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Behind the Scenes at Sonder

Rob Fellingham • Marketing Director

As part of a new blog series, we're pulling back the digital curtain and introducing you to some of the talented, hard-working team here at Sonder.

From SEO specialists, marketing experts, lead designers, developers and crack technical teams, content writers, and social media specialists, you'll eventually meet them all—and, hopefully, gain a bit of insight into how their dedicated efforts help your online business fly.

Today, we're chatting with marketing director, Rob Fellingham. Let's get into it:

Hi Rob, thanks for chatting with us today! Could you tell me a little bit about your position at Sonder?

I can - it’s a pretty broad role, but essentially I head up the marketing side of things at Sonder. That encompasses a lot of different areas and involves wearing lots of hats, but ultimately my role is to devise and manage our marketing services and ensure they’re always delivering results for our clients.

In tandem with the marketing, the last 12 months have involved me sidestepping over to the operations side of things. Taking a bird's-eye view of the business and mapping where we’re going and what we’re trying to achieve. Agency work can be so head down and grind to the mill, it’s important sometimes to try and remove yourself from that and ensure we’re still travelling in the right direction. I’ve actually really loved taking on that side of things.

What does a normal working day look like for you? If there is such a thing!

Yeah, mixed! Very varied - which is one of the reasons I just love the industry we’re in. I try to keep to very normal and regular working hours - anywhere between 8:00 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. - I’ve got a young son so I’m very protective over the hours I spend with my family. Work-life balance is something I think we’re pretty good at Sonder.

I’ve got a select list of clients I work very closely with, so it often starts with checking on dashboards and campaigns to see how things are performing and making tweaks where needed. Regular internal Zooms with the team to plot strategy and brainstorm - 2 or 3 per day is pretty normal. From there it’s a mixture of getting head deep into projects, client Zooms, or getting out on the road and visiting our clients.

For our day-to-task management, we use software called Asana. That maps out our daily lists and jobs that need doing and by when - so each day is pretty planned and prescribed. We use Slack for internal comms, so that’s naturally pretty buzzy throughout the day too.

What part of your job do you find most rewarding?

I love chatting to prospective and new clients about growing their business. Digging to find out what they currently do, and proposing new ideas and strategies to solve their problems. That initial ideation stage - love it.

I’m also an absolute geek for processes as I’m sure my colleagues will corroborate. Streamlining FTW.

As Marketing Director, what would you say is the single biggest misconception about digital marketing?

That a website can be ‘SEO optimised’ - as though it’s a one time activity. We get that time and time again, absolute bollocks.

Closely followed by social media followers/engagements. Thinking that social media is going well because a recent post of the office cat got 25 likes - no no no!

"Agency work can be so head down and grind to the mill, it’s important sometimes to try and remove yourself from that and ensure we’re still travelling in the right direction!"

What is the secret to a healthy and productive work-at-home environment?

I’ve always been an absolute stickler for having a consistent and set desk at home. One room that’s solely dedicated to work and nothing else. Once the door closes after you’ve finished, that’s it! No working from the kitchen table or a few hours on the sofa - keep the boundaries separate.

On a completely personal level, having a dog is a god send for me. I use the dog walk as a bit of a book end to start and finish the working day - it’s such a precious time to switch on or off. I guess it’s no different to a commute in that sense.

What podcasts or newsletters are you enjoying at the moment?

Oh aye! Podcasts - big fan of the ‘Feel Better, Live More’ by Dr Rangan Chatterjee. Also the Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett. Two fascinating podcasts with so many rules for life.

Newsletters - I like Daily Stoic a lot. ‘Ancient Wisdom for Everyday Life’ is their own description. A little snapshot of daily stoicism is nice, often gives me pause for thought and helps me zoom out of micro problems or stress. Also love Harry’s Marketing Examples, one of the best marketing newsletters out there.

What is the one piece of software or app you could not live without?

Mmm, for a remote team like us - I don’t really see how we could function without Slack. I also love X (formerly Twitter) on a personal level, I email myself almost daily with things I’ve learned and want to explore further.

Can you describe your work-at-home office for us? Do you have any bits of tech or office hacks that make the day easier?

I’ve slowly built my home office up over the years - I’m pretty happy with it now. A few bits and pieces that make it ideal for me and how I work:

Dual monitors to make a three-screen set up
Blue snowball mic for Zoom calls
A decent HD webcam for Zoom calls
A shed load of plants - coz zen vibes, obviously
A double desk set up to allow any of my colleagues to work alongside me for side-by-side days
A dog bed behind me to keep the king happy

What I would say, is I think the camera and mic set up is so important. Both for internal and client-facing calls, it’s how you outwardly portray yourself. All of the elements are fully within your control, so curating an image and background that I’m comfortable and happy with is important to me.

"Having a dog is a god send for me. I use the dog walk as a bit of a book end to start and finish the working day - it’s such a precious time to switch on or off."

Right, I know you’re a big Arsenal fan. Would you bin the Invincibles 2003-04 season if it meant you won the 2006 Champions League final?

Haha, no chance. Absolutely not. Many teams win the Champions League, it’s obviously a good achievement but anyone can win a cup with a good run and a bit of luck.

Chelsea won the Champions League twice, but no-one remembers because no-one cares.

Going unbeaten for an entire season is immortal. Even the modern greats like City can’t do it, and they’re undoubtedly one of the best assembled sides in the history of the game. So no question for me, Invincibles.

Coffee or tea, or a steady supply of both?

Coffee… always!

How can we help?

If you're looking for an experienced digital marketing specialist to help grow your online business, let's talk. With a proven track record of success in the industry, we've got all the tools and know-how to get you where you need to go!

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Posted by Steve Towells on November 27th 2023

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