ORIGIN STORY

John Lyons

As you'll know from the homepage, I'm a fractional CMO, which is basically a timeshare marketing lead. Which means I get to work for several businesses, giving them the benefit of my knowledge and 20+ years experience and for a fraction of what I would cost you full time.

Before marketing however, I was an architect, with an entrepreneurial streak that took me through 3D modelling, graphic design, club visuals and web design. 

I founded and successfully exited two B2B professional service businesses of my own before embarking on a career which saw me as Sales & Marketing Director at a B2B tech scale-up, Head of Creative Solutions at a promotional marketing agency, Business Director at a brand advertising agency and leading on growth strategy and partnerships for the loyalty programme at The LEGO Group.

Alongside that I've guest lectured at LSBU, run a marketing module at NFTS, mentored and coached. I love learning and I love sharing what I've learned.

Above all else I am an advocate of marketing effectiveness, doing work that works with no room for subjectivity. Understanding what the market needs and how they make purchase decisions and crafting strategy and commas to reflect that in a memorable and distinctive way.

Which brings me to the elephants in the room. 

What's with the hat and the bins?

Hat

My hat, known across marketing Twitter (don't X me) as Hat, was in truth a poor purchase. 

It was mid-lockdown, and I managed to ruin my trusty cap. With only essential stores open I bought a replacement online.

When it arrived I was not impressed. A bit too singular, possibly even pretentious. For a laugh I tweeted a photo of it, asking if it was too much for a serious man (hush) such as me. The votes were in, and my 'friends' all liked it and insisted I take photographs of me wearing it. So that's what I did, using #AdventuresOfHat, entertaining myself and I assumed a handful of people in on the joke.

But then people I hadn't met started introducing themselves as fans of Hat, some became clients. Hat had become a distinctive asset, which I am now stuck with.

But it works.

The Bins

Much like Hat, the bins started out as a silly joke. 

As friends were posting wonderful photographs of the views from their home office, I decided to take a picture of some bins across the road from where I live.

The #BinsOfLoughton hashtag was born, and every now and then I'd post an update - the highlight being my Christmas work drinks, which was me and the bins having a drink wearing Christmas hats.

Then, as i considered a format for my video content I realised that the bins would allow me to avoid the standard marketing bloke video cliches and, most importantly, be distinctive.

The bins became the backdrop for my series Bin Juice. Because, well, why wouldn't you do that?

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