From classroom to boardroom

Article by Elizabeth Miers

A sideways look at economics

During a recent train journey I unexpectedly ran into an old friend. As we caught up, I mentioned that I was doing a marketing placement year at an economic consultancy as part of my degree. Describing my role drew an unexpected response. ‘No viral TikToks, then?’ my friend asked playfully. The remark made me think about the misconceptions surrounding marketing roles, and how my placement at Fathom has differed from the stereotypical ideas that people have of the marketing industry.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when embarking on my placement at Fathom, as part of my four-year Management with Marketing BSc course at Bath. Despite some prior work experience, a specific marketing role was uncharted territory for me – and as it turned out, for Fathom as well, as I was to be their first ever marketing placement student. So there were no shoes to fill but the opportunity to mould and create a role that would contribute to achieving the company’s objectives. This filled me with nervous excitement. I was eager to join up and see what a difference I could make as a whole new resource, and to fulfill the role’s planned responsibilities to support my colleagues’ evolving needs.

When discussing the concept of marketing, other people tend to assume the job is mainly concerned with the realm of flashy billboards, catchy advertising jingles and viral social media campaigns. Whilst these tactics undoubtedly have their place, I have found the world of marketing within Fathom to be a multifaceted role at some remove from these common stereotypes.

In fact, putting the theoretical landscapes of my academic studies into practical use at Fathom has proved to be an eye-opener for me, as well as for my friend on the train. I have come to learn that marketing a service doesn’t rely solely on eye-catching advertisements but instead on how our in-depth research, data analysis and trend forecasting can be best communicated with the target audience through thoughtfully crafted content that provides our clients with valuable insights. The emphasis isn’t on chasing short-term virality to sell a product, but instead building on Fathom’s reputation for credibility and reliability that enables it to foster long-term relationships with its clients. The goal is not just to capture the attention of our audience but to engage and resonate with those who value the expertise offered by Fathom.

Gaudy billboards are the stereotyped face of marketing

While social media platforms such as LinkedIn provide one of the channels we use to disseminate our insights, it’s become evident to me that a holistic approach is necessary. With our website serving as a polished and informative space for potential clients to explore our services and insights, and our content creation embodying our dedication to provide insightful analysis, I have seen that it is a delicate cohesion of all these aspects that allows Fathom to reinforce its core values. While we possess a wealth of data analysis, thought-provoking ideas and innovative solutions, the importance of marketing lies in how we package up and present all these elements. After all, we may have the best ideas, but without the strategic lens of marketing, our content could risk going unseen. Unlike the big-budget advertising campaigns we see on the television, I have seen that a coordinated set of marketing activities can more often than not be the unsung hero in orchestrating, shaping, and defining a brand.

Working in Fathom’s small marketing team has been a dynamic and collaborative experience. I’ve been privileged to gain a realistic overview of the broad range of marketing activities that an organisation needs to be working on to promote its services. Part of my responsibilities involve customer relationship management, where I actively engage in handling enquiries from potential business prospects. I help to keep our internal systems up to date, contributing to website management and maintenance. More recently I have taken the initiative to self-educate on Google Analytics: acquiring the skills to extract valuable data insights which can be used to optimise our digital presence. This has included sifting through data to capture interesting statistics about our website users, such as the pie chart below which shows the proportion of new users to our website by region.

In addition I regularly review our readership statistics, allowing the marketing team to investigate what content our readers are engaging with the most; this recently published research note, Top 10 reads for 2023 Q4, was a result of this analysis. The chart below presents some of the broader analysis I have carried out, identifying Fathom’s top ten reads for the year. My involvement in marketing activities also extends to crafting, curating and scheduling social media content for various platforms. And I have thoroughly enjoyed contributing to event planning and execution, such as a recent pre-Davos discussion in collaboration with Chatham House. Helping with the creation of multiple events has highlighted to me how fostering direct, personal interactions with our audience through the design and delivery of engaging events can be extremely valuable, over and above the significance of cultivating digital relationships. I’m proud to feel I am making a practical difference to Fathom.

One crucial takeaway from performing my role so far has been the importance of meticulous planning. A well thought out strategy, executed effectively, plays a pivotal role in the coherence of all the broader marketing initiatives we deliver at Fathom. This has definitely brought me a newfound appreciation of an Excel spreadsheet, something I never thought I would say!

Type of note	Name of note	Author
In Depth	What's going on in Niger?	Erik Britton
In Brief	Inflation disparities across the euro area	Zach Burdon
In Brief	Building transition related diversity	Andrew Harris
In Brief	China’s youth unemployment rate at 20.4%	Ingrid Grodås Standal Aas
Global Outlook	Gauging the risk of a banking crisis	Brian Davidson
Global Outlook	Global Outlook, Summer 2023: one bullet dodged	Andrea Zazzarelli
In Depth	China’s economic echo chambers	Juan Orts
In Brief	Will China enter a balance-sheet recession?	Juan Orts
Global Outlook	Russia, China and their no limits friendship	Brian Davidson
In Brief	Money buys happiness, up to a point	Libby Shepherd

A sideways look at economics

Top 10 most read notes in 2023

Thank Fathom it's Friday