Going global

Posted on

It’s pretty amazing really. In 2017 I worked for clients based in Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the US and, oh yes, the UK too.

Today I can go swimming while thinking of headlines for a diamond jewellery brand in Switzerland. Have a drink in an East London bar while writing a script for a huge multimedia business in Belgium. Or sit on the tube and write marketing collateral for an electric car manufacturer in Taiwan.

The internet has changed the way the world works and it’s transformed the way my words work too. All I need is an iPad, my Word app and an internet connection and I’m suddenly an in-house writing resource for any client or agency anywhere on earth. Except Albania - but that’s a different story

I even had an enquiry from an Iranian agency not long ago which would have been fascinating, but as things stand Western budgets are a bit of an issue.

This greater diversity of customers is reflected in the variety of briefs that head my way. Lots of corporate movie scriptwriting for companies in Belgium for example: Elia (the Belgian national grid), Arcelor Mittal Steel, Brussels Airport, Roularta Media Group, and the Port of Antwerp to name just a few.

Video/blog/email campaigns for a big developer of manufacturing software in the USA. A new visitor experience for Portugal’s leading Port brand.

Then there’s that aforementioned diamond jewellery company, helping to build up a brand from scratch – think tone of voice, website, social, emails etc. Same thing for a revolutionary fitness app in London.

So thanks to technology, I’ve expanded my horizons in every way. And now I watch my eight year old son growing up with the possibility to play FIFA 18 against friends on the other side of the world, listen to his favourite music on demand (rubbish), or learn new tunes on his trumpet without leaving his room and I wonder what his world will look like 20 years from now.

With a bit of luck, by that time he’ll be playing for Paris St Germain (I’m his manager by the way). Or…dare I dream…Nottingham Forest.