5 minutes with Grant Shaw

Name: Grant Shaw        

Job title: Print Marketing Manager

Organisation: People’s Postcode Lottery

How did you get your current job / how long have you worked in your current role?

I’ve worked at People’s Postcode Lottery for nearly 4 years after moving to Edinburgh from Aberdeen where I worked in the marketing team for a mail order online butcher.  My fiancé got a new job down here, which is why we decided to make the move.  I was lucky enough to find a job at the lottery relatively quickly, starting as marketing executive before being promoted to print marketing manager after about a year.

What do you enjoy most in your role?

I really enjoy the variety of projects that I get to work on, which all contributes towards the fantastic work the lottery does.  From developing our print acquisition strategy to being involved with the charitable content and even internal marketing and PR there is always something new to get stuck into.  The most satisfaction I get though is knowing that what we do here is making people’s lives better.  Players have raised more than £500M for over 7,500 good causes since we started and it’s good to know that I have contributed to that in some way.

Once lockdown eases the world as we know will still be a very different place, what do you think the biggest positive change will be once this is all over?

I think we have all revaluated what is important to us and been able to take a moment to stop and think during this crisis.  I hope that some of what we have had to adapt to stays with us going forward, the biggest of which being the reduction of our carbon footprints.  I think most organisations will be very aware of this going forward and the balance of home and office working will change for many.  Not only will this have a positive environmental impact, but it will also provide a better work/life balance so that we can take care of ourselves a bit better too.

What is the greatest challenge your company has faced during this crisis?

Like everyone we have had to get used to the ‘new normal’.  Technically most of our team could work indefinitely from home, thanks to the efforts of our IT team and the technology now available that can facilitate this.  However, since we produce so much creative work it has been tougher to collaborate on projects.  Simple things we took for granted like printing off a sample of artwork to see how it fits together and discussing it as a group has become much more difficult and nothing can substitute a face to face meeting and bouncing ideas off each other in person.

Are there any brands or professionals in your industry you admire?

One brand that I think do marketing particularly well just now is KFC. They are disruptive and great at getting your attention across all media platforms, producing fantastic content. KFC are consistently clever with their messaging. One example that really stands out for me was when they suffered supply chain issues and a shortfall of chicken when moving to a new supplier and faced a lot of negative sentiment. They came back with the simple, but genius, ‘FCK’ campaign that was true to their brand – light-hearted, honest and a bit irreverent.