Marketing Heroes: A q&a with Elliot Ross

We were thrilled to chat with #emailgeek and CEO Elliot Ross. Elliot has a long history in email marketing having designed award winning campaigns for brands including London 2012, BBC, British Airways and Sky. His passion for pushing email design and to provide the best customer experiences shines through the two businesses he has founded. Elliot authors the Email Design Review and hosts the EmailTalk podcast.

1.) Please introduce yourself

Hey I’m Elliot Ross. I’ve been working in email for more than 15 years, on agency, brand and platform sides — most recently founding my own agency, ActionRocket, and co-founding email productivity platform Taxi for Email. 

2.) Please tell us about your business.

ActionRocket is the specialist studio for email. We focus on creative strategy, design and technical execution for some of the biggest brands in the world. Taxi for Email is a platform that helps marketing teams create their best email — making better quality email, quicker, at a bigger scale — and once they’re done, they sync their work with great tools like Pure 360 to send their email campaign. 

3.) What have been the main challenges facing marketers in 2019?

I think in 2019 marketers spent time adapting to some of the details of the post-GDPR era. We knew the legal aspects when it came in, of course, but it became a milestone in the consumer privacy movement. There is still much ground to cover, but consumers are more aware of privacy issues than ever, and we have to build on top of what we legally do — and actually do what is ethically responsible. 

4.) What in marketing or business inspired you this year?

I enjoy marketing that’s really well executed whilst remaining true to the company’s ethos. At the moment that seems to happen towards the smaller business side — brands like Howies don’t get celebrated, but they’re out there putting out stuff that works. My friend Vicky Donuts is killing instagram and doing more engaging marketing than companies 10x the size. I’m intrigued by some of the big fashion marketplaces — brands like Pretty Little Thing have built themselves from social media, pulled that ethos into everything they do, and upended their competitors in the process. 

5.) What should marketers be focused on in 2020? 

Aside from Coronavirus related issues, marketers should still be making sure their message is on point. There are more shiny bits of tech than ever, but without a solid message and proposition, they mean nothing. From a tactical side, we should be looking at accessibility — ensuring our email campaigns are available to everyone regardless of ability. 

6.) Who are your marketing heroes?

Rory Sutherland, Ann Handley & Don Draper.

7.) If you could give a tip to marketers at this time during coronavirus what would that be?

Now more than ever, it’s really important to be genuine. Your audience is anxious, some may be ill or even grieving. Now is not the time for the marketing that deep down, we know is pushing our luck. You don’t necessarily have to do Coronavirus specific campaigns — people will also want some normality, but be aware of your tone and how your message may be received. 

8.) What piece of advice would you give to aspiring marketers?

Be careful who you listen to, and remember that you’re not always the market. We work in marketing day in day out, and we know the cheat codes. Marketing isn’t for us — we need to get into the minds of our audience and understand what makes them tick. 

9.) You are sent to a desert island for 12 months – You can take 3 business books, 3 records and 1 luxury item – what would you take?

I used to be a DJ, so I’d take two control records for Serato dj software and then a laptop with every song I’d ever want to play. Failing that, I’d take Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Massive Attack Blue Lines, and KLF White Room. 

Books — I’d take a nice comfy notebook, The Art of Looking Sideways for the endless inspiration, the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing and one of the Seth Godin books. And a map, can I take a map?

My luxury item would be a burrito… restaurant. 

You can follow Elliot here:-

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamelliot

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamelliot

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emailelliot