Karen Clarkson is managing director at Meet and Potato, a Liverpool-based live events and creative brand communications agency.
After joining the company more than a decade ago as content and communication director, Clarkson was promoted to her new role last year.
Now working with the likes of Mercedes, Hotel Chocolat, Dunelm and Poundland, she shares her career journey, tips and advice…
How did you first get into your industry?
By accident! I had worked in marketing and communications for 12 years, the last seven of those in London. When I decided to move back up to the North West, an opportunity came up for a client services director at a live events agency. I wasn’t sure it would be the right fit for my experience, but I went for the interview and realised that live events are simply another channel of communication, and that my skills were actually really well suited particularly when it came to content.
At the end of the day, whether it’s customer or internal communication, you are working with a brand who has a message they need to get to an audience in a memorable and effective way. I’ve been in the live arena for 17 years now, longer than I ever worked in marketing and I wouldn’t go back.
What do you love about your job?
I love the fact that the majority of our work is internal comms. In marketing, I often felt the messages that needed to be communicated were trying to convince someone to buy something, that arguably, they might not have needed. The events we create, and the content that goes with them are designed to give delegates genuinely useful information that benefits their working lives. We spend decades of our lives at work, so it’s good to feel that the job you do is contributing to people feeling better informed, and valued in their role.
Who – or what – has inspired you in your career?
I’ve worked with some great people over the years, but I genuinely think the team I work with now at M&P are the best. They inspire me every day. We have a really good mix of youth and experience on the team, and everyone brings something valuable to the table. I think it’s really important to never stop learning, and never kid yourself that you know it all. I have a lot of knowledge and advice to share with the younger members of the team, but they in turn have a lot to teach me, especially when it comes to technology! I have a tendency to be a late adopter when it comes to tech, but they keep me on the ball!
We have some really long standing client relationships too, and having worked in collaboration with them over many years, I’m really inspired by how they continuously look to improve, within their business in general, and through the events we produce for them. You can see how much they genuinely care that their teams enjoy the experience, and that the event content is truly engaging. It inspires us to keep innovating and doing the best job we can for them. And that gives us a lot of satisfaction of course.
What are the biggest challenges about your job?
I think as a natural introvert, I find the adrenaline rush of live events a challenge. Although there are several members of the team here who thrive on the pressure of that environment so we have all bases covered!
Post pandemic, one of the difficulties we have experienced is finding great people. A lot of people left the industry during Covid, and didn’t return. But we’ve been really lucky in the last 12 months, with three great new hires who are all making a huge positive contribution to the team.
What skills have been the most crucial to you succeeding in your career so far?
Great communication is key to everything, and something I’m really passionate about. Whether it’s between the internal team at M&P, or how we liaise with our suppliers and our clients, being clear, considered and mindful about the way you communicate is a non-negotiable. It’s been a vital part of every role I’ve had, but never more so than now.
Teamwork is crucial too. It takes an army to put on an event and continuous collaboration is the only way to do it well. We bring in experts from across the industry to help us deliver, and it’s through our combined skill and experience that our events are produced so impressively.
I think being naturally proactive has also been a huge benefit in my career. It’s a fast paced world, and using your knowledge to stay one step ahead of the client, so you’re finding solutions before most people realise there’s even one needed, keeps you on top of your game.
What was your first salary and what could someone getting into the industry expect to earn nowadays?
When I left uni in 1995 my first salary was £15k, and that was considered really good! Anyone coming into the live events & communication arena now at a junior level could easily expect to earn £25k from day one.
What education or training would be most useful for someone looking to follow your career path?
Prior to my new role as MD, I’ve always been focused on the content side of events, so to follow my path it would probably be education or training in media and communications. I have found my marketing degree to be really useful in understanding client event objectives and event content at a strategic level, meaning I can add a lot of value in terms of making sure we achieve those communication objectives and deliver content in a way that is well received by the audience. Understanding the audience is crucial for the success of any communication through any channel which is another area of useful knowledge my marketing background has given me.
What advice would you have for someone looking to follow your path?
Live events and communication is not for the faint-hearted! If it’s something you think you will enjoy, then go for it because it’s an incredible experience and an industry full of amazing, talented people. There’s true camaraderie and a lot of fun to be had. But the pace can be relentless at times, so remember you are a human not a machine, and take good care of yourself. That might just be front of mind for me because I turned 50 this year!
