MARKETING MODERN AG
CXO INSIGHT
C
Can you tell us about your career journey so far ?
At university , I studied public relations and , after travelling , I applied for an internship at Channel Four . I worked on some great shows , like Grand Designs , before moving on to the BBC where I looked after things like Top Gear and Olympics programmes . I worked at Discovery for a while before moving to Sky .
I then ended up back at the BBC , where I took on a more digital comms role and ended up on BBC Three , working closely with the channel controller , Damian Kavanagh . I set up the strategy for moving online , with shows like Fleabag and Killing Eve .
I loved working on BBC Three and the talent that we saw come through . It ' s while I was there that Snapchat asked if I would be interested in working for them in a comms role because they had ambitions to do more things around content , principally on its Discover platform .
So , I went there as UK comms manager and in week two , my boss left , so I ended up becoming Director of Communications for Europe . Then , Duolingo came in and offered me the role as Country Manager for UK and France , and Director of Marketing for Europe .
How did you transition from communications into a more market-facing role ?
My degree originally was in journalism but , during my studies , I found that I was much more interested in stopping people from getting stories than finding stories , so I jumped onto the PR course . I loved working in PR but when I was at BBC Three I was closely involved with the marketing team .
We went through a whole rebrand of BBC Three , which was both good and bad in terms of consumer perception and what that ended up being . But , through luck , I fell into these roles where I would be involved in senior decisions .
Colin Watkins , Country Manager for France and the UK , and Director of Marketing for Europe at Duolingo
“ Our marketing strategy is focused on driving word-of-mouth growth and social media is a big part of that , allowing people a chance to have fun with our brand and do quirky things .”
When the Duolingo role came up , they didn ’ t have anybody in the UK as it had never been prioritised . I came in and assessed what we needed to do , laid down the strategy , worked out the
All organisations need a strong social media and marketing strategy to compete in the modern age . Colin Watkins , Country Manager for France and the UK , and Director of Marketing for Europe at Duolingo , speaks to us about how he ’ s grown the app ' s presence in Europe through strategic marketing campaigns , including how to harness the power of social media .
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