Going freelance

So many of my friends and colleagues have made it work, it’s very common in the marketing industry. I’ve been employed for so long – it feels natural and secure to be part of team. But the trade off is a necessary ‘towing of the line’ – fitting in rather than trying it your own way. I do get frustrated when I know this a better way to do things. I now have the experience and contacts to walk the talk!

I’ve had three great projects so far. I’ve loved supporting rbl as a freelance account director, delivering research for rebranding projects. I also have two clients of my own.

Bikmo and British Cycling

Bikmo is a specialist cycle insurance provider. I’ve been a customers for years and had great service when my mountain bike was damaged in a crash. I believe they have a real CX advantage over general insurers because they are all mad about bikes.

Bikmo secured a big deal in 2019 – becoming the insurance provider to British Cycling. Becoming a member of British Cycling means cover for personal injury and liability – something less obvious than protection for the bike itself. This is the kind of education British Cycling is responsible for, along with officiating all serious races in the UK.

I’d visited a British Cycling event with my family when the national cross country event came to our local trails – Cannock Chase. I was impressed with the set up and racers – but even more so by the support of families to watch the races from under 14 to over 60s. It’s a sport with better gender equality than most – plenty of role models for my daughters in all cycling disciplines.

I worked with Bikmo to help them make the most of the brand partnership with British Cycling. A new website, video and various member communications needed a co-branded identity. I used my own experience and plenty of research to explore the proposition to members and their reasons to buy or not buy insurance from Bikmo. I proposed this rationale along with messaging and visual treatment for the partnership. The proposed solution went live in May.

Earthworm

Earthworm is an ethical investment start-up, providing sustainable returns for people who may have never invested their savings before. I was contracted to conduct a UX review of their current website and digital strategy. I studied their objectives, performance data, site and content, in order to recommend improvements. Once the rationale was agreed, I suggested new UX for the entire site, focused around distinct user journeys. Using Balsamiq I wireframed new pages starting at mobile screen size to get the priority and brevity right. Then I worked up from mobile to tablet and desktop, finishing with a designed mockup with suggested content. The changes will be applied later in 2019.