Fresh Faces - Keith

Fresh PR has long serving members of staff who make everything happen – from taking client briefs to copywriting and organising events. Between us, we have it all covered. We thought we'd introduce each member of staff to you, including Hamlet the office dog, so you get to know us better.

Today we’re sat with Keith Wilson, founding member and copywriter at Fresh. Our most senior advisor, he is also the jester in the office. Just don’t ask him to tell you a ‘proper’ joke… 

What is your name and what do you do around here?

I’m Keith Wilson and I mostly write things. I have an engineering background and I’ve been writing marketing material for more than 30 years, so usually I can handle anything a client throws at us. Increasingly though my main role is providing advice and support to other Freshers on technical topics. I’m perfectly happy to acknowledge that the younger Freshers (which is all of them given my age!) are more creative than I am, but I enjoy providing the technical underpinning, should they need it.

Since dinosaurs roamed the earth! Actually, since 2008 when Amanda and I set up Fresh together. Rather a lot has changed since then – our present offices in Birmingham are somewhat more commodious than the dining room at her parents’ house in Kidderminster, which is where Fresh started out!

What is the most interesting /exciting thing about your job?

Being nosey and getting paid for it! Clients have really interesting stories that they want us to tell to the world, but the first step is for them to tell us. I’ve always been fascinated by technology – that’s why I did an engineering degree – so it’s a huge pleasure for me to learn about the latest developments, often from people who have been involved in making them happen. To be fair, I also love writing and I write for pleasure even when I’m not getting paid for it. Just don’t tell Amanda!

Why do you enjoy working for Fresh PR?

It’s such a great working environment. Amanda has always believed in managing with a light touch, and I think that pays dividends. The result is that we all very much feel that we’re integral parts of the organisation, which means we’re all totally committed to making Fresh successful and doing a great job for our clients. It really is a joy to come into the office. My colleagues are delightful and, since we bought the Nespresso machine, the coffee is quite good as well!

I could write a white paper on that and one day I – or one of my colleagues – probably will! But in a nutshell, I think the biggest change will be the inexorable rise of inbound marketing which I am totally convinced will come to dominate our sector. It’s hard to predict how quickly the change will take place but I’m certain that early adopters will reap huge benefits. The big challenge is persuading clients to give it a go! I’m not saying, by the way, that I believe traditional outbound marketing will disappear entirely. The demise of older methodologies and technologies is always predicted when something new comes along (paperless office, anyone?) but “tried and tested” usually hangs on, even if it becomes rather niche. So I think printed trade magazines, for example, will be around for quite a while yet.