A lot of people in marketing start out in agencies and then move into the corporate space – but for Rhiannon Beeson, it’s been the other way around.
She’s six months into her new venture, the Be Brand, “jumping in with both feet” after leaving her role as Giacom and Digital Wholesale Solutions chief marketing officer in December 2022.
And, without really needing to do any marketing of her own yet, she’s already hit the ground running with a roster of diverse clients.
Rhiannon spent six years at KCOM as marketing executive and then manager, before joining APD Communications in 2016. Two years later she was made commercial director, in what she calls “quite a journey” under the mentorship of then-MD Mike Isherwood. “APD developed software for 999 control rooms, and I absolutely loved it,” she says. “It was the most rewarding work, thinking that you were helping people get to someone in their time of need as quickly as possible.”
During Rhiannon’s time at APD, the company grew from £6 million to £13 million, before it was sold to the Japanese brand NEC and Mike stepped down, after which Rhiannon continued to lead the business unit. However, changes under the new owners were difficult to take, she says. “When you become part of a bigger company, obviously your systems and processes have to fall away as you move on to the central ones. It was hard to watch everything that we’d done move away because we’d ripped everything out that didn’t work, so that we could be really agile and really quick.”
So, Rhiannon moved to Giacom, initially heading up sales before being asked to lead the marketing team – which is where, she says, her passion really lay. “That’s my ‘geek’ – when I go to London, for instance, I’m excited and intrigued to see what advertising campaigns are on, who’s advertising on the Tube and what PR stunts are happening.”
However, while she enjoyed her role at Giacom, she felt her remit was somewhat narrower, and she missed being able to make a difference to a wider business. After some soul searching and conversations with a few local business owners, many of whom suggested Rhiannon start up her own marketing company, she decided it was a “now or never” moment.
However, she did already own a business at this point – the children’s clothing brand, Bee Bee’s Boutique, which she launched in 2015 as a means of maintaining a creative outlet. “When you’re in a board-level role,” she says, “you don’t get to do as much creativity. There’s lots of reporting, budgeting and strategic decision-making. So that was meant to keep that at bay, but it didn’t, really… so I did a popup in Paragon Arcade for Christmas – because starting a business right before Christmas in a cost-of-living crisis didn’t feel wise! I did that to decompress from the corporate world and figure out whether this was definitely something that I wanted to do.”
The experience inspired Rhiannon to go for it and officially launch the Be Brand in January 2023, helped by a combination of extensive experience, track record, industry contacts and the supportive culture in Hull.
“I’m quite a ‘jumping in both feet together’ person!” she says. “But quite a few people I’ve worked with, or have connections with, have their own business, so I spoke to a lot of them about the best processes and the best platforms. One of the things I love about doing business in Hull is everyone supports everybody. Even if you’re in a competitive market, the support from the business community has been amazing. And I think I’ve been quite lucky that my reputation in marketing’s been quite high. So some people have heard about me, and come to me – I got some consultancy quite early on for a few companies, for example, which was great and helped with cash flow at the start.”
A huge boost to Rhiannon was the Women in Leadership accelerator course run by the University of Hull, during which she met key people such as Elly Taylor, operations director at the Edge Hub in Hull, Claire Chambers, learning and development specialist at Victory Leisure, Fran Lane, senior tourism and leisure officer, and Natasha Barley, the former Hull Children’s University chief executive who is now heading up the Sailors’ Children’s Society.
“It’s a really great programme, and I met some great people. It was a good confidence boost because I’d kind of lost that a little bit. It gave me a purpose and a reason to get out and share with these other amazing women what I was doing. They’re just the best cheerleaders.”
Rhiannon acknowledges, as many entrepreneurs do, that it can be lonely place if you let it, and as a “people person”, she missed her team at Giacom. Another group she soon joined was For Entrepreneurs Only, and she’s found being part of one of its “peer groups” invaluable.
Peer groups are put together and keenly watched over by FEO chief executive Jan Brumby, and they allow business owners from all sorts of sectors to get together and discuss their day-to-day challenges. The regular meetings also serve to keep people in check as the idea is that they must come back to the next one having attempted to address a particular issue. “Joining FEO has been a really great thing to do because, again, it’s useful processes and useful contacts – and in the peer group we set ourselves up to have deliverables that we answer to.”
One recent project Rhiannon is proud of is her work on a new website and marketing campaign for Hymers College in Hull. “That was a brilliant project to work on,” she says. “I was really trusted and empowered by them, and I felt like an extension of the team there. After we went live, within the first few hours they were getting prospectus download requests, and we implemented an online application system, as previously it was all paper-based. To see the results and the benefits to the organisation is just the biggest reward.”
Rhiannon points out that outsourcing marketing is just as important as any other key service, such as HR or accounting. “I always say I take the headache out of marketing. Companies outsource their finance and legal to experts in that field, as it’s easier. Outsourcing your marketing is just the same, a lot of people can do it, but they don’t have time. Because of my experience, I’m a safe pair of hands. I know exactly what it’s like and the pressures they’re under. I spend a lot of time in the early days with clients, working with their teams, understanding what’s important to them. Then we can pick it up quite easily, and that can be anything from a website build to awards entries, or full campaigns, you name it. You’re not taking away anything they’ve done or achieved – it’s just taking the headache away and letting them focus on their core business.”
In the coming months Rhiannon is looking at taking on more people as well as finding a permanent base. “It’s quite daunting being responsible for other people’s mortgages – but I’m at the point now in the growth journey where I feel like I’m confident to do that, and I can put
the time into supporting other people. So that’s the next move. I think we’ll be recruiting at least a couple of roles over the next few months and hopefully getting an office space. And that will free me up to work on the business. My own socials are terrible because I’ve been too busy to advertise myself! But I need to get some of that in, and I think when you’ve got other people supporting you with the delivery of the work, you can then focus on that a bit more.”
Rhiannon is passionate about the next generation of businesspeople, so much so that she’s heavily involved in Young Enterprise, having joined the judging panel during the pandemic. She later became a board member and was made interim chairman in March 2023, and is regularly at the heart of events to inspire young people into entrepreneurship. Also on the board, and helping as advisers to the pupils taking part in real-world business situations – where they form their own companies and have actual bank accounts – are Rachel Constable from MKM Building Supplies, Amy Gray of Amy Gray Wealth Management, and Brendon Smurthwaite of PBS Construction.
“They come in and help coach the kids once a week or once every other week,” says Rhiannon. “We’re always looking for more schools and more advisers, as well as more organisations, to help with fundraising, such as John Good Shipping which supported us recently. All that money goes back into the charity to help us continue to run the programme. I wish I had done Young Enterprise when I was at school because I’m not traditionally academic – my parents and my sisters are, but it’s just not a skill that I had – and I think it gives you another route to success other than university.”
Having her own business has also allowed Rhiannon more freedom to look after her young children and ensure a better work-life balance. “I’ve found myself going through cycles of burnout out in the corporate world,” she says. “One of the other reasons for starting a business was that I’ve always loved travelling, but I also really miss my kids. I want to be there for them, and set a good example. So this is on my terms, and it’s the same when I recruit as well. I don’t want people rushing to be at their desk for 8.30am – they can take their kids to school first and come in when they’re ready. That’s really important to me.”
For Rhiannon, though, if you enjoy your work so much, it’s hardly work. “I really love all of the clients that I work with,” she says. “I find it really addictive and I love coming up with ideas for them and sharing ideas with them. Why did I leave a comfortable salary, the security and the private healthcare? It was to be able to be there for the kids and to build something great and to help other businesses grow. As long as I stay true to those things, then I think things will work out.”
