KATIE ANNA
Katie Loomes of our marketing department has been with us since January 2015 . “ I applied for the job of graphic designer for one of our newspapers – the Derbyshire Guardian . Paul just came in one day and announced that we were doing a vaping magazine . I didn ’ t know anything about vaping at the time .” Katie went from graphic design to sales , and soon discovered her knack for creating engaging social media content for the dedicated and fast-growing audience Vapouround soon attracted . “ We didn ’ t have a fully-fledged marketing department at first . There were a lot of crossover roles and shared responsibilities , we were a new magazine with a smaller team that had lot to do .” Soon Vapouround got so big , the need for a marketing team became inescapable . “ I didn ’ t think for a second we would stop doing the newspapers , but the magazine outgrew everything . Arriving at the first Vaper Expo in Birmingham was a turning point . The Expo itself was small compared to how it is now , but still amazing . It was the first time I could envision how far we could go and how huge a deal vaping was .” “ People enjoyed our supplement so much they were asking about the next edition – when our launch edition was still in the pipeline . We knew we ’ d made the right choice .” “ Vaping gets a lot of bad press which annoys me because I read it all the time . At least half of it is wrong , and I hear myths about its harm all the time . It ’ s good to remind people of the good vaping does , and correct those myths .” Fondest memories : “ The first Vapouround Awards we held were really special , because we hadn ’ t even been going for a year then . It was very encouraging ( and relieving ) to see our first vape lounge open too , because we talked for so long about it and did so much preparation . It also reminds me how much we have left to do .” “ Being able to travel for Vapouround has been a real eye-opener . It ’ s indescribable , that feeling when you arrive somewhere unfamiliar , like Malaysia , and meet people who know the magazine . It ’ s happening more and more , the farther we travel .”
Accounts assistant Anna Difusco , came to us in April 2015 , starting on sales and moving to accounts in October of that year . In her previous job , Anna was a mediator for potential clients , booking appointments for sales reps . In vaping , she found a more personable , relaxed , though still responsible industry , one filled with people who did far more than just go through the motions . “ Everyone ’ s so passionate about it .” A passionate subculture of vapers and entrepreneurs greeted the first edition of Vapouround eagerly , and have stuck with it throughout its evolution . “ It ’ s funny looking back on that first magazine we did . It ’ s so small compared to what we put out now , so different . Even back then , when it was released it was a huge deal though .” Anna was encouraged by her first looks at the vaping scene .
“ Vaping was getting huge . When I saw the magazine , I knew it was something everybody in vaping would want and need , I got started in sales . I ’ ve seen the best it has to offer all the way through , we ’ ve grown with the business as a whole .”
Fondest memories : “ The Vapouround Awards at the Expo this year is what I ’ m most proud of . The first one was great , but this one reminded us of how many relationships we ’ ve built since ; it proves how motivated we were by the response to the first . Being part of the judging process helped me see how much was out there : the liquids , the projects , the people . “ We ’ ve got the power to help people improve their health by moving them away from smoking which is a powerful thing you have to remind yourself of .”
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