I am a marketer.  Not from either inclination or design, but because it says so somewhere in my job description and as part of my job title.

The role involves a range of tasks, some quite creative––graphic design; writing copy; choosing images––some quite dull––updating websites; analysing data; improving SEO.

But, one of the main activities of being a marketer is trying to stop everyone else in my organisation from doing my job for me.  It appears that everyone is a wannabe marketer.

No matter whether they are actually employed in Finance, or HR, or Research, none of my colleagues are abashed to come forward with their own designs for possible posters, or suggestions for publicity photographs, or ideas for promotional campaigns.  In almost all these instances, these enthusiastic interlopers have blissfully ignored all corporate visual identity guidelines; most global copyright laws; and the most basic rules of aesthetics, but what they lack in compliance they make up for in self-confident ignorance.

It is a funny thing, though, these same wannabe marketers only ever want to impinge on the creative side of my job, never on the dull side.  Never once have I had to step in to prevent a colleague from doing that boring pile of filing of mine, which they noticed had mounted up.

In my positive moods, I am flattered that colleagues want to do my job; in my negative ones, I am astounded by their arrogance.  I would never dream of drawing up a quick spreadsheet for Doug from Finance; or ask to sit in on an interview panel organised by Linda from HR.

Of course, the cheap proliferation of design tools online has made everyone think they can be a marketer.  We live in a world which would like to convince us that everyone can be anything.  The reality is somewhat different.

Judging from the most recent design efforts I have been emailed, it won’t be Maddie from Estates who will be replacing me anytime soon.  Not when AI has stolen a march on us all.

© Simon Turner-Tree

Simon Turner-Tree contemplates retirement.