Trailblazers and leaders: Chloe Knight
Chloe Knight | Head of Marketing | The NHS Alliance
How did you get into marketing/comms?
Almost by accident! I finished my degree (in English and American literature) in 2010 and moved back home to Sheffield. I wanted to work in publishing and was trying to get into editorial work but as far as I knew that was only possible in London. After a few months spent feeling sorry for myself, I decided to take a chance. I did some research into local publishing companies (they did exist!) and managed to land an internship with a wonderful company that supported me to learn and develop and at that time were just setting up their social media channels. They took me on, on a paid freelance basis to manage their socials while I continued to learn copy editing, email marketing and I was able to use that experience to land a full-time role in digital marketing for a publishing company in London. Since then, I’ve moved away from publishing and broadened out into more generalist marketing and comms roles within membership organisations in the health sector – I’ve also moved back to Sheffield after 10 years in London which feels very full-circle.
What is something that you do every day without fail?
Connect with my family and friends. Whether it’s a good chat with my husband, cuddles with my daughters, a quick text with my mum or (mandatory) exchanging silly TikToks with my sister, speaking to my family is an essential part of my day. I am also incredibly fortunate to have had the same group of best friends since school. There are 10 of us and those friendships mean everything to me. A chat with those women makes me feel like I can do anything and I feel very lucky to be part of their daily lives too.
What is the best piece of advice that you’ve received? And who gave it to you?
The best piece of professional advice I’ve been given was by my manager in my first job in London (shout out Margarita!) to make sure you always understand the organisation you work in, beyond your own role in it. Make sure you know how it is funded, governed and run, what strategic priorities exist for leadership and how it is viewed externally. This advice has helped me spot areas for improvement, develop and pitch ideas to senior leadership and to spot and challenges on the horizon. I have passed on this advice a lot! I think it helps when things get tough to understand why certain changes are happening where you work or why that promotion just might not be available at the moment and that insight gives you choices. It also helps you to recognise whether an environment or culture is a good fit.
What is a tool/hack that you would recommend to anyone starting out in PR/Comms/Marketing?
Build your network – surround yourself with models of the sort of success and professionalism that you aspire to and have honest conversations with those people about what it took to get there and what it takes to maintain it. Within that network try to find a mentor. Someone who shows you what’s possible, affirms your aspirations and also gives you that reality check when you begin to doubt yourself. The impact of this on how I view my skills and aspirations has been life-changing but being a black woman in a more senior role in health comms I really had to seek that out and curate it for myself. But I’m so glad I did – I have met some of the most incredible, talented people (I have to shout out the wonderful Edna Boampong here) and realised that who I am is an asset to my career, rather than a barrier to success.
What’s your greatest achievement to date?
Personally, I have to say that it is my daughters – I’m particularly proud of who they are but also the aspirations they have because of what they see Mummy doing. I’m also proud of the balance I’ve managed to maintain between career and home as a working mum.
Professionally I’d say landing my first ‘Head of’ role while on maternity leave is up there! Drafting the application at 4am with a baby in my lap and then making it through the interview – the first time I’d ever been separated from my 3-month-old – was not an experience I’m keen to repeat but it definitely showed me what I’m capable of.
Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?
This Girl Can – I absolutely loved how authentic and inclusive this campaign was. At a time when we were only used to seeing certain images of women on social media the representation of different sports, ages, bodies in this campaign was truly groundbreaking. I’d have loved to have been part of those strategy meetings, the research process and of getting out there to meet the remarkable women that were featured in the creative campaigns. Every time I’m out running, and I pass another woman and we smile at each other I think of this campaign. I think it’s fantastic.
In three words, describe your approach to your role/work?
Collaborative. Evidenced. Inclusive
What’s a question every PR/marketing pro should ask themselves?
Who is this for and what do I know about their needs? Too often we can become preoccupied with the needs of the organisation, rather than the needs of the audience. Communication happens with the receiver and it’s essential that we connect with our audiences in a way that fulfils their needs - not just ours – or it becomes very hard to build authentic connection and trust.
