What I Learned When Bridging the Gap between Creativity and Campaign

At eighteen, I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do. I knew that university wasn’t for me, and I knew I was a creative person but not a ‘creative.’ I love the film industry, and used to dream of winning that Oscar, but as a film producer, a creator of the whole story. However, that’s not quite where life took me.

My first ‘proper’ job was not in film. But in weddings as an assistant and photographer. Photography is a great art form, but weddings are tough and I found them quite repetitive, with little room for creativity. I therefore jumped at the chance as a twenty year old to work in London as a PA for the theatre director Hugh Wooldridge. A well-known director, Hugh has directed the international tours of Jesus Christ Superstar and Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I had the chance to work on a ‘Night of a Thousand Voices’ with him.

Setting up rehearsals, managing venue and logistics, my theatre experience was the first time I bridged the gap between creativity and campaign. Theatre creatives are eccentric, flamboyant  – and explosive – that’s the way they work. By the time I left at twenty one, I’d taken a steep learning curve in dealing with people and I also knew what 24/7 looked like from a campaign point of view. I also knew there was no point in taking anything personally. Art is hard, but that’s what makes it special.

My first role in events was with N2O as an Ops Coordinator. An entry level role, I was responsible for booking all the staff for activations and events. I managed the briefings and check-ins, mostly for B2C shopper events and after three months, I moved to the Project Management team as a Campaign Manager. This is a role where PM, Production and Account Management are rolled into one, and my first clients included Rimmel and Maybelline. We created activations in stores and shopping centres, also bringing brands like Impulse to life.  

This time in my career was very much focused on understanding how good campaigns were constructed. I managed the Southern Water account and the teams travelling with modified vehicles and roadshows across town centres and residential areas. Creativity gave way to logistics and road-show management, but I learned that all good campaigns need strong foundations; market research, demographic considerations, sales and planning, leading to the big win when we closed the Tesco account.

After shopper, I needed a challenge so I pushed for more B2C experiential roadshows, festivals and big mall activations. As a Senior Campaign Manager, I worked with major beauty brands, Unilever and Citreon to share their brand story, using the operational side of the business to help me rationalise the creative provided.Then the Cola-Cola work landed and I knew I had to be on this account. I needed the learning curve and at 29 years old, I became the Account Director looking after the team taking Diet Coke and Sprite to the festival scene. From the Taste of London experience to the Schweppes cocktail markets, we moved into Diet Coke and Fanta’s big festival stands. One of my favourites, a ‘giant Diet Coke ball pit’ took pride of place at the British Summertime Festival and Westfield Shopping Centre.

For over four years, I worked in partnership with Coca-Cola.The pinnacle of that story was working with the iconic Christmas Coca-Cola truck in 2021, the perfect blend of creative and campaign. Visiting the whole of the UK, logistics, timeframes, staff and travel had to be worked out. On one hand I worked with police and counter tourism units. On the other hand, we were crafting new and exciting activations to tour with the truck. I loved the fans who drove for hours to take a picture with the truck and join in with Christmas immersions, gamified queues, live bands and carol singers.

I realised my passion comes from the end to end experience. When creativity and campaign combine.  By discovering what a person’s affinity with a brand is, and speaking to that by crafting an emotive experience. I really wanted to understand the story being told through our events and build those links between Coca-Cola and their fans.

That being said, I did have my own personal story to write. Brought up in Abu Dhabi, I love exploring new cultures and new experiences. Over my twelve years at N2O, I left three times and came back. In between, I travelled through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos & Malaysia for six months. I visited Canada for six months, and moved to Indonesia for 18 months to work as a scuba diving Instructor. I still live for the adventure, with my fiancee and still planning our holidays around diving, but teaching was ruining the passion for me and I was ready for a different kind of pressure.

Enter 2Heads… The agency was attractive because of its global reach and scale of delivery. For a traveller, I didn’t have global event knowledge and I wanted to know how other markets work. 2Heads was still boutique and I had the opportunity to carve out a niche. I also fancied expanding my knowledge in the true B2B sector. BBC was my first account and I developed into the media sector with Fremantle, Red Arrow, ESPN and Warner Bros within my client roster.

I took over the Merlin Entertainment account in 2023, and it felt like my journey came full circle. My passion within events – B2B or B2C, was always the guest journey and game play, the happy marriage of creativity and campaign. Merlin appealed to the constantly curious human in me, with briefs that focused on full immersions and sensory stimulations. My first activations were the Arctic Explorer Basecamp and Peppa Pig theatre at LEGOLAND Billund. The variety, scale and creative freedom working on such opportunities has been very exciting.

They also offer the perfect turning point in my career to take a beat and look back at what I’ve learned. 

• The creative industry has taught me to constantly search for the right projects to work on. To not take criticism personally as everyone – rightly so – has opinions.
• That working with integrity is the best way of working. I’ve learned to step back and listen, but also make sure my voice is heard. That creating open spaces for collaboration is important to me and my team. The bridge between creativity and campaign varies at different places, and it’s important to learn the nuances when working with creative personalities in order to elicit the best from teams.
• I’ve learned to consider the subtleties of communication between teams and that looking at projects through different lenses is also important. I may have once looked at an event purely from a costs or logistical POV, but I know now it’s important to see the vision and how to bring it to life.
• The opportunities at Merlin rely on a commercial mind. They need top level numbers, targets and strategy. It can definitely bring out the control freak in me. Learning to take a step back and mentor my team has been key. Once the trust is there, on both sides, I can step aside from projects and focus on the accounts themselves, overseeing that happy marriage of creativity and rationality.
• Maybe it helps that I’m a Gemini, as I’ve learned that reconciling the two POVs – creative and logistics, comes from developing a new way of working.
• Events and experience marketing is the business of people. Communication is the key.

My last piece of advice? Actively make choices in life based on the experiences they afford, both personally and professionally. You won’t regret it.

About Rebecca

Rebecca is our Themed Attractions Director, leading the charge on some of 2Heads’ most exciting projects with major clients such as Fremantle, Legoland, and BBC Studios. With her expertise and passion for creating unforgettable experiences, Rebecca ensures every activation delivers impact and innovation.