Located centrally in the eastern city suburb of Kent Town, The Collective Co. Adelaide will be led by Margot Stolle, who has worked in marketing for 25 years and plans to build a team of energetic creatives around her as well as tap into the brilliance of the Sydney office. Sound interesting? Let’s find out more, shall we?
Water Cooler Chat with Margots
Tell us a little bit about your marketing journey to date.
“Born and bred in Adelaide in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, I studied marketing at the University of South Australia before snaring my first job in sports marketing. From here I was transferred to Melbourne and then Sydney, where I worked across a number of industries and in a variety of marketing and communications roles. When I turned 40, fate offered the opportunity to return to Adelaide with my family and after landing back in my home town I began a consulting role in a boutique outsourced marketing agency where then worked for the past 5 years. This work was varied, challenging and interesting, across a diverse range of clients and industries. These last five years, coupled with the experience of the decades before, and an in-built affinity and knowledge of my hometown has prepared me perfectly to take on the exciting opportunity to be a part of setting up TCC’s new office in Adelaide.”
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
“Having both an affinity for creative endeavour and a practical and action-oriented approach to work and life, and being a people person, marketing in all its various forms and platforms has always allowed me to combine these parts of my brain and personality. I enjoy its nimble nature, and the challenge of keeping up with how the field of marketing is constantly evolving. It keeps me on my toes!”
What do you love about what you do?
“Mostly I love being a part of bringing to fruition the goals and ambitions of each of the companies I have worked with. It’s not always easy, and much thought and work goes into every action, asset and decision. It can take time and patience to deliver results – but ultimately the marketing of your business is what leaves a first, middle and last impression and in my opinion its vitally important that its done well, with flexibility and with consistent commitment.”
How has marketing changed since you began your career?
“When I first started out, email didn’t exist and sending a fax or phone was about as instant as it got. I cut my teeth on traditional marketing formats. Media buying, PR, brochures, sponsorship and events, copywriting, the production of printed assets and more. It’s always been an industry that has changed, but the digital revolution has seen it evolve faster than ever and has completely changed the way companies reach their customers.
Now email is standard, apps and social media rule the way, and every move, touchpoint and decision are tracked and measured. Unique and tailored content and experiences are served up to consumers when and how they want them, to facilitate a connection with your brand based on their preferred interactions.
However, some things remain the same and on-point branding and nailing genuine tone and communications are still the key, now just delivered using new platforms.
If done cleverly, and if companies are prepared to experiment and stay ahead of the curve, much success can be achieved. Understanding your customer and building your brand has never been more important and having a marketing partner that understands your goals, your audience, your products and how best to communicate with them provides a way to stand out from the crowd.”
Why have you joined with The Collective Co?
TCC and its values resonate with me. They make things happen for their clients, they care about their work, they strive for success, they measure results. They take the time to understand each client’s goals, map out what success looks like for them, and take a short, medium and long term approach to delivering these outcomes. It’s The Collective Co’s DNA to partner with their clients, to truly act like their marketing function, and to provide to each client what they need, when they need it. I find this inspiring, functional and practical.
What do The Collective Co bring to the table?
Collective experience – I have complete confidence in the fact that we are a collective of dynamic and skilled marketers and designers.
These days, marketing is not just ‘a nice to have’; it’s a core competency. If you are not keeping up with how to speak to your audience and making it easy for them to find you, you run the risk of not being heard and someone else getting your business. However, as it’s such a diverse and rapidly changing area of expertise it can make sense to outsource this function to a marketing agency that you trust as to partner with you. This allows your business to tap into the expertise and resources of all the marketing disciplines collectively!
What is different about the SA market?
Because of the environment that they operate in (smaller, colloquial, visible) South Australian businesses in all stages, sizes and shapes, have to be all of the following things to be successful:
- Resilient
- Genuine
- Proactive
- Produce an excellent product or service
- Know and love their audience and customers
- Quickly adapt and flex when needed
There is no room for fat. They are creative, innovative and results driven. This is what I most respect and love about this marketplace and the people that are successful here.
What about the future?
Even though it’s been an incredibly hard two years for so many, and while we still grapple with the ripples of this new COVID impacted era – I feel the future is bright! Especially for those businesses that seek the help they need and are are good at what they do. I think it’s going to be another busy year for The Collective Co in both states. In Adelaide I’m determined to manage our growth and give each of my client partners the attention they deserve. We are in no rush, we are loyal, and for those businesses that team up with us, we are absolutely committed.
