Agency Spotlight Series: Chris Halling
In this Orientation Marketing agency spotlight series, we speak to Director of Communications & Content, Chris Halling.
From time to time, we speak to a member of the Orientation Marketing team to find out a little more about their roles at Orientation Marketing, as well as what makes them tick.
Today we speak to Chris Halling.
Tell Us a Little Bit About Your Role At Orientation Marketing?
My expertise is in media relations and communications. I became a director of Orientation Marketing when the agency is seeing significant interest in communications expertise. Clients know the value of genuine insight that engages, but with AI making content generation appear so easy, I think companies are more sensitive to losing an audience by just making noise. We work in such an important and interesting field that’s also very nuanced and, despite typical approval times, fast paced. I hope I can help our partners to communicate their stories clearly and reflect the immense contributions they bring to the industry and to health.
What Does Your Average Day Look Like?
I spend the first hour or so of my day answering emails and messages that can be answered quickly, but I try to set aside a good part of the morning for learning and deep work. Most of us can’t afford to completely ignore email, but important things deserve time and attention, so that work should be scheduled. Depending on my diary, I spend time preparing for meetings too so that the time in the meeting is spent well. That’s the idea, but it doesn’t always work out.
How Did You Come About Working In Marketing?
I’ve never looked back since becoming a marketer. I love what I do. I was lucky to make a career of marketing because I had very little idea what it was when I left school, and even now I don’t think marketing is understood until children enter higher education. If I didn’t talk about my work at home, my teenage children would be oblivious to what marketing really entails and, like many, assume it’s just about advertising. At least in the UK, I wonder what inspires young people to read marketing at university and I lament that some are missing out on an exciting and rewarding career option.
My break came from a visionary boss who wanted a fresh approach to marketing at a medical device company, and I’ve been lucky enough to work with other inspirational leaders who’ve helped me grow. I think that business-to-business marketing is terrific because we marketers work with the whole mix and see results. In my experience there’s little time to become bored by a single aspect of marketing.
Tell Us About An Interesting Project You Are Working On Right Now.
Everyone is talking about AI and speculating on its impact on almost every aspect of our lives. I don’t think we’re ready to trust an AI or Large Language Model (LLM) to create polished and engaging content, but they do offer PR professionals valuable tools for diverse tasks, for example by automating mundane ‘in house’ tasks, providing key points on a topic to cross-check against your own, or in reviewing large amounts of data. The options are almost endless, but…
Confidentiality is a priority for most companies, so before entering any proprietary information you need to know whether and how it will be shared, and, unless you choose so, that your input won’t appear as another company’s content. We also need to be diligent in checking the logic and references used. So, for the time being it least, anyone editing machine-created content – and I recommend you do edit it -- needs to know what they are talking about and be able to evaluate the arguments and any conclusions.
What Inspires You?
So many things inspire me. I look to find a sense of awe every day, whether that’s in a sunrise, a piece of music, or by cultivating my inner nerd and learning about a scientific technique or advancement. Quantum entanglement still blows my mind!
Recommend a Book You Recently Read.
I guess that an interest in language goes with the territory, and there are some works that have stood the test of time and provide advice that is as relevant today as it has always been. Some sources are a bit dry though, so I regularly pick up my copy of On Writing Well by William Zinsser, who reminds me of many of the important things in a clear and often amusing way.
What’s Your Favourite Music Genre?
There are very few genres I don’t like much, and I won’t say which because I don’t want to make enemies! Growing up in the late 70’s and 80’s, electronic music will always hold a special place in my heart, but some of it hasn’t aged well!
What Was Your Favourite Band 10 Years Ago?
I was a little late finding it, but around then it was James Blake’s eponymous first album. Pretty sure It was also around then that I heard On the Nature of Daylight for the first time and downloaded The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter, an album I still listen to weekly – it’s one of the joys of working from home.
What’s Your Weirdest Habit?
Checking under the bed in hotel rooms. Nothing good ever comes from it, but I feel compelled to make sure nothing of mine has rolled under there.
What Is The Strangest Meal You’ve Ever Eaten?
Pickled duck tongue and shredded jellyfish: to some these things are a delicacy but not for me, never again.
What’s The Best Marketing Tip You Can Give?
I was asked, “What is the best marketing tip you can give?”, and with some confidence I can say that it’s being able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. The challenge is sometimes knowing who the customer is, and sometimes we need to consider many stakeholders (e.g., in our industry, influential folk like regulators!). If you can see the world as your customers see it then you’re already well on your way to finding a solution, or at least communicating clearly on what’s going to be important in finding it.
Chris leads the communications and content practice at Orientation Marketing. He has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and corporate communications, including media relations, marketing and communications strategy, product and brand management, and crisis readiness. This experience includes the marketing of drug delivery technologies and devices, pharmaceutical development, and manufacturing services, and in surgical equipment.
For more, find Chris on LinkedIn.
