Q&A: Jade Tambini, marketing manager, DS Smith’s recycling division

Jade Tambini, marketing manager at DS Smith’s recycling division, will be speaking about communicating your brand at our event The Evidence in March. Here she reveals why selling is an important marketing skill

What was your first B2B-related job?

I sold marketing data in a high pressure telesales centre. It was like The Boiler Room. It was the best start to my career because it taught me the process behind selling which is an important place to start.

What do you most enjoy about your job?     

I love it when a new customer tells us they chose us because we’re approaching their needs in a really different way to our competitors. Every project or campaign I work on is with that moment in mind.

Which B2B brand do you most admire?

I think Eloqua is a great brand. It practices what it preaches and really nurtures its prospects. It’s always there without being intrusive which is not easy to achieve.

Whose job would you like most?

I would love to be a show director for a fashion house. I love the idea of taking the concept behind a collection and bringing it to life through powerful visuals and music. As B2B marketers we don’t often get to witness the audience enjoying our ‘show’, so I think that’s why it excites me.

What is your favourite B2B campaign?

TalkTalk’s launch for business connectivity services. The creative proposition ‘Business grade’ was expressed through a dark character ‘the lightwriter’, described as ‘the Banksy of the business world’. With powerful and ballsy copy like ‘talk is cheap’ and ‘the proof is out there’ the campaign really stuck a middle finger up to how connectivity providers are generally perceived.

What’s the best piece of marketing advice you’ve ever been given?

My boss Tim Price said ‘you’re mad if you don’t have a plan, and you’re even madder if you stick to it’. He’s right, it’s really important to be dynamic if things change; and they usually do.

What is your proudest achievement?

Being made vice chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Wales Board. It’s amazing to be involved in shaping the wider profile of marketing and I get to apply what I learn back at DS Smith.

To succeed, a B2B marketer must…

Sell. Our concepts and campaigns are being ripped to shreds and watered down at board level. It’s our job to sell to the business why we have to differentiate the brand.

What’s the next big thing in B2B? 

For me, playing it safe is the most dangerous thing we can do as B2B marketers. We have to take more risks and use creative ways to challenge the status quo of our sectors.

What was your last marketing epiphany? 

I was introduced to a strategic B2B marketing process at an event in Paris a couple of years ago. It challenged everything I knew and gave me the courage to fight back at bland marketing. So my epiphany was to always take the red pill and I’m now more creative than ever before.

Who has had the biggest influence on your career?

My parents. My dad has always been in marketing and from a young age I remember him pointing out what’s clever about the world and helping me to notice things.  My mum is very spiritual and has always empowered me to believe in myself.

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