When clients ask us, “What’s your best asset?” we tell them, it’s our people. At Penna, we call ourselves a family because we support, celebrate, accept and value everyone. So you can imagine our adulation when we heard from our newest Family member, Copywriter, Jane Jardine, with three things she’s learnt in just one month, working with us. Here are Jane’s insights, in her own words.
Having worked in both a newspaper office and marketing comms, I’d like to think copywriting is something I do well. That being said, I was pretty nervous about starting at Penna. Choosing to focus on creative copywriting was a little daunting. There’s nowhere to hide. Everyone’s going to be so experienced. What if I make a mistake?!
Luckily for me (and anyone else starting here) Penna have been brilliant. Right from the off, I’ve had nothing but support and encouragement. Even when things haven’t been quite right, feedback and regular check-ins have helped me to settle quickly – and made me feel confident in my abilities.
So, coming up with three things I’ve learnt in my first month was pretty easy!
1. There’s no such thing as a bad idea
You don’t just come up with one idea and that’s that. You come up with anywhere between three to ten! And they’re all welcome. One of the first things I learnt was that it’s important to provide a range of options for the client. I recently worked on an EVP for a local council. While they were all based on similar pillars, we came up with three very different concepts. Some were more expected, while others were a little bit out there. But you never know - your ‘bad idea’ might be just what the client is looking for – and it’s great that Penna encourage you to share these freely.
2. Collaboration is the name of the game
Everyone I’ve spoken to since starting at Penna has said the same thing. We’re all one big team. There’s real cohesion here. Ideas are welcome, problems get shared and suggestions are encouraged. For a recent graduate recruitment campaign, I needed to champion diversity and inclusion in the messaging. The briefing call was led by the Penna D&I team, who explained what they wanted, and why it was so important. Understanding not just the task, but the rationale behind it, is vital to a successful end product. You’re all working together to do the best job possible for the client, while developing your own skills in the process. Win-win.
3. Creativity has no limit
This was the big one for me. I wanted to exercise my creativity and see my ideas come to life. Well, Penna’s great at that. From my very first morning, I’ve been encouraged to push the boat out and take new approaches. From job listings and social media copy, through to recruitment campaigns and EVPs, everyone’s committed to delivering a concept in the most engaging way. You’re given the freedom to be creative and think outside the box – and the result is an award-winning portfolio of work for a hugely diverse range of clients including public services, higher education and the private sector. I’m so excited by the challenge of getting involved in a variety of creative projects, learning from others and, hopefully, becoming a better writer in the process!
Jane Jardine is Copywriter in the Attraction and Communications team at Penna. If you’re ready to push the boat out too, find out what creative solutions could look like for your organisation and contact our Commercial Director, Sue Atkinson, at sue.atkinson@penna.com.
Find out more about joining Penna
With offices in London and Birmingham, we’re one big and talented family. But we’re always looking for like-minded people to join us. To find out about our latest vacancies and apply to any of our current openings, visit https://penna.com/join-us/.