PR, SOCIAL MEDIA, EVENT & COPYWRITING SPECIALISTS

PR Consultant

Expertise: With over 15 years’ experience under her belt, Catharine supports the Black Vanilla team as a freelance PR consultant, working across a variety of consumer and B2B campaigns.

Background: Catharine brings extensive in-house and agency experience to the team, including previous roles at Waterstones and the London 2012 Olympics. Her agency experience covers a wealth of sectors, including finance, sport, recruitment and technology, and her work incorporates copywriting, media relations and account management.

Why we love Catharine: Catharine is committed to building strong client relationships, which allows her to get a thorough understanding of how she can help a business to reach its target audience. Whether it’s turning copy around in double-quick time or delivering on a campaign brief, she loves the challenge of a tight deadline!

Outside of work: With a love of the outdoors, when she’s not playing tennis or running, you’ll generally find Catharine trying to keep up with her two little boys, Joe and Tom, or making the most of Guernsey’s fabulous beaches.

Favourite Film: Good Will Hunting.

Favourite Holiday Destination: Italy; anywhere at all, as long as there’s pasta, wine and sunshine.

Account Manager

Expertise: Alisha works across a variety of Black Vanilla’s accounts, supporting consumer, B2B, charity and fiduciary clients. Copywriting, PR, media liaison, client communication and event planning are just part of the day job and, as a blogging expert, her online writing skills are often put to good use on social media.

Since joining the agency Alisha has gained her Foundation in Public Relations qualification through the CIPR.

During her time at Black Vanilla, her role has evolved to incorporate more design work such as creating branded graphics, presentations and other materials for clients. More recently Alisha has taken up heading the agency’s latest offering BV Bulb; a dedicated PR and marketing service for start-ups and small businesses that want to connect with their customers and shout about their story.

Background: Following six years of working within the finance sector, Alisha turned her passion for home interiors into a career-changing blog. Writing and promoting her lifestyle blog, as well as revamping the social media, marketing and blog profiles for a local boutique, taught Alisha a lot about photography, copywriting and social media – all of which now benefit Black Vanilla’s clients.

Why we love Alisha: Nothing fazes Alisha, she can turn her hand to most things from creative design to copywriting, social media and event management.

Outside of Work: In her spare time, Alisha is a bit of a gym bunny but is equally happy when out enjoying cocktails with her friends. In the summer months, you’ll find her down on the beach or in Herm with friends and family.

Favourite Film: Lord of the Rings films or Avatar.

Favourite Holiday Destination: Italy for the food or Nepal for the awe-inspiring scenery.

Account Manager

Expertise: Chloe applies her copywriting skills, social media knowledge and network of global media contacts to deliver a range of campaigns for our clients. She focuses on global communications and PR onshore and offshore for corporate and financial services organisations.

Background: Chloe has over six years’ experience working in Guernsey and London. She began her career in a local PR agency before transitioning to an in-house comms role for a local law firm.

After gaining valuable experience in the legal sector, Chloe headed to the “Big Smoke” to work for an international law firm before returning to the island in 2020. She has worked for a range of B2B, consumer and third-sector clients, with particular expertise in the legal and financial services industries.

Why we love Chloe: Happy to roll up her sleeves and dive into work, Chloe’s “can-do” attitude, energy and people skills reflect many of Black Vanilla’s values; she has her eye on every client campaign and is always ready to help.

Outside of work: In her spare time, Chloe enjoys practising yoga and meditation to focus on her wellbeing as well as coastal running. You can usually find her enjoying island life with her friends, with a gin and tonic in hand.

Favourite Film: Notting Hill or Love Actually.

Favourite Holiday Destination: Chloe fell in love with Australia during her travels – mainly because of the breathtaking beaches, but also hiking nature trails in the Blue Mountains. The French Riviera is her go-to for a summer holiday!

Event Consultant

Expertise: Natalie brings nearly 25 years’ event management experience to Black Vanilla. As a freelance consultant, Natalie applies her extensive knowledge of the local landscape and her unrivalled network of contacts to deliver some of the Bailiwick’s most popular business and community events.

Background: Natalie has honed her event marketing skills through roles in both London and Guernsey, and has worked across several different industries. She started her career with a classical artist management company, where she organised orchestral tours that spanned the globe, before managing events for the Prince’s Trust and Royal British Legion. She latterly joined a financial publishing company, organising conferences and seminars for the company’s magazines and their associated awards.

Here in Guernsey, Natalie is probably best known for her role at the Guernsey Event Company. During her 11 years with the business, Natalie spearheaded the creation and implementation of some of Guernsey’s largest events, including, amongst others, the Guernsey Air Display, Guernsey Awards for Achievement, Proms on the Pier, charity bike rides to France with Only Fools and Donkeys, and British Irish Council Summit meetings in Guernsey and Jersey as well as countless bespoke events for a wide range of corporates and charities.

Why we love Natalie: Natalie applies the same level of professional expertise to every brief she handles. Whether working on big-budget corporate events or smaller, community initiatives, her ‘can-do’ attitude, attention to detail and strong work ethic ensure impeccable client service and a seamless event experience from start to finish.

Outside of work: Natalie can be found spending time with her two growing sons supporting their myriad sporting and musical activities, playing the clarinet or walking their new puppy.

Favourite Film: Can’t go wrong with a good musical….The Greatest Showman and Moulin Rouge are firm favourites.

Favourite Holiday Destination: Anywhere you can ski; London for a big city fix.

PR Consultant

Expertise: With over a decade of experience in PR and marketing, Candice supports the Black Vanilla team as a freelance PR Consultant, working across a variety of financial service clients and B2B campaigns.

Background: Candice has more than 15 years’ experience in PR and communications, the majority of which has been spent in the financial services sector, and more recently private equity. Previously Candice worked as a broadcast journalist for the BBC.

Why we love Candice: Candice knows the financial services industry inside out, and her journalistic background means she has a nose for a good story and leaves no stone unturned. Super efficient, she gets stuff done before you even know it needs doing.

Outside of Work: On summer weekends you will find her on a Guernsey beach with her husband and young daughter. Candice also likes eating out and indulging in a good book.

Favourite Film: Pretty Woman.

Favourite Holiday Destination: Mauritius because it’s where Candice got married, and Cornwall for family holidays. But really anywhere sunny. On a great summer’s day Guernsey is hard to beat.

Senior Account Executive – PR

Expertise: Katie’s work experience in broadcast journalism and a media degree have given her a fantastic grounding in how journalists work, and the role of PR in reputation management. Since joining the agency, she has experienced all aspects of agency life and after finding her feet, now has a particular focus on copywriting, press office and media relations.

Background: Katie graduated from the University of Winchester last year with a degree in Media, Communications and Journalism. She has always been a keen writer and formed a strong interest in PR and communications through her university course. After returning to Guernsey, Katie was ready to kick-start her career and discover what working in the PR industry was all about.

Why we love Katie: Katie has proved herself to be an excellent copywriter, turning her hand to crafting press releases, social media posts, blogs and website copy. Katie’s happy to get stuck into media relations too, and supports a variety of clients with research, campaign planning and event management.

Outside of work: Katie enjoys all aspects of island life, especially in the summer. She will likely be found swimming in one of the beautiful bays, enjoying a barbecue or chasing the sun on the beach with her puppy.

Favourite Film: Little Miss Sunshine.

Favourite Holiday Destination: The Maldives – a magical, once-in-a-lifetime trip that she will never forget!

Senior Account Executive – Digital & Events

Expertise: Krista has been with the team for just over a year and has organised numerous events for corporate and consumer clients. As well as running ambient activities, a number of local companies entrust their social media management to Krista, which is testament to her skill and judgment. This also involves content creation, including film and graphics, for many different clients.

Background: Krista graduated from the University of Sussex in 2019 with a degree in History and Philosophy. With a deep interest in social media, Krista runs her own YouTube channel Instagram account and blog, largely promoting plant-based recipes. She has developed a further understanding of social media analytics after attending a training course and has honed her account management skills throughout her time with the agency.

Why we love Krista: Krista is super organised, has lots of energy and gets things done with the kind of efficiency you’d expect from an industry old-timer, you wouldn’t think she’s only been with us just over a year! We already predict she’ll go far and we’re excited to watch her continue to grow in the BV team.

Outside of Work: Krista enjoys spending time in the kitchen creating plant-based recipes for her blog.

Favourite Film: Anything Marvel

Favourite Holiday Destination: Anywhere she can get lost exploring the outdoors

Bookkeeper

Expertise: Jo works behind the scenes here at Black Vanilla, keeping our finances up to date.

Background: Jo started her accountancy career at a small local firm before moving to BDO Limited. Following a biref stint in their audit department, she moved into the local business team where she was responsible for the preparation of financial statements for a number of local businesses. After a brief career break to have her two children, Jo fell into the world of bookkeeping in 2015 and hasn’t looked back since!

Why we love Jo: As well as being extremely efficient at keeping our finances in check, Jo also happens to be impressively good at quizzes. Black Vanilla simply couldn’t be without her!

Outside of work: When she’s not running around after her two young boys, Jo can be found in the kitchen, walking her dogs or at a Barre class.

Favourite Film: Romeo and Juliet.

Favourite Holiday Destination: Without the kids it would have to be the Maldives – but for now she’s quite happy wandering around Disney World with her little men!