Marketing is no longer just about the stuff you make but about the stories you tell

My story?

I’ve done all sorts of jobs over the years. From selling sofas to qualifying as a financial planner. From estate agency to presenting. I’ve been good at some. Rubbish at some. But I never flourished.

It wasn’t a lack of trying. It wasn’t because I didn’t care. It was because I wasn’t able to be myself. I had to pretend to be what people expected.

So when I was told I was ‘too emotional’ to be promoted, or called ‘silly’ in a staff survey, it hurt. Not because it held me back, because it was true. I’d slipped up and let them see those parts of myself. And, well, being myself was not what people wanted.

Then, the world changed. Marketing changed. It shifted to being about real people, honesty, and authenticity. People are sceptical and demand transparency. People want genuine interactions. The pandemic and social and economic changes have shown us how important human connection is, making brand and personal stories more important than ever.

What I thought were my weaknesses, are now the very things that make me real, that make me human. Sometimes I am emotional. Sometimes I am silly. But god do I know how to connect with people. And so can you.