Hi Jules, how are you?
Good, good, ta! I’m excited to see what you’re going to ask me. How do you want to start?
Absolutely! Shall we get stuck in? Can you start by introducing yourself and telling me about your background?
I’m Juliet, founder and CEO of Stripe Communications. I’ve been in marketing, PR and comms for 30 years now, which is a terrifying thought. My career history has been a mixture of in-house and agency, so I’ve moved between the two over the years. I first started out in Toronto, Canada, working for a technology organisation before working at places like Telewest, Allied Domecq, Alloa Pubs and Restaurants. Then, at 25, I was given a chance to start up the PR division of an ad agency called Smarts.
At the time, Smarts was quite a small but forward-thinking agency. Their MD, Rob Morris, really believed that marketing should work in silos. This was in the early 2000s, so Scotland was still operating a mostly ad agency model.
His belief was that there was an integrated model that would work that brought everything together, and the only ingredient that was missing was PR. So, he phoned up my PR boss to see what we could work out, and I ended up leading a joint venture between the two businesses. Within two years, Citigate, our partner company, had bought and merged with the new agency to become Citigate Smarts. It was just brilliant because it proved to me that you can’t work in silos, and if all the disciplines work together, they can really magnify what you’re doing for campaigns.
After that, I took some time off to travel, but that didn’t go so well because three months into my travels I ended up accepting a job as Head of PR and Corporate Communications for Vodafone in Sydney. At this time, they were the 9th largest company in the world, and my initial PR budget was $3.5 million.
How did you navigate that?
I had seven agencies, and the world of mobile was changing so rapidly. We did the first picture message launch. BlackBerry launched 3G networks. It was amazing. As a business, they gave me so many opportunities and for the last year there, I was head of Consumer Marketing Campaigns, where my budget grew to $280 million. I looked after everything from advertising to running the campaigns as well as my old PR job. It was busy. Australia was fab, but it’s a long way from home, and I eventually decided I wanted to come back to the UK.
From there, I knew I wanted to start an agency, but I probably didn’t have the confidence in myself to do it on my own. I was still in touch with some old contacts at Citigate, and they approached me and asked if they could invest in a new PR company with me at the head of it. And that’s how Stripe was born almost 19 years ago.
What an amazing journey! I didn’t know you were at Vodafone. What first inspired you to pursue a career in media, comms and PR? Did you always know?
Oh, my mother says that I always wanted to be an actress and that this was the next best thing, which is fairly insulting to be honest! I originally wanted to go into media, but I realised through friends working in London at places like ITV that it was really cut-throat. I just didn’t have that killer instinct to do that.
So, I started to look at careers in communications. I still love what I do to this day. I just love the idea that communication can make things better for people, whether that’s a small interaction in a shop, how organisations communicate with their employees or how their reputations are managed. I really do think it’s a critical part of humanity, and I love the diversity that it brings.
How has that changed over your career? My observation is that it feels like everybody’s talking, but no one’s listening to each other at the moment. I’m seeing a lot of tone-deaf campaigns and rinse-and-repeat PR material out there at the moment. Has that always been the case, or am I just jaded?
Things are changing very quickly. When I first started in public relations, it was very much a professional service. We were suited and booted, and we had leather folders. It was like management consultancy — you were going in and being listened to. Then, it turned into ‘PR’, which I think lost a lot of professionalism. Lots of smaller outfits started to pop up, and the overall perception changed.
The role of the publicist changed, and it became more about generating news coverage or social likes for some businesses.
For me, it’s always been about building a brand or a reputation. It’s part of a bigger story. That’s what’s really critical. Then, we’ve had the democratisation of communications. Even in the last 15 years, media outlets have changed enormously. There used to be a lot of them. They were respected and well-managed for the most part.
Now, we’ve got situations where people are breaking stories on social media, and the media then uses that as verbatim truth. So, we’re in a world where anyone can be a publisher—it’s harder to cut through and even harder to control.
Looking back, were you always a good communicator?
I think so. My mum had a toy shop, and I worked there from the age of 12. I truly believe that working in retail teaches you a lot about human behaviour and how to communicate with people.
That’s the other thing I love about communications. So much of our job is understanding humans, whether that be our clients, the people you’re working with, the end-user or the target audience. The wonderful thing about being in PR is that we always see the world from a third-party perspective. You’re never ‘in it’ so much that you believe your bullshit.
Did those early experiences of working with your mum help to push you on?
Oh, definitely. I’ve always loved working. I started working in the industry when I was 20. I studied Communications at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, but I dropped out before my final year because I just wanted to go out and work. I had found what I was good at, and I wanted to throw myself in as fast as I could. I still don’t think I’d want to be doing anything else, Liam.
During my third year at university, I worked full-time as a manager of a clothes shop — 35 hours a week on top of a full-time degree — if I’m honest, I was probably more interested in working than I was in actually doing the degree.
I never really knew how to say no to things, and I always took on a lot of extra ‘stuff’. That clothing shop, Geoffrey Rogers at Waverley Market, did a lot for me. I was given lots of opportunities, and I just grabbed them with both hands. It’s those little things that shape you — you don’t always realise at the time, but those early moments are really quite formative.
I had a very similar start, working two jobs in the evenings and weekends while at art college. I liked earning my way and being busy. Jumping forward a little, what did the early days of your career in Canada look like?
As a female coming into the working world in Canada, I was immediately made a receptionist. That’s what you did when you were a female. Even though I had a degree, it was just what was expected back then. I would get the lunches, make the tea and answer the phones. And then, in the little spare time I had, I would do a job in Investor Relations. But it was as if you had to start at the bottom and work your way up. It feels mad to think about that now, but back then, that was just expected of you. Thankfully, it’s a very different world now.
Wow, as a bloke, you just don’t have to think about things like that. How did you break out of that?
I really wanted to work in investor relations, which was like public relations, but more financial. So, I had to get my head down and get on with it. It was what I needed to do to progress, so I did it.
Did you ever have a mentor to help guide you?
I’ve had a few individuals who have championed me and looked out for me over the years. All of my bosses have been brilliant. I had David Brown when I worked at Allied — a really smart guy, and he showed me a lot of trust and belief.
Then, when I was with Citigate, Flora Martin really believed in me. She was a formidable female business owner known as ‘The Mother of PR’ — she was the one who gave me the chance to do the joint venture with Smarts. Then, Rob at Smarts was also amazing. He’d say, ‘Right, you’re going to go to every fucking pitch this year. We don’t care if they don’t want you there, you’re going.’
So, I would go along to these advertising pitches with my ideas that they didn’t want, and I’d say, ‘Hi, I know you didn’t ask for this, but here’s what I think we can do.’ I did 36 pitches in my first year there. I was an account manager before I joined — I’d never done a pitch before, and I think that trust from Rob and Flora helped me excel. I’ve been lucky because I’ve been around people who could see the best in me and give me opportunities to grow. I’ll always be thankful for those.
Laterally, WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership) has been transformational. I’m a big fan of peer-to-peer mentoring, and I have met women there that I didn’t know existed. So, having those mentors in London — who are so generous with their time and advice — has changed my life. I believe it will continue to change my life.
What principles underpin your process?
The first one is strategy. I think PR was behind the curve in terms of putting strategies in place to help clients understand their audiences, business challenges, behaviours and brands before developing campaigns rather than just creating a tactical piece of work for the sake of coverage. So, I firmly believe strategy is critical. We have a fantastic Strategic Planner who you’ve met, Gemma Bell. She has been with Stripe since the early days and has grown and developed that as a discipline within our business.
The second thing is creativity. With attention spans decreasing, clients recognise that you need to be creatively interesting to get noticed.
I could tell you 10 things that will get you featured in the paper or on social media, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for the client or their brand. The PR and media industry has been driven by volume for so long that we often lose sight of what matters, and that’s to build brands and reputations.
What brings you joy?
Oh, that’s a lovely question. My mission just now is to bring joy back to the world because we live in a time of very challenging economic conditions, uncertainty and negativity. There are no patterns or a real sense of where the world is headed right now. So, this really resonates with my thinking right now. On a personal level, my children give me joy. Being outside with my dog and just feeling happy that I’m alive. Professionally, it comes from the people I work with. Without a shadow of a doubt. They are the reason I started the business, and they are the reason I continue to do it every day. We genuinely try to put our people first.
I hope when I die, people will say, ‘Jules really helped me’, or ‘Jules gave me the confidence to go and do something’. We’ve created a really important legacy with Stripe, as we’ve had some amazing people come through the doors. Many of them are still with us from the start, and the ones that have moved on have gone on to do such amazing things.
It’s important for me to have good relationships with people when they move on, too. Our impact on humanity is the impact we have on the people we come into contact with.
What advice would you give somebody interested in a career in PR and media?
Work hard. Anyone that says you can get to the top without working hard is speaking bollocks. When I started Stripe, I worked 70-hour weeks, and I’d still do that if necessary. There’s no question that you need to put in the hard yards if you want to succeed.
When it comes to work experience or internships, I don’t know if there’s a formula that definitely works. What I do know is tenacity works. Don’t give up. Attitude is everything. Yes, it really helps if you’re smart and brilliant at what you do, but attitude is what will set you apart, especially over the long term. If you’re enthusiastic, great to work with, and you see the good in things, you’ll get more opportunities in life.
A career in the creative industry isn’t a tick-box exercise. I genuinely believe the way you show up to work is the difference between you really making it and not.
The challenging part is that you can be a jack of all trades in our profession. That isn’t a negative. You often hear people talking ‘generalists’ down.
We have to be account handlers, strategists, creatives, writers, producers and more. To find someone who’s really good at all of that is pretty bloody difficult — I think we’re like unicorns! It’s important to be well-rounded.
What’s the best advice that you’ve been given?
Don’t be a dick. Keep your feet on the ground. Treat people properly and be genuine with them.
Where should emerging talent look for feedback?
Get into a studio or agency and learn from those around you. We have a very active coaching program at Stripe designed to develop young talent. Everyone has a coach, and we’ve created a culture of constant feedback which runs in both directions. But you don’t have to do that through your employer; you can just reach out to people and ask for help. I think that’s one of the things people don’t do enough. After you’ve done your very first meeting, just ask a colleague how they think you did. Ask for feedback. Ask how you could have done things better.
If you don’t ask for — or receive — feedback, you’re never gonna learn. So be vulnerable and ask people what they think. Don’t be defensive. It won’t always be what you want to hear and sometimes I won’t even be helpful, but it’s up to you what you do with that feedback.
What opportunities can you see for our industry?
There’s a lot of change happening right now. The landscape is changing quickly — I couldn’t even predict where we’ll be in a few years’ time. I believe we could see a few more publishing titles go. That seems to be the trend. People consume media in a very different way to even 5 years ago, and audiences and channels are evolving alongside those changes.
However, the role of the influencer is evolving in an interesting way, too. The younger generations’ purchasing decisions are based on influencer content. Roughly 75% of 20-25-year-olds make buying decisions based on influencer content. They are the new media.
They are the channels and the broadcasters. That’s a really interesting opportunity as the whole cycle of monetisation vs. authenticity is coming back around again. Influencers who are more authentic, with smaller followings, have greater engagement. They’re also fun to work with.
A lot of the work we’re doing now involves auditing potential influencers. If you’re a brand engaging with someone, you want to know that there will be no repercussions from a behavioural or moral standpoint. We’ve all seen the backlash over political endorsements, questionable actions, etc.
As communicators and creatives, I believe it’s critical that we stay agile. It’s about being open to understanding what’s going on and taking advantage of opportunities. Moving your business offer to keep up.
Thanks so much for your time, Jules. That was a blast!
It was! Thank you for the chat; it’s always a pleasure. Catch up with you soon.
