Company

Powerful Partnerships from April’s Most Valuable Person (MVP)

by Jasmine Gilbert
11 min read
Company, MVP
Emma-Squires-Light-Mode-scaled

With the May bloom in full swing and a little bit of much-loved sunshine back on the radar, that’s not all that’s been lifting our spirits lately… it’s finally time to announce our MVP of April!

Here’s a quick recap of how it works: MVP is a tradition at StrategiQ that comes around every month (and we’ve been running it ever since the agency began!).

The team gets the opportunity to nominate one of their colleagues for the above-and-beyond effort and dedication they put into their work behind the scenes.

Every winner gets a duvet day, a meal out on the company card and last but by no means least, the added joy of bragging rights!

With that said, we won’t keep you in suspense any longer – let’s find out who joined the long list of MVP nominations, and of course, our wonderful winner for April.

So, who made the top three this month?

From CX to SEO, we’re always excited to see the team’s praise and recognition span across all service lines and projects, but nothing quite says a ‘lovely spread’ more than our third place this month…

We have a whopping five team members taking the honour of joint third in April!

Thank you to Corrie Jones, Darren Griffin, Emily Berriman, Gemma Raw and Louise Goodthorp for showing your hard work day in and day out throughout the month. 

Head of Social Media, Corrie Jones

“This month my vote goes to Corrie for steering the social train! I continue to see great things from the social team and I never have to ask because it’s already done! Corrie went out to MapAll’s stand at Connected North this week to ensure they elevated their presence at the event and really cemented the great work we do at a pivotal moment in the relationship with the client, without being asked to do so. Corrie has also jumped in to support with the wider strategy work that we’re working on with Andy. So Corrie, please have a day to chill out and reward yourself for the great work that you and the social team are doing at the moment.”

Developer, Darren Griffin

“Darren’s enthusiasm and passion for development always makes for interesting conversation and insights. He’s not just thinking about short-term solutions, but long-term too. And his implementation of WP Manager – a tool that speeds up auditing and SLAs by around a third – demonstrates this. Rather than seeing a problem and putting on a quick fix each time, he’ll start to think of a way we can eliminate the problem altogether. I wanted to give him a shoutout this month for his hard work putting that together, and to acknowledge his passion and enthusiasm for dev.”

CX Specialist, Emily Berriman

“My final MVP for a while goes to Emily. The journey we’ve been on over the last 2 years has been nothing short of brilliant and I’ve absolutely loved seeing Emily grow into the very capable CRM specialist she is. Emily deserves a duvet day for absorbing all of my handover notes, asking questions, and getting the last-minute training in, but also for all the work she does daily, from mentoring Amber, managing the Mailchimp migration project, delivering exceptional work for our clients such as Factory Direct Flooring and always going the extra mile. I’m so excited to see how you grow in the next year Emily and can’t wait to see all that you’ll achieve but I hope you get a duvet day to celebrate all the work you’ve done so far.”

Marketing Manager, Gemma Raw

“This month I’d like to nominate Gemma for her fantastic presentation when the team went to London to meet one of our newest clients at their office. We had some great feedback from the client and I was really impressed with how much thinking went into the presentation deck. Well-deserved day off!”

Head of Creative and Brand, Louise Goodthorp

“Louise deserves to be MVP this month, no matter what, she is always on hand to help. Her can-do attitude is infectious and she is an absolute pleasure to work with. She has done a fantastic job with all of her clients to date, but most notably her work on Progeny has stood out. The client was bowled over by how spot-on her words were and how well she encapsulated who they are. Amazing work this month Louise.”

With third place teeming with talent, taking second place was no easy task either – a huge congratulations to Lauren Boyton, Lucy Edwards, Olivia Phillips and Sophie Walker for your indispensable efforts!

Head of CX, Lauren Boyton

“A lot of people wind down as they approach maternity leave, but not Lauren. She has been incredible this month helping me get up to speed so I can step up as the CX lead on my accounts. Her handover is SO thorough, she’s done CX training sessions, and produced supporting documentation so we’re ready for every eventuality. Lauren, you deserve the April MVP crown and a lovely meal out to celebrate. Thanks for all your support over the last year – I’ve loved working with you!”

HR Assistant, Lucy Edwards

“Lucy 100% deserves MVP this month. With an influx of new starters, Lucy has seamlessly onboarded them into the business, all with a big smile on her face. Lucy is the unsung hero of the office and at times an emotional support that helps us get back to our best selves. She’s also ensured that we are never, ever out of lemons and is a joy to be around. Thank you Lucy – I really appreciate you.”

Marketing Executive, Olivia Phillips

“With a real willingness to learn, a great can-do attitude and a rare fellow Red Bull F1 fan, my vote this month goes to Liv. Constantly exploring new and innovative ways to promote our clients WHY both inside and outside of the ‘Creative Clinic’, Liv has also been living and breathing all things video and providing key support for the video team on productions for the University of Suffolk through to Custom Heat. Great effort this month Liv!”

Performance Marketing Executive, Sophie Walker

“This person gets my vote because she is absolutely smashing life inside and outside of work. Her energy is infectious, uplifting and a wonderful addition to the Suffolk office. To say up rooting your entire life to a new location is hard, would be an understatement, but you have made it look easy Soph! You have integrated seamlessly into office life, getting involved in everything you can and even leading the company meeting a few weeks ago as well! Well done you, take a bow and thank you for making the right choice! Hoping you get a day off to chill out and take Leon for a lovely meal.”

…but finally, our undisputed MVP winner for April 2024 with an incredible 15 nominations goes to our tenacious Marketing Manager Emma Squires

Here’s what some of her colleagues have said:

“A stand-out performance this month. A monster new client, lots of responsibility and setting the standard for client management. With a new challenge this month Emma has not only jumped at the opportunity, but shown everyone how capable she is in the process. World-class commitment and a brilliant demonstration in how all our clients should and will be managed. Well done, Emma.”

“I am just so impressed with how far Emma has come in her journey.  She puts so much effort into making sure her clients are happy and you can see she genuinely cares.  Living and breathing the company values day in, day out.  I think she deserves some recognition for what has been a great few months and I don’t doubt this new level of confidence will continue in the months to come.”

“I realised I’d never voted for this person before, which actually seems kind of crazy! Because every project I work with Emma on is a real delight – she brings such positivity and a ‘can do’ attitude to everything. She’s not afraid to get stuck in and is always willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and make the client happy. She is also hilarious. And is thriving in her new role, which is great to see. Hope you get that duvet day Emma!”

A massive congratulations to our MVP winner, Emma!  Enjoy your well-deserved duvet day and thank you for everything that you do.

Do you have what it takes to become a StrategiQ MVP? Take a look at our current vacancies if you’re ready for a limitless career in a growth-focused team.

Powerful Partnerships from April’s Most Valuable Person (MVP)

We don’t want briefs.
We want problems.
That’s where the magic happens.

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