Rob Quinn (20 March 2013)

Rob Quinn is a very interesting individual which was evident from his past experiences especially in the marketing agency sector. Rob talked about how he started off in marketing and went on to owning an agency himself. Rob stressed that “you must have courage in your convictions especially when running your own business.”  In his second job after leaving university he was given a great opportunity where he could run his own business under the name of Theatre, the business he worked for. This allowed him to do everything a business could do without the risk attached to it. Rob said “it was a career-defining moment as it was a great opportunity to grow the business as well as taking on a lot of responsibility.”

It was after this that Rob decided to take voluntary redundancy and started up Purity, a creative and digital marketing agency.  He has since worked on brands like Jameson and Grant’s Whisky.  Rob believes that what he offers is an ethical service which also reflects in his brand, giving him a distinct advantage over the competition.  Rob went on to talk about the work he has undertaken in the past 12 months, especially working with Samsung on the London Olympics. It was at this moment that he said “think big work big”, as he was only a small company and yet was dealing with a gigantic technology manufacturer.

Rob realised when creating marketing campaigns that the staff are key assets to the business as they are the first person the customer sees, and in their eyes they are representing the company. Therefore Rob was one of the first marketing agencies to train his staff to the highest level to ensure great customer service, something which more and more agencies have done.

Rob gave some things to bear in mind when we are creating our business such as “when you commit to the business you’re in it through thick and thin” and “if you talk with passion and belief then people will buy into you and your business.” Rob explained that it was important to make mistakes as everyone does, but you must know how to deal with them and move on. The last critical bit of advice Rob said was to be “consistent with people and deal and treat people how you would like to be treated.”

(based on an article by Alex Meazzini)