Employee Spotlight: Vanessa Tucker
Senior Creative Vanessa "Vee" Tucker joined The Marketing Store's London team in Spring 2020 and despite working with us for almost a year is still to set foot in the office! A native South African, she's known for her sunny disposition, killer creative insight and pitch-winning prowess.
Get to know her below...
What are your pronouns?
She / Her / Hers
What type of work experiences did you have prior to joining The Marketing Store?
My career started in above the line, which I’m really grateful for as it taught me how to build a brand from scratch and create brand platforms that would live on for years.
Since then, I’ve always aimed to work at agencies that create experiences for customers. It’s no fun if you can’t interact with your audience – I want to see the smiles when something I’ve created makes them go DING!
That’s how I found myself in Sport and Entertainment, speaking to people’s passions rather than just selling them stuff. I’ve been fortunate to serve as Creative Director for some incredible global powerhouses, such as American Express, Stella Artois and L’Oréal.
These led to some insane career highlights including creating the launch event for 2010s Football World Cup with the South African team, winning a Clio by dressing four Man City players in full-body lycra and putting on a Fashion Week aftershow party with Alexa Chung!
But all work and no play makes Vee a dull lady, so I’ve also taken two sabbaticals to travel the world – doing everything from diving Asia’s oceans, trekking Machu Picchu to swimming with pink dolphins in the Amazon. I’m obsessed with putting a killer trip together so hit me up if you want a personal travel agent!
What’s in your headphones currently?
Olafur Arnalds, he’s a multi-instrumentalist from Iceland. Former hardcore metal drummer, his music is now described as ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. Listen to his song called re:member and listen to his interview on Pondercast where he talks about being in flow state.
Nora En Pure is the other sound of my soul at the moment. A South African-Swiss DJ and deep house Producer, she’s mentally transporting me to a sunny beach where foot tapping, hip swaying and Piña Coladas are the order of the day!
Oh yes and the Blinkist App. It summarises the world’s best books into 15min bitesize listens, so you can be as knowledgeable as Warren Buffet – without having to dedicate 80% of your day to reading.
Describe The Marketing Store in one word:
Underdog
During your time at The Marketing Store, what piece of work are you most proud of?
The Adidas Football Collective x UEFA Champions League Partnership – it’s a mouthful but has the ambition to change the world via sport. Purpose driven work is my main passion, so being able to truly impact people’s lives for the better is amazing and a damn good reason to get behind my laptop each day!
What would the title of your autobiography be?
FOMO
Which person (dead or alive) would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with?
Nelson Mandela – possibly the most resilient man to ever walk our earth and the father of my home country. His propensity for compassion inspired the world and his legacy motivates every human to be a better person. I’d love to bottle his essence and vaccinate the world against evil with it.
His speech at the Laureus World Sports Award has always stuck with me: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination."
What's the best piece of career advice you’ve been given?
“You’re only as good as your last ad.” It kept me hungry for making work that constantly pushed boundaries, not dining out on work that won awards years ago. It helped me to build the habit of treating every brief like my own personal Waterloo, it doesn’t matter the client or the context, every piece of work has the ability to be ground-breaking.
What’s your current side hustle?
Shall I get out my mile long list of inventions, innovations, apps and new business ideas I’ve had over my life which HAVE NEVER SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY because I’ve always got a new one that’s a little bit better than the last one?!
