Paul Cottam
Communications Consultant at Spark Grimsby- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Steve Tomkins
I had the absolute pleasure of working with Paul for a few years whilst he was a client of mine at Sport England. Paul was a fantastic person to work with and I pray that again our paths may cross professionally at some point again. A thought leader with an energetic and engaging personality demonstrating a huge depth of knowledge and experience in digital communication. He is brilliant and creative, showing fantastic understanding of the audience and translating that to achieve successful outcomes.
Trina Wallace
Paul commissioned my colleague and I to work on copy for the Spinal Injuries Association website. He was managing the redesign of the website. His brief was really clear, providing us with a template structure and example copy. This helped make sure we targeted the content appropriately, keeping the reader in mind and establishing a friendly and relatable tone of voice. He quickly set up meetings with key people we needed to interview for the copy which was useful for keeping to schedule. Paul was managing a lot of people and used Trello to keep the project on track. He’s a lovely person and a pleasure to work with.
Harry Maule
Paul hired me to take on a large project. He commissioned me to carry out substantial research and copywriting for new pages for the Spinal Injuries Association website. From start to finish, Paul was very organised and always went the extra mile to ensure that I had everything I needed to get the job done. Paul's attention to detail along with his communication skills enabled me to align the copy exactly with the project goals, making the entire copywriting process straightforward and efficient. It was an absolute pleasure working with Paul and I look forward to collaborating with him again for future projects.
Steve Tomkins
I had the absolute pleasure of working with Paul for a few years whilst he was a client of mine at Sport England. Paul was a fantastic person to work with and I pray that again our paths may cross professionally at some point again. A thought leader with an energetic and engaging personality demonstrating a huge depth of knowledge and experience in digital communication. He is brilliant and creative, showing fantastic understanding of the audience and translating that to achieve successful outcomes.
Trina Wallace
Paul commissioned my colleague and I to work on copy for the Spinal Injuries Association website. He was managing the redesign of the website. His brief was really clear, providing us with a template structure and example copy. This helped make sure we targeted the content appropriately, keeping the reader in mind and establishing a friendly and relatable tone of voice. He quickly set up meetings with key people we needed to interview for the copy which was useful for keeping to schedule. Paul was managing a lot of people and used Trello to keep the project on track. He’s a lovely person and a pleasure to work with.
Harry Maule
Paul hired me to take on a large project. He commissioned me to carry out substantial research and copywriting for new pages for the Spinal Injuries Association website. From start to finish, Paul was very organised and always went the extra mile to ensure that I had everything I needed to get the job done. Paul's attention to detail along with his communication skills enabled me to align the copy exactly with the project goals, making the entire copywriting process straightforward and efficient. It was an absolute pleasure working with Paul and I look forward to collaborating with him again for future projects.
Steve Tomkins
I had the absolute pleasure of working with Paul for a few years whilst he was a client of mine at Sport England. Paul was a fantastic person to work with and I pray that again our paths may cross professionally at some point again. A thought leader with an energetic and engaging personality demonstrating a huge depth of knowledge and experience in digital communication. He is brilliant and creative, showing fantastic understanding of the audience and translating that to achieve successful outcomes.
Trina Wallace
Paul commissioned my colleague and I to work on copy for the Spinal Injuries Association website. He was managing the redesign of the website. His brief was really clear, providing us with a template structure and example copy. This helped make sure we targeted the content appropriately, keeping the reader in mind and establishing a friendly and relatable tone of voice. He quickly set up meetings with key people we needed to interview for the copy which was useful for keeping to schedule. Paul was managing a lot of people and used Trello to keep the project on track. He’s a lovely person and a pleasure to work with.
Harry Maule
Paul hired me to take on a large project. He commissioned me to carry out substantial research and copywriting for new pages for the Spinal Injuries Association website. From start to finish, Paul was very organised and always went the extra mile to ensure that I had everything I needed to get the job done. Paul's attention to detail along with his communication skills enabled me to align the copy exactly with the project goals, making the entire copywriting process straightforward and efficient. It was an absolute pleasure working with Paul and I look forward to collaborating with him again for future projects.
Steve Tomkins
I had the absolute pleasure of working with Paul for a few years whilst he was a client of mine at Sport England. Paul was a fantastic person to work with and I pray that again our paths may cross professionally at some point again. A thought leader with an energetic and engaging personality demonstrating a huge depth of knowledge and experience in digital communication. He is brilliant and creative, showing fantastic understanding of the audience and translating that to achieve successful outcomes.
Trina Wallace
Paul commissioned my colleague and I to work on copy for the Spinal Injuries Association website. He was managing the redesign of the website. His brief was really clear, providing us with a template structure and example copy. This helped make sure we targeted the content appropriately, keeping the reader in mind and establishing a friendly and relatable tone of voice. He quickly set up meetings with key people we needed to interview for the copy which was useful for keeping to schedule. Paul was managing a lot of people and used Trello to keep the project on track. He’s a lovely person and a pleasure to work with.
Harry Maule
Paul hired me to take on a large project. He commissioned me to carry out substantial research and copywriting for new pages for the Spinal Injuries Association website. From start to finish, Paul was very organised and always went the extra mile to ensure that I had everything I needed to get the job done. Paul's attention to detail along with his communication skills enabled me to align the copy exactly with the project goals, making the entire copywriting process straightforward and efficient. It was an absolute pleasure working with Paul and I look forward to collaborating with him again for future projects.
Credentials
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Accredited Journalist
National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ)Jun, 2005- Sep, 2024
Experience
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Spark Grimsby
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Business Consulting and Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Communications Consultant
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Oct 2021 - Present
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EQUANS UK & Ireland
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United Kingdom
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Renewable Energy Semiconductor Manufacturing
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1 - 100 Employee
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Marketing and Communications Specialist
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Oct 2021 - Mar 2022
Leading the PR, social media and internal communications for the urban regeneration of North East Lincolnshire. Leading the PR, social media and internal communications for the urban regeneration of North East Lincolnshire.
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Communications Consultant
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Jan 2021 - Oct 2021
Led a design, development and content team to create a new website fit for the challenges of 2021 and beyond. Transformed the tone of voice and visual identity, moving from broadcast to conversation. Radically overhauled the social media and email marketing strategy with tailored channel-specific comms and proper editorial planning. Led a design, development and content team to create a new website fit for the challenges of 2021 and beyond. Transformed the tone of voice and visual identity, moving from broadcast to conversation. Radically overhauled the social media and email marketing strategy with tailored channel-specific comms and proper editorial planning.
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Digital Content Consultant
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Sep 2020 - Jan 2021
Full suite of content marketing services, including social media, websites, graphics, film scripts, editorial and journalism. Current clients include: -- NetGuru -- West London NHS Trust -- The Scotsman Full suite of content marketing services, including social media, websites, graphics, film scripts, editorial and journalism. Current clients include: -- NetGuru -- West London NHS Trust -- The Scotsman
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Wilkin Chapman Solicitors
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United Kingdom
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Law Practice
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200 - 300 Employee
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Digital Marketing Lead
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Mar 2020 - Nov 2020
Managing a suite of external digital communications for this leading legal firm. Directed social media activity across Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Write and edit our email marketing activity and use test and learn strategies to power engagement. Writing, editing and commissioning copy for blogs and news updates. Creative direction for comminications output including films, graphics, website pages and illustrations. Leading the tone of voice, ensuring a consistent, friendly but authoritative verbal identity that stands out in the market place. Strategic direction on most effective use of channels, including using analysis and insight to our best advantage.
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HM Treasury
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United Kingdom
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Public Policy Offices
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700 & Above Employee
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Head of Digital Communications
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Jan 2018 - Sep 2018
Leading key digital communications for HM Treasury, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer's social media and the @HMTreasury Twitter channel. Managing a five-strong team of content specialists to create engaging content across all output, including animation and video, graphics, scripts, photography, blogging and events. Leading key digital communications for HM Treasury, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer's social media and the @HMTreasury Twitter channel. Managing a five-strong team of content specialists to create engaging content across all output, including animation and video, graphics, scripts, photography, blogging and events.
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Sport England
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United Kingdom
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Spectator Sports
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400 - 500 Employee
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Head Of Content
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Mar 2013 - Dec 2017
Leading a team of content specialists to produce the key digital channels for Sport England - a public body working to get the nation more active. Managed the national social media strategy and act as editor-in-chief for the 4 million-strong email database powered by London 2012. Key achievements include: *Transforming the organisation's social media strategy by adopting tough KPIs and a new, consistent tone of voice across all channels *Growing the Sport England Twitter following by 40,000 in the period December 2014-present *Established a powerful LinkedIn page, growing our followers by 6,000 in one year and consistently beating ambitious engagement targets *Reactivated and re-energised 400,000 dormant subscribers by leading a re-engagement content campaign during summer 2016 *Led the launch of the Active Nation strategy across all channels, from website to Twitter and LinkedIn to our email newsletters.
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EE
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United Kingdom
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Telecommunications
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700 & Above Employee
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Group Editor: Launch (agency)
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Aug 2012 - May 2013
Leading an editorial team to produce print and digital titles for ee, the UK's newest telecoms brand. Responsibilities: Print titles - EE retail customer magazine, c. 360,000 Online and iPad - exchange magazine for business customers; e-newsletter for corporate and public sectors Leading an editorial team to produce print and digital titles for ee, the UK's newest telecoms brand. Responsibilities: Print titles - EE retail customer magazine, c. 360,000 Online and iPad - exchange magazine for business customers; e-newsletter for corporate and public sectors
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RNIB
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United Kingdom
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Non-profit Organizations
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700 & Above Employee
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Consulting Editor
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Sep 2011 - Sep 2012
Re-launching the leading subscription print title for UK sight professionals; Establishing a new digital presence for the magazine; Creating a strategy to double subscriptions and introducing the magazine to untapped audiences. Re-launching the leading subscription print title for UK sight professionals; Establishing a new digital presence for the magazine; Creating a strategy to double subscriptions and introducing the magazine to untapped audiences.
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Orange
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Germany
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International Trade and Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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Group Editor
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Aug 2011 - Dec 2011
Leading a team of writers and designers to produce Orange's key customer magazines. Leading a team of writers and designers to produce Orange's key customer magazines.
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WWF-UK
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United Kingdom
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Non-profit Organization Management
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300 - 400 Employee
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Loyalty Communications Editor
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Jun 2008 - Aug 2011
Chief editor of 17 digital and print titles in the WWF-UK magazine portfolio;Relaunched the main communication tool, Action magazine, in line with new brand objectives;Established a new editorial strategy to increase retention of members through excellently targeted magazines;Managed an internal and external team of photographers, designers, writers and editors to produce the magazines on time and within budget;Commissioning, writing and editing huge volumes of copy for this extensive suite of publications.Created and managed the print titles' digital counterparts.Led the social media publications strategy, which led to an increase in online supporter engagement of 29%.
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Copywriter
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Jan 2007 - Jun 2008
Researching, writing and editing copy for a suite of loyalty print communications.
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Grimsby Live
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United Kingdom
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Book and Periodical Publishing
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1 - 100 Employee
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Entertainment Editor
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Apr 2006 - Jan 2007
Editor of weekly entertainment magazine for daily regional newspaper The Grimsby Telegraph.
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Reporter
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Apr 2005 - Apr 2006
News reporter for daily regional newspaper The Grimsby Telegraph (c36,000) and freesheet The Target.
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Education
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2001 - 2004
University of Leicester
BA(hons), English -
1999 - 2001
The Grimsby Institute
A-levels, English, Media Studies, Drama
Community
