Nicola Green | The Innovator 25 EMEA 2017

Innovator 25 EMEA - Nicola GreenThe Innovator 25:

Nicola Green

Director of Corporate Affairs

Telefónica UK (o2)
London

“Work your way round all the key decision makers so you know their views before you present it”

Nicola Green’s work at Telefonica has featured award winning campaigns that include the launch and positioning of the O2, the 4G trial, three Rugby World Cups, O2 Priority, O2 Wireless Festival, Big Brother and the launch of the iPhone in the UK. But it is not just the eye-catching campaigns that impress. In tandem with former CEO Ronan Dunne, Green has elevated the communications function to a genuinely strategic role, helping establish Telefonica/o2 as a best practice case study for corporate communications, employee engagement, public affairs and social media. 

How do you define innovation?
Doing something new or different that drivers against your objective.

Most innovative PR/comms campaign you’ve seen in the last 12 months?
Chessington world of adventures — toddler proof the resort. 

What brands and/or agencies are most innovative when it comes to marketing/PR?
Paddy Power. 

Describe a moment in your career that you would consider ‘innovative.’
The moment we took an ‘outside in’ approach to our communications activity transformed our reach.

In what area of marketing/PR do you see the most innovation?
Influencer relations.

How would you describe the communications/PR industry’s level of innovation?
About the same as other disciplines.

Where do you see the greatest opportunity for marketing & PR to become more innovative?
Content & creative.

Who most influences how innovative a brand’s marketing/PR is?
CMO.

How do you find inspiration?
Reading and talking to others.

What is your advice for people seeking to bring new ideas, ways of doing things to their organizations?
Research the positives and negatives outcomes the idea could generate and then work your way round all the key decision makers so you know their views (and can tweak the idea) before you present it back.

In your opinion, what’s the most innovative place in the world?
Japan.

What’s your favourite time of day and why?
Morning — I am rested and have clear thoughts.
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