We all strive to make a difference in our work and in early 2016, I found myself at a fork in my career. On one hand, a brand that everyone wants to work for, but I was told that there would be limited scope for me to work creatively. On the other, the GSMA, an organisation I hadn’t heard of, but which promised to give me opportunities to be bold and have real ownership over my work.
It was confusing… so many unknowns, yet the more I learnt about the GSMA, the more it excited me: a global presence, Mobile World Congress, interesting mobile related programmes, cool offices which would create an inspiring working environment, and a large dose of passion in everyone I met. I trusted my gut and allowed myself to believe in their vision and use my skills to add real value.
‘We want to tell the amazing stories of how mobile connectivity is transforming the lives of people around the world…’
It’s not every day you get given the opportunity to make a real difference and it’s rarer that a company has the platform to deliver on such a mission. When Mats Granryd, GSMA Director General, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September 2016, presenting the mobile industry’s commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I felt part of something valuable, something that will change lives and something that I can contribute to.
That something is the GSMA’s Case For Change campaign. It was born out of the need to showcase powerful initiatives delivered by mobile operators, shift perceptions and drive those that can really make a difference – institutions, policy makers and, critically, millennials – to use their voices and take action in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
I was buzzing… our exploration started to show us incredible initiatives from every corner of the world, featuring robots, schools in the rainforest, lifesaving apps, support for refugees, wearables for the blind and much more where connectivity was the lifeline for so many. These inspiring initiatives encouraged me to dream big and embrace big, audacious goals. Nothing was off limits, the essence of collaboration on this campaign was using the huge whiteboard walls in our meeting rooms to brainstorm ideas and being confident that when two minds come together, we would generate ideas we would never have dreamed up on our own.
This multifaceted campaign would require me to open my ‘skills toolbox’ and call on every aspect of my marketing experience to date: strategic planning, creative vision, storytelling, team management, partner engagement, social media amplification, video production and much, much more.
My development since I joined the GSMA has also reinforced what my strengths in marketing are and I’ve been given numerous chances to develop a passion for story-telling and video creation. This means that when I come to work every day, I want to create compelling content for social platforms and lead a team which can take on anything.
From the beginning of my time at the GSMA, the exposure, input and support from the whole leadership team has driven me and the teams I work with to deliver world-class campaigns. Each project drives us to dream bigger, make bolder steps and own the choices we make. The reassurance of being surrounded by subject matter experts and the environment of respect and collaboration enables us all to move at pace, fail fast and reach our goals.