Five minutes with Charlie Kenber
Meet our Senior Campaign Strategist – Charlie Kenber.
Say hello to Charlie Kenber, our Senior Campaign Strategist. With a background in copywriting, content strategy and theatre, Charlie is a natural collaborator with a strong flair for storytelling – something he brings to every campaign here at Fox Agency. So, without further ado, let’s spend five minutes with Charlie.
Tell us about your career before you joined Fox Agency.
I spent the last four and a half years at a boutique copywriting agency. I primarily worked on brand and content strategy, across both B2C and B2B, from techy start-ups through to global consultancies. Prior to that I had a life as a copywriter – so I know the cost of a bad brief!
Before all of that, I worked as a theatre director, making shows across the country and around the world.
If I was to find a common thread in my career it would be storytelling and creative collaboration. Looking for something interesting or different, distilling complexity, and crafting a way to compel audiences with it.
What excited you about the role with Fox Agency?
First and foremost, Fox Agency has got an incredible reputation in the industry, and I was excited to get inside the operation and learn from the best.
I was also keen to work at my first full service agency, with the chance to collaborate with art directors, a motion team, media and performance, our PR experts… there’s such a variety of skills and experiences at Fox that feeds into the variety of work we create. The global offer was really exciting too!
Speaking with the team, I knew this would be a place I could thrive, where I’d find that magic combination of support, collaboration and independent ownership.
What does your new role as Campaign Strategy Director involve?
Strategy work starts the campaign process. My job is to delve into our clients’ worlds, markets and audiences through a discovery phase, looking for interesting truths and finding commercial and customer behaviors that stand out.
Then, my role is to overlay what I’ve found with our campaign objectives and what competitors are up to, in order to spot gaps and opportunities for us to win. I wrap all of that up in a strategy that sets the direction of travel: laying up the creative team for the sweetest slam dunk they can cook up, and feeding into campaign plans that will deliver on it.
Beyond formal campaign processes, my role might be to develop messaging structures, apply clarity to existing comms, deliver proposals and pitches, or facilitate workshops with clients.
Is there a standout campaign you’ve worked on that you’re most proud of?
Working for the FA on key messaging to hype up the nation ahead of the Euros was pretty special!
What has been your biggest professional achievement to date?
My life in the theatre gave me some good ones. I was lucky enough to win some awards for plays I directed, to work at the National Theatre, and even to appear on French national TV with a giant puppet horse.
More recently, I delivered core brand messaging strategy for a massive global consultancy, collaborating with and getting alignment amongst their C-suite (the first time they’d come together like that) – which was a very satisfying project.
Finally, tell us something interesting or unique about yourself?
I spend quite a chunk of my spare time singing with various chamber choirs around London, as well as occasionally on tour or for album recordings.
I’ve also suffered a bat-related head injury playing table tennis… twice. So stay safe out there kids!
