Marketing Re-Imagined: Lucy Hurst Of Sherbet Donkey Media On How We Can Re-Imagine The Marketing Industry To Make It More Authentic, Sustainable, And Promote More Satisfaction
An Interview With Drew Gerber
Get the right team together. You can’t do it all yourself so get a team together who share the same ethos as you and know what they’re doing.
From an objective standpoint, we are living in an unprecedented era of abundance. Yet so many of us are feeling unsatisfied. Why are we seemingly so insatiable? Do you feel that marketing has led to people feeling unsatisfied and not having enough in life? If so, what actions can marketers take to create a world where people feel that they have enough, and they are enough? Can we re-imagine what marketing looks like and how it makes people feel?
In this interview series, we are talking to experts in marketing and branding to discuss how we might re-imagine marketing to make it more authentic, sustainable, and promote more satisfaction. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Lucy Hurst.
Lucy Hurst is the Managing Director of Sherbet Donkey Media which started out with just 4 employees, 15 months ago, and now has in excess of 30. Lucy, herself, has a degree in photography so has always had a creative flare but today we get to know more about the co-founder of a booming digital marketing agency.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to know how you got from “there to here.” Inspire us with your backstory!
Ok, I’ll try and keep this as short and sweet as possible for you. As a child, I had various health conditions which meant I was always in and out of hospitals. I still take medications to control epilepsy and other conditions. I was told by neurologists that I’d just be able to sign on which didn’t seem like it was my cup of tea. As a teen I had aspirations of becoming a wildlife photographer so went to university, pretty much as far away from my parents as possible, to study photography but also learned that I would be competing against rich doctors and dentists and having to self-fund. I did find that in groups I was best as a leader, planning and directing everyone to achieve the desired outcome. Since then, and this is very much in a nutshell, I’ve transferred those skills into my current role.
What lessons would you share with yourself if you had the opportunity to meet your younger self?
If I had to share something with my younger self, then I’d tell myself the harsh truth that the wildlife photography thing wasn’t going to happen but I also believe in the butterfly effect so who knows how things would have panned out if I hadn’t taken the route that I took.
None of us are able to experience success without support along the way. Is there a particular person for whom you are grateful for that support to grow you from “there to here?” Can you share that story and why you are grateful for him or her?
Yeah, I’m extremely grateful to my business partner, who actually used to be my boss. He has built me up from Admin Assistant/ PA, imparted a lot of knowledge onto me, and continues to do so.
What day-to-day structures do you have in place for you to experience a fulfilled life?
One of the things I love is that no two days are the same, but as long as I leave the office having done something productive and that I’ve given the day my all then I feel fulfilled. One thing that does help me structure my day, all while destroying everything else, is my dog, who comes to the office with me, and I take on regular walks at fairly set intervals and who definitely keeps me on my toes!
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think it might help people?
As cliché as it sounds, I find all our projects exciting. I love seeing them come together and I love seeing the results we get for clients. Website wise, we’re booked up until the other side of the new year now. The SEO team consistently work on and monitor all the clients and drive more and more traffic to each website every month.
Ok, thank you for sharing your inspired life. Now let’s discuss marketing. To begin, can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on marketing?
Yeah, I mean I guess anyone could say they are Managing Director of a Digital Marketing Agency. I guess what makes me an authority in marketing is that despite the fact that we’ve only been going 15 months, we’ve grown bigger and quicker than we ever anticipated, and we’re still growing to ensure that we continue to meet customer demand and we keep getting return clients and referrals. We’ve actually just taken on an experienced Operations Manager who is helping us streamline all our systems, so it doesn’t become a problem when we have double the number of staff we have now.
Throughout history, marketing has driven trade for humans. What role do you see that marketing played to get human societies where we are today?
Marketing has always been essential to drive sales and as we all know, sales are king. Without sales, you have no business. Before technology really took off, it was a case of digging out the yellow pages or a local directory but we’re very much in a digital era now. Pretty much everyone has a miniature computer in their pocket which they can use to search for anything they like and especially given the recent pandemic, online transactions have soared, and the digital marketplace is where businesses need to be represented in the best possible light, via their website, and in the best possible position, using organic SEO to get them to page one of Google.
I work in marketing so I’m very cognizant of this question. What role does marketing play in creating the human experience of “I don’t have enough” even when basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing are met?
Honestly? I think as the human race has evolved; we have evolved to want much more than just these basic necessities. We’re in constant competition with our neighbours or colleagues to have a better car, a nicer looking garden, to look better etc. In regard to marketing, if something is constantly there, in your face, your subconscious is going to eventually tell you that you want it. You could be fed adequately for a week but if someone left your preferred chocolate bar on your desk for that time as well, you’d end up eating it.
What responsibility do marketers have when it comes to people feeling that they aren’t enough?
This is always going to be a collaborative effort between the client and the marketing company. That said, many marketing companies will just go with whatever the client wants, whoever they are. At Sherbet Donkey Media, we’ll only produce work that we are proud to put our name to. If a client came to us with an idea that might make people like they’re not enough, we’d say as much to the client and present some other ideas. If they’re happy to shift things, then we’ll be happy to work with them. If they’re not, then we’d probably advise them to go elsewhere. I do believe that marketers are, at least, in part responsible for concepts and how they are brought to fruition.
Many 21st-century marketing professionals in a capitalistic society will discuss solving human “pain points” as a way to sell products, services, and other wares successfully. In your opinion or experience, has aggravating pain points led to more pain?
I can say with all certainty, no. However, we will always look at things from the end users’ point of view and explain our rationale to our clients. We also track users’ journeys on websites so we can easily see if people are clicking off the page at a particular point. We’re always open and honest from the outset. We’ll then look to remedy any pain points from a UX point of view to increase conversions for clients.
Different cultures view trade/marketing differently. While some may focus on “pain-points” others may focus on “purpose-points”. How do other cultures differ in how they approach marketing? Please give examples or studies you may know about.
Other cultures do look at marketing differently. Purpose points are built in to incite the consumer to get to a certain point, moving them past the pain point, however, loyalty schemes etc. are an extra consideration for the business owner to then consider when crunching the numbers. Removing pain points, in my opinion, is more effective as you’ll still capture the one-off purchasers, and the business owner doesn’t have extra numbers to account for. That said, we’re happy to accommodate any cultural marketing strategy. We’re nothing if not adaptable!
Okay, fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview: It seems as if we have never stopped to question marketing. In your opinion, how can marketing professionals be more responsible for how their advertising shapes our human experience of feeling safe, secure and knowing that we matter? Based on your experience or research can you please share “Five Ways We Can Re-Imagine The Marketing Industry To Make It More Authentic, Sustainable, And Promote More Satisfaction”?
This is honestly what Sherbet Donkey Media is all about. My co-founder and I had both been stung by so-called “marketing experts” in the past and we knew there had to be another way of doing it. The five ways I would recommend are the following:
- Honesty and complete transparency with customers. If you try to dupe them then this will come back and have future repercussions.
- Manage expectations from the outset. Under promise and over deliver rather than the other way round.
- Put the work in. If you work hard for your clients then they’ll be a dream to work with and may even get you more work.
- Get the right team together. You can’t do it all yourself so get a team together who share the same ethos as you and know what they’re doing.
- Balance work and fun. It’s not against the law to enjoy work and have fun in the workplace. That said, you come to work to get work done so find the right balance of work and fun. This will maximise productivity as well as staff retention.
For you personally, if you have all your basic needs met, do you feel you have enough in life?
Like I said earlier, I think humans have evolved to always want more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite content if my basic needs are met however, I am also constantly pushing myself to do better and achieve more so that I can treat myself to nicer things or things that will make my life easier.
Do you have any favourite books, podcasts, or resources that have inspired you to live with more joy in life?
Although it’s not light-reading, I enjoyed “Man’s Search for Meaning” and I’d encourage people to read that. I’m also in the process of reading “Agencynomics” which, again, I would recommend. I also think a lot of Chris Do’s/ The Futur’s videos on YouTube are really insightful.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I think it would be to get people to encourage one another rather than drag each other down. Believe when your friends achieve. I know that I’ve had some horrible things said to me when I’ve been doing okay. I’ve had people try to drag me down. I know that other people have experienced similar. We should be building each other up when we’re doing well.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
I am going to put my hands up and say that I do sometimes neglect my LinkedIn particularly when I’m busy so best bet is probably to follow the company’s LinkedIn page as that will be consistent and you’ll get to see when employees tag the company as well.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sherbet-donkey-media/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
About The Interviewer: For 30 years, Drew Gerber has been inspiring those who want to change the world. Drew is the CEO of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., a full-service PR agency lauded by PR Week and Good Morning America. Wasabi Publicity, Inc. is a global marketing company that supports industry leaders, change agents, unconventional thinkers, companies and organizations that strive to make a difference. Whether it’s branding, traditional PR or social media marketing, every campaign is instilled with passion, creativity and brilliance to powerfully tell their clients’ story and amplify their intentions in the world.
Marketing Re-Imagined: Lucy Hurst Of Sherbet Donkey Media On How We Can Re-Imagine The Marketing… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.