Rob Chamberlain

How long have you worked in hospitality?

Not until I started to work for Imago, which is about 7 years now. My background was in events, particularly in students' unions. I would organise everything from outdoor live music festivals, headline DJ sets, right through to cheesy retro club nights and real ale festivals. I started out on the technical side (doing sound and lights) and eventually progressed more into promoting the events and branding new events. In some ways, it's a million miles away from the world of hospitality, but in other ways, it's exactly the same - finding out what the customer (guest) wants, and then giving it to them!

What does your role as Head of Marketing involve?

In a nutshell, it's to develop the marketing strategy for the company and to drive opportunity, lead generation and revenue that contributes to the financial sustainability of Imago. The role is basically Diagnosis (conducting market research to find out about our customers/guests and what they like/dislike), Strategy (targeting the right customers for our business, positioning our offer to them and setting objectives that we're trying to achieve), and Tactics (presenting our products/services in the right way, making sure we're easy to find and do business with, and promoting ourselves across multiple platforms).

What does your typical day involve?

I've usually got my head buried in one spreadsheet or another, interpreting a myriad of different stats, metrics, and insights, trying to figure out what to do more of! As a small team, we're also very involved in creative content and are constantly producing assets and collateral for all sorts of campaigns from print adverts right the way through to social media and point of sale materials. A PowerPoint deck is never too far away from the to-do list, or a request to "make something look good"!

"A cross between Milton Friedman and Karl Pilkington - one a Nobel prize-winning genius, the other a blithering idiot."

What are your hopes for the department?

Well, ultimately, it's to help drive bigger growth for the company and make Imago one of the country's leading conference and events brands. The more we can increase our market share, the more opportunity that brings to grow the portfolio and diversify what we do, which brings opportunities for all of the Imago team to grow and develop in their own roles. So, for me, it's less about social media posts and being the "colouring in department", and more about growing the brand into the best in the country!

Give us an interesting fact about yourself

Well, I'm quite boring really. I am a bit of a musician though with guitar being my main instrument. I play various other stringed instruments like bass, mandolin, ukulele, and also play piano (badly) and drums (even more badly). I don't really do any live performing these days but I enjoy making recordings in my home studio which is affectionately called "Shabby Road".

Which of Imago's 6 values is the most important to you?

Accountability.

Obviously, they're all equally important and should all be on display each and every day. However, it's very easy to try and be kind and the opportunity to display kindness crops up all the time. It's much more difficult to be accountable... to stick your head above the parapet and take ownership of things, whether they're successful or unsuccessful. I think accountability fosters trust and when people trust each other, they can achieve great things!

What makes Imago a place where you love to be?

Lots of things really. You kind of just know when you're in a great place, don't you? It's the vibe of the place, the culture, the people, the variety, the responsibility, and the feeling in the morning that you're happy and excited to go to work! Anyone who has worked in a role where there's a bad culture knows how awful that is and just how much it can affect your life negatively. Imago is a million miles from that. Yes, it can be difficult, challenging, frustrating etc, but the fact that I love going to work and really care about doing a good job is a good measure of the place and its people.