Edward Spearman

I have a postgraduate degree with 14 years’ experience in marketing and advertising, 8 of which have been at a management level. 

I have been involved at the coal face and in the management of all aspects of various marketing channels including sales, finance, campaign development, strategy, client relationships, product development, web design, PPC, SEO, customer service and support, social media, and procurements. Managing multiple channels simultaneously has given me the confidence and ability to adapt quickly to new environments, while exposure to these multifaceted elements has developed my skills as a multi-tasker with excellent attention to detail. 

I am ambitious, always strive to be polite, I am dedicated to the work I do, and I believe that when something is done it should be done properly. I work well in a people-person type of environment. I view the world in a positive light and enjoy a challenge, seeing it as an opportunity to grow and learn about myself and the people around me.

Role: Head of Operations | Cape Town, Western Cape | 2018 – present

TMI COLLECTIVE  TMI is a well established digital media agency within the Cape. They have been around since 2008 founded by one of the original SA Google Country Managers. Specialising in media buying, specifically Programmatic, this independently owned agency has a client base across the globe and recently started its own Tech division.  

Responsibilities and achievements:

• I wanted to use my experience of how Agencies are run and operated and pull it all together to manage and operate an efficient and profitable agency.
• I came in at Management level and introduced a full range of processes and systems to an otherwise bare structure.  
• Operations
  • Really where I started my focus and attention as the agency had previously had very little structure. 
  • It was a huge exercise of understanding the agency and problem solving areas of breakage and how we can optimise areas that were working well. 
  • Without measurability either things would not be done or you could not make any findings. It was about looking at what measurability looked like at every level. 
  • Started to establish and build out workflows.
  • Introduced processes, structure, systems and tools to manage all aspects of the agency from project management, to communications to tools we used.
  • At a Management level, I introduced proper strategic planning and how we recorded progress and success. This ultimately helped each department head better understand where the agency was going as a whole and what they and their teams needed to do on a monthly basis to help achieve those objectives.  
• Finance
  • I was put in charge of the finance department as both the flow of money was in a bit of a state as well as there was no one to help give that team any direction. 
  • Completely revamped how we managed the billing process including how we managed client debtors and the creation of a communication strategy to drive payments.
  • We re-looked at how we did recons, how and where the flow of money was recorded and reported on.
  • Introduced forecasting and how we track profitability at a client level.
  • Revamped the costing models and how services / products we costed for.  
• Facilities
  • This was also part of my portfolio where I managed the Facilities Manager. Facilities were looked at as a whole including the movement and management of people.
  • It included both the Cape Town and Johannesburg office.
  • Started to link the work we were doing with the finance team to facilities and how we tracked and recorded expenditures.
  • Looked at how we managed the flow of people (very interesting during the pandemic as we still operated during those two years).
  • Ensured proper Health and Safety procedures were put in place.
  • Worked with HR to develop and submit our EE plan.

Reason for leaving: A reshuffle of ownership and direction has left me in a space where I do not feel that I am best utilised.  

Role: Head of Agency (Cape Town) | Cape Town, Western Cape | 2016 – 2018  

CONVERSATION LAB  Conversation LAB was established in 2012 - a ‘through-the-line’ agency that specialises in digital marketing. It is a 70 strong agency with its head office based in Durban that won over 30 awards in 2016.  

Responsibilities and achievements:

• Conversation LAB expanded its offices to Johannesburg, Cape Town and London. I moved to Cape Town to head up the Cape Town office.
• I managed the daily running of the Cape Town branch reporting to the MD based in London and sat on the management team.
• I ensured the office ran smoothly and profitably, looking after the admin of record keeping, information management, facilities maintenance and other office support duties as well as managing budgets, finances and contributing to the overall policies and procedures of the company.
• I handled the selecting, empowering, coaching, and retaining of qualified staff, their activities and keeping the employee’s morale up.
• In addition to the growth and development, I was also responsible for the smooth operations of the Cape Town accounts. This was primarily done through coordinating resources, developing strategic direction and planning campaigns.
• A key role that I maintained was to develop close relationships with clients through continuous dialogue about brand identity and aspirations, and to manage expectations through providing frequent feedback and updated information.  

Reason for leaving: The original offer on the table for me to head up the Cape Town office never materialised.  

Role: Account Director | Durban, KZN | 2014 – 2016 

CONVERSATION LAB   

Responsibilities and achievements:

• My overall responsibility as an Account Director was the management of the accounts that fall under my remit and ensured the growth and development of these accounts.
• I provided support, guidance and direction to the internal teams (including monitoring performance). The team consisted of 15 people responsible for SEO, design, development, copywriting, social media and PPC; the team also includes Account Managers and Executives. 
• Ensured customer satisfaction through the delivery of quality work and building strong client relationships as well as looked to promote additional products/services by understanding both the client’s needs and market situation.
• My portfolio generated R10 million p/a in revenue — which reflects a 400% increase since I began.
• My global brand clients included Mr Price Sport, Unilever (Sunlight, Vaseline, Knorr), Diageo (a range of alcohol brands available across Africa) and Environ Skin Care.
• Some of my larger local brand clients include AdvTech (Varsity College, The Business School and Forbes Lever Baker), Coo-ee and The International Hotel School.
• I was responsible for forecasting and managing my business unit’s sales and growth targets, and I oversaw and co-ordinated all client projects and production processes according to agreed timeframes and budgets.  

Reason for leaving: I was promoted and moved to Cape Town to run the Cape Town office.  

Awards won: New Generation Award x 8 | Assegai Awards x 3

OTHER EMPLOYMENT
CTRLROOM  | Durban, KZN | 2013–2014 | Role: Sales Executive 

Ctrlroom was a part of the Blake group. It was started with the intention of becoming a full service agency specialising in digital strategy; however, within a few months of me joining the company, corporate strategy was revised and the Blake group did away with its digital services.  

Reason for leaving: Retrenched  

GOOGLE INC. SOUTH AFRICA | Johannesburg, Gauteng | 2012–2013 | Role: Google Engage for Agencies Programme Coordinator
Google Inc. has offices in South Africa to manage key accounts, market products and build Google’s African footprint.  

Reason for leaving: Total number of contractual renewals had reached its limit and Google had a hiring freeze meaning they could not move me into a permanent role.  

JELLYFISH ONLINE MARKETING | London, UK | 2011–2012 | Role: Account Manager 

Jellyfish is a global digital marketing agency which evolved from a dedicated paid-search provider to a full service digital marketing agency with award-winning online marketing technologies.

Reason for leaving: Moved back to South Africa  

COMFORT CLICK LTD. | London, UK | 2009–2011 | Role: Website Manager 

Comfort Click is a UK-based e-tailer that manages a diversified distribution of retail products across the EU.  

Reason for leaving: Wanted experience in an agency environment

B.Com. Honours in Marketing, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

• Dissertation Topic: An exploratory study into determining the relationship between small advertising agencies and their clients when creating an advert in South Africa.