ShareAbout 2 months ago I moved all the way from sunny Cape Town, South Africa halfway across the world here to Colchester, officially the oldest recorded town in Britain. This has been the biggest move of my life and definitely one of my biggest challenges in life so far.
I graduated at the University of Cape Town in 2012 and my first role in the digital marketing industry was at Saatchi & Saatchi, South Africa as an Account Executive. From there I moved on to Spree (an e-commerce retailer) and finally DQ&A Media Group, a Dutch performance marketing company.
I love working in client facing roles, attending meetings, organising and ensuring smooth work flows within my team. Programmatic media buying was a huge focus of mine at my previous agency and I am glad to be able to use my experience in this area in my new role, to further grow the Display offering here at Coast Digital.
What made you decide to move to the UK?
It was last year when I decided it was time to spread my wings. Having grown up in Cape Town and never having lived anywhere else, I decided to pursue my dreams of living and travelling abroad. Considering I have some family and friends in London, this seemed like an appropriate move for me.
I came across the Account Management position at Coast Digital on LinkedIn and decided to go for it. Having come from an agency background, I felt this opportunity at Coast would fit perfectly with my skill set. A few interviews later, to my delight, I was offered the role.
How has life been in the UK so far?
Moving so far has been extremely bewildering but exciting. I left South Africa during mid-summer 30 Degree weather and arrived in the UK during late winter. Quite a shock to the system! Cape Town is a very relaxed city, it’s always sunny and very easy to get from one place to the next. We don’t have a frequent public transport system like in the UK. Within my first week at Coast I had travelled almost 100km to meet my first client and was on the train each weekend to see my family in London.
Here is my old home and my favourite Cape Town spot:
How are you finding life at Coast Digital?
From day one the Coast Digital team has welcomed me with open arms. Each and every one of the team members has been willing and patient to help me learn and integrate smoothly into my new role. Coast is certainly unique and has a family culture like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I have a great portfolio of clients spanning over various different industry verticals and have the opportunity to work with most team members in the office.
I’m truly grateful to have the chance to be a part of such a wonderful team of people and be able to see so many new places in such a short period of time.
I’m very excited to see what lies ahead for me at Coast and my new life here in Britain’s oldest recorded town!
