May 8, 2017 •tanmay
We thought it would be a nice idea to introduce you to the people who make up The Bright Click so each Monday, for the next few weeks, you will get the chance to learn a little bit more about us all.
Starting with our very own MD – Matt Davis!
The Bright Click team asked Matt 2 questions each – below is what we wanted to know!
If you have any questions for Matt then please let us know and we’ll put him back under the spotlight!
What is your earliest memory?
Sitting on my nan’s lap on a chairlift going onto the beach in Camber Sands, I remember being scared that the lift was going to go out into the sea for some reason.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
My parents. Mum, who is no longer with us, came from a very under-privileged upbringing, and she vowed to give her children a better life than the one she experienced as a child. She was incredibly selfless, even during the last few months of her life, despite being very unwell, never once complained or thought ‘why me’ – she was more interested in making sure that everyone else was OK. And my Dad, who with little education got himself on the career ladder at an early age and grafted to end up working in a senior position at one of the UK’s biggest companies. His work ethic, can-do attitude and determination has definitely rubbed off on me and he’s still encouraging me on a pretty much daily basis. Both of them backed me to start the business, emotionally and financially, when lots of other people seemed to think I was doing something stupid, and I’ll always be grateful for that.
Have you ever seen a grown man naked?
This is what happens when you ask Dan to submit questions for a feature..!
Why digital marketing?
I’ve worked in marketing for pretty much my whole career, and in 2010 I was working in the city for an IT company, and we were being asked by clients on a daily basis whether we could provide online marketing services, which we technically couldn’t, but which interested me. I started learning more about Social Media marketing in particular, and offered to run a campaign or two for a couple of clients. Demand seemed to be high, and truth be told I wasn’t very happy in the role as I was commuting to and from London Bridge every day. On a particularly bad week, I went five days without seeing my baby son, as he was asleep when I left in the morning, and asleep again by the time I got home. I was pretty fed up, walking back from the station on a rainy Friday night and phoned my mum to vent my frustrations. Having chatted for fifteen minutes, I asked her how her day had been, and she said she’d had a chemotherapy session and was feeling tired. I realised at that moment that the situation was in my hands if I wanted it to be. Mum wasn’t complaining about a situation that was out her control, but I was complaining about something I could change. So I took a punt and asked a local taxi company if they wanted a freelance marketer for three days a week, and to my amazement, they said yes. So I quit my job, and that gave me two days a week to see if I could get some other clients on board, and I was soon being asked if I could build websites, do SEO, Google Adwords etc… before I knew it, I was fully booked up and that’s when Dan started to help me out. I do find it funny that I accidentally started an agency, it was genuinely my intention to just put food on the table on my own terms at the beginning, I never really saw The Bright Click coming until it was suddenly just sort of… there!
Proudest moment of your life?
The birth of my son, Tommy. The first time I held him, even though he was covered in poo and crying, I’ve never felt anything like that. He’s made me proud every day since.
Favourite part of your job?
That I get to work with such a great bunch of people every day, and that we all get on so well. We are a people-business – our team have some amazing skills between them but primarily they’re all great people and that’s imperative for me. I also love seeing results – when a campaign kicks into life and we start generating leads for a client, it’s a very satisfying feeling.
If you could wake up and have any super power what would it be?
I would love to be able to fly just so that I didn’t have to spend so much time stuck in traffic!
What do you think you’re best at in the digital marketing industry?
I think I understand objectives, and how to achieve them. Too many campaigns start at beginning and work towards the end, and it’s a slippery slope because more often than not you’ll miss the mark. It’s important to understand what the client is looking to achieve, because once you know this, you can set that as the main objective and work backwards from it. I’ve learned that the hard way, but that’s what makes me good at it.
If you could wake up tomorrow and be in the body of somebody else, who would you pick and what would you do and why?
If it’s just about the body, then David Beckham would be absolutely fine with me, I think he’s an amazing role model too. If it’s about leading the life of someone else, I’d be the guitarist in a stadium band, let’s say Jonny Buckland from Coldplay. It’s a dream I’ve always had, the idea of standing on a stage in front of thousands of people, it must be amazing. And then to travel the world on luxury planes before doing it again the next night in a different country, I’d imagine that’s a really cool way to live your life.
If you could be anyone else for a day who would it be?
(that’s basically the same question as the one before)
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I’d love us to have built the agency into something great, I think we’ve built some brilliant foundations and I’d be disappointed if he hadn’t really kicked on from that. From a personal level I’d like to be doing more speaking and teaching, both things I love to do but that I don’t get as much time to do at the moment. And to be living in a nice big house with Claire and the kids – with a garden (I don’t currently have a garden… and I want one!)
How do you ensure that your digital marketing skills evolve to keep up with the industry standard?
It’s the hardest part of the job – I read a LOT of stuff online and I’m starting to read more marketing literature now too. I subscribe to lots of newsletters and have various feeds and lists as reference points too. It’s such a fast-paced industry and you have to be ahead of the curve – there’s nothing worse than a client asking you a question that you can’t answer. It’s in our interest to know as much as possible on a lot of levels, the more things we’re good at, the more services we can offer.
If you could be part of any band ever for just one gig which would you choose and what would you play/do?
I’ve accidentally answered that one above too!