N17 Creative Callings Success Story: Graham Parker

Jenny Holloway CEO of Fashion-Enter and N17 Creative Callings mentor comments:

“When I first met Graham Parker in early 2020 I knew that he was incredibly talented with content and marketing and a full schedule of skills development and co-designed training plan was all arranged.  Then Covid started in March 2020 and changed everything!”

Graham Parker had been running his freelance agency for the past 15-years producing content, layout and graphics for magazines and websites. 

Graham was aware that markets were changing and he had noticed an increase in the use of animation and that marketing online was changing at a rapid pace too. It’s been 25 years since CERN made the Word Wide Web available to everyone royalty free. The internet has changed and developed and so have algorithms, SEO and meta data. Companies have failed to adapt over this time, such as Woolworths and HMV, and there is more and more pressure on the high street, yet Graham has seen that the requirement for magazines and quality periodicals is still there. People still like to have “things” in their hands and read. 

One of the main areas Graham was keen to review was in new ways of marketing so we designed a special course for him. The first advertising banner went live in 1994 and Google AdWords was born in 2000 so it was important that Graham knew and understood exactly how advertising works with:

• Social networks
• In apps
• Music streaming services, like Spotify
• On devices – Amazon’s Kindle Fire shows adverts on the lock screen unless you pay to remove them

It was important for Graham to target and re-target potential customers with his services based on pre-determined demographics, or websites he has visited. 

Tap here to view Graham’s Digital and Social Media Marketing Mini MBA Programme.

Social media provided Graham with more ways to reach new business opportunities. It was also important to ensure that Graham had the latest digital help on animation as he had highlighted this as a growth area. 

Fashion-Enter then networked Graham to our N17 Creative Callings partners – Collage Arts who then recommended a Level 3 qualification. Tap here to view his YouTube animation on N17 Creative Callings.

Having now successfully completed this course it was a delight to catch up with Graham on 27^th January 2021 on site at Fashion-Enter’s Haringey Head Office. 

Graham confirmed he now has work flowing in and does not need any additional contacts, he is now in the position of turning down work. Graham confirmed that the course had supported his confidence and his presentation skills plus idea generation and was pleased to be part of the N17 Creative Callings process.

There is still time to join the N17 Creative Callings program if you live in the Tottenham area. To find out more about this free business support program from ESF and the GLA please email to jenni@fashion-enter.com