4 minutes

Faces of Ortus: Get to know Jess

Our Senior Paid Performance Manager, Jess, has been with us over 4 years now - she's been part of the team since our beginnings as the PPC team within our sister agency Silverbean, through our breakthrough into a stand alone agency 'AGY47' and our rebranded Ortus 🫶

 

Let’s talk about your career to date, what’s your journey so far looked like?

Going back to what seems like a million years ago now I went to Northumbria Uni to study Advertising Management. I really enjoyed English and creative subjects at school so thought advertising and marketing would be a good fit and it was! From here I went and worked in London in an ‘all round’ marketing role but in all honesty I wasn’t ready to be sat at a desk all day so I took off to Asia, Australia and New Zealand for a few years and it was the best thing I ever did. I met amazing people and saw some incredible places but I also worked in a few sales and hospitality roles and realised I really liked people and the clarity of numbers (this was a big shock to me). Fast forward to coming back to the North East and I was given my first break into PPC by our Associate Director, Sarah Williams at a previous agency and the rest is history! I’ve learnt a lot in my years in PPC and love that it's always changing and I get to meet lots of lovely colleagues and clients along the way. 

 

If you didn’t land in Paid Search, what do you think you’d be doing?

Hmm, I honestly do love working with people and worked in a lot of hospitality jobs growing up so I’d love to imagine I’d be running a cute little coffee shop or wine bar where people can come in with their dog for a coffee and relax after a walk or a catch up with their girlfriends after work on a Friday. 

 

What’s the big focus for the retailers you’re working with at the minute?

Q4 is right around the corner and will be upon us before we know it, so we’re in the planning and discussion stages with each other, our clients and Google about their plans and how we’re going to maximise their performance. 

 

What’s trending in the Paid Search world right now?

A huge focus for us, as a team who love all things biddable, is bringing Paid Social and PPC together where we can. We have so much data at our fingertips that each channel can benefit massively, yet we still have so many clients come to us where they’ve been working in complete silos. TikTok especially is growing at a rapid rate and really grabs users attention and is a great way to show a brand's personality and become memorable, meaning when a user is ready to search in Google you’ll stand out. It's not just a platform for 16-25 year olds looking for the next trending dance routine or voiceover… although that is fun too. 

 

We’ve got a super flexible approach to remote work - what tips do you have for staying motivated away from the office?

Check in regularly with your team and colleagues, even if a lot of the call is just talking about your dog or love island. Working from home sometimes means we miss out on the culture element which is just as important as enjoying your actual work and gives you a much needed refresh of the mind, as well as the opportunity to bounce ideas off someone else. 

That being said, if I have a full day of account or strategy building scheduled, I love getting my head down while listening to a great podcast or playlist. Diary of a CEO by Steven Bartlett is my go to at the moment. 

 

If we were a fly on the wall on your day off, what would we see… be honest

Probably two people chasing a naughty spaniel across a field somewhere… joking! Her recall is actually not that bad now, promise. But I do love to get outdoors and discover a great walk with a pub at the end. If it’s raining then snuggling up with a nostalgic 90’s or 00’s romcom and having a day long cooking session is my favourite. 

 

What makes you happiest?

My family, friends and Maggie (the naughty spaniel).

 

For those that didn’t catch it on our IG, give us your 2 truths & a lie again!

  1. When I was a teenager my mum bought me a bell to ring if I needed anything when I was hungover.
  2. I discovered I secretly love Gary Barlow when I went to the X factor auditions (as a guest I might add) and actually screamed when he walked out on stage.
  3. I won an award for best ballet dancer 1996.

 

You’re having a dinner party, you can invite anyone you like (let’s stick with famous figures and dodge any beef with your besties!) What 3 do you pick?

Argh this is such a hard one! I’d love to tell you I’d invite some of the common names you see in these lists but really I think a good dinner party is all about just having fun. 

Bob Mortimer

Probably the funniest and silliest person you could invite. His insane stories on WILTY on a Friday night are hysterical and the man has made a show about fishing funny so I know he’d keep the whole table laughing and entertained. He’s also a fellow Teessider so his taxi home would be reasonably priced. 

Emma Thompson

I’ve always thought Emma Thompson would be my chosen celebrity mum if that was also a game. She just seems like she’s a hoot but is also incredibly wise. I think I’d come away with some solid life advice and a warm feeling. 

Claudia Winkleman

I just love her. She has great fashion sense as well as the same self deprecating sense of humour and love of eyeliner.

 

What advice would you give someone looking to pursue a career in paid?

It sounds cliche but work hard and aspire to be the best. Paid Marketing is a pretty saturated market so you need to stand out and the best way to do that is to get results and provide a service that clients don’t want to leave.