Each month, we’re sitting down with different members of our brilliant team to understand what drives the bold and cutting-edge work we do and find out a bit more about the person behind the work.
This month we’re shouting out about our Associate Director and Head of Digital, Ashley Baugh, who’s been with the team at Midas for over 7 years and counting. Coming from a background in marketing and events, Ashley has been integral to growing our digital division and spearheading the strategy for many of our award-winning campaigns including Books Are My Bag and World Book Night – the latter earning a Highly Commended for PRCA National Award’s Digital and New Media Award.
Ashley recently spoke at The London Book Fair 2022 about social media trends, appearing on one of the most popular panel events at the Fair, ‘Trending on TikTok’. You can check out our top tips to trending on TikTok here
Here is what she has to say…
Something I won’t shut up about is…
The glorious work coffee machine – it’s become my* pride and joy. The team may or may not confirm I was pretty grumpy without it.
*not technically mine (thanks, Jason)
Best thing about my job is…
The variety! I’m lucky to have carved out a digital department at Midas, and I love how much the work differs day-to-day. Whether it’s running social channels for clients, creating all kinds of engaging content, arranging influencer activity (check out the Independent Bookshop Week BookTok Tour here, or doing a rebrand – the team (shout out to the incredible, Ann and Bei!) are always kept busy. It’s great to see the opportunities social media offers, and how it’s an essential tool to get the word out about your brand. And I love statistics, so find it incredibly fun to see the numbers from a social media campaign!
I got to where I am today by…
Bit of a cliché, but hard graft. I graduated in the ‘great recession’, so entry level jobs in the arts were hard to come by… I worked at Tesco and did a few internships alongside, including New Writing South, Bliss magazine (RIP Bliss) and the Met Film School, which helped me gain the experience I needed for my first job at The Bookseller, as their Events and Marketing Assistant. I found the job on Twitter (back when it wasn’t so much of a thing) through Sam Missingham. Thankfully, she hired me, and the rest is history! (Top tip: build a good network on social media, you never know who will be hiring next.)
In my spare time, I like to…
It’s a good day if a walk, pub and tv boxset of some sort have been involved. Regarding the latter, I recommend Yellowjackets – such a fun series! Christina Ricci as sociopath Misty is tv gold.
One thing I wish I knew at the start of my career is…
Mistakes can happen, you’re only human – learn from them and move on.
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