As some of you may know, we’ve recently welcomed a new addition to the Herdl team, and if you haven’t spoken to him already, we’d love to introduce him! So without further ado, meet Ben Blance – our new marketing manager.
Prior to working at Herdl, Ben completed an undergraduate degree in Business Management and soon after embarked on a backpacking adventure across the globe to broaden his horizons and experience new cultures. Upon his return, he enrolled at the University of Derby, where he completed an MSc Marketing Management course.
His main passion in marketing comes from understanding consumers wants and needs, helping them to understand brands at a deeper level and analysing purchase decision behaviour. His Masters Degree Thesis examined the changing attitudes in generations towards brand loyalty and traditional advertising, with a secondary focus on the impact digital marketing has on generations. From this, Ben developed an in-depth understanding of how certain segments of the market react differently to various types of marketing activities.
Ben loves the data-driven nature of digital marketing and how you’re able to see the direct results from specific campaigns. This has lead Ben to focus his learning on more modern digital marketing methods including SEO, PPC and email marketing. With a keen interest and desire to continue his learning, Ben sought employment in digital marketing as opposed to more traditional marketing.
Ben’s previous work experience has been in a more traditional marketing role, where he relied on print media and event marketing (networking) to captivate target audiences. From this work, Ben has developed a lot of transferable skills and formed a solid foundation which he has been able to bring forward into his role at Herdl. Ben’s experience has also included customer-facing settings, where he presented training around mental health and other social & emotional, health & wellbeing promotion.
When Ben isn’t in the office, you’re likely to find him at the cricket club in Ashby, where he is the vice-captain of the second XI and on the committee as the sponsorship manager. The sponsorship role he plays in the cricket club includes co-organising a ‘fun-day’ type of event, with the aim to increase awareness and participation of cricket in Ashby.
He also has a keen interest in darts and has recently started playing in the NW Leicestershire ‘C’ league, with a highlight of 13 dart leg – looks like Ged might have a little competition in the office now!
As you can imagine, we’ve been really excited to bring Ben on board. His vast understanding and comprehensive knowledge of marketing trends and analysis adds a new dynamic to the team and we all look forward to seeing him progress in this role.
If you’re interested in speaking directly with Ben or anyone on the team, please get in touch.