the shifting talent pool tide and changing the employee experience. The way we are thinking about work and approaching work is evolving, I think businesses caught snoozing here will for sure be left without a skilled workforce.
  • Increasing productivity and improving processes by looking at data and acting upon business insights. Perhaps considering where AI could work and where people add more value.
  • Sustainable and resilient operations, with a focus on decarbonising supply chains.

What are the major challenges to tackling Net Zero and how do you overcome them?

Of course, cost, lack of knowledge, generating enough power from clean energy sources, and measuring impact are major factors. But I think changing behaviour is the hardest challenge to address. Behaviour change by people, businesses and policy makers is critical to achieving Net Zero. But changing the way people eat and travel will be a bumpy road and a tough nut to crack. Dietary change is likely to deliver far greater environmental benefits than food producers can achieve. And reducing demand for high emission vehicles can deliver huge carbon reductions. If each of us make small changes, by eating more plant-based meals and making most journeys as a combination of walking, cycling and public transport, then greenhouse gas emissions would substantially reduce. The desire for each of us to do this needs to be greater than the care not to.

What content are you enjoying consuming right now?

I always have multiple books, audiobooks and series on the go, from all different genres as I don’t always fancy reading, listening or watching the same thing. Or perhaps it’s FOMO. I’m not sure?

Whilst dog walking, cleaning and gardening I’m listening to C.J Skuse’s Sweetpea series. I’m slowly ploughing my way through my Netflix watch list and absolutely loving Katherine Heigl as Tully in Firefly Lane. I spend most weekends lost in similar dramas (or the Discovery or Disney channels) until I get square eyes and then I switch to reading. Currently keeping my imagination entertained are ‘Invisible Influence’ by Jonah Berger, ‘Apples Never Fall’ by Liane Moriarty and every week I delve greedily into Waitrose’s free ‘Weekend’ paper.

What green products/services do you use/like/would recommend?

After reading Anna Shepard’s column ‘My year of living sustainably’ I started thinking a lot more about plastic waste around my home, and it motivated me to search for refill companies. I came across Bower Collective. It has hundreds of eco home and personal care products to choose from. Take a look and join the refill revolution.

If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?

Travel. Explore a place I’ve never been before.

My preference would be to adventure to a tropical island, somewhere with a waterfall or tree swing over crystal clear sea, however, I’d be just as happy sneaking around cobbled streets or browsing bustling food markets.