045 Charlie Gilbert
Head of Brand & Communications, Volt
Charlie Gilbert is Head of Brand & Communications at Volt.io. Before becoming a marketer, Charlie was a journalist and also spent time agency-side. He’s a writer at heart and shares stories about travel, football, hidden bits of London, gardening, and more on his website.
“Never say you’re “delighted” or “humbled”.”
The interview
What’s your coffee ritual?
Strictly three coffees per day - all double espressos. First one at 8am, another one at 10am, and the last one when I absolutely hate the taste but need the caffeine injection at 3.30pm.
What was your first marketing job?
Content marketing at Adfero. Writing advertorials for businesses to improve SEO, basically. Pure churnalism.
What finance apps do you have on your home screen?
My bank Starling - that’s it. Credit card apps and investment apps buried on later screens. I prefer to play with money I actually have!
Which newsletter, podcast, or book do you recommend most?
Adam Buxton’s podcast. Who knew that communicating like a human in a funny way could work? Brands could learn a lot from this...
What’s an underrated growth channel in fintech?
LinkedIn. Do something original and tangible and it works very well. Never say you’re “delighted” or “humbled”.
What keeps you up at night?
The fear that someone is going to steal my number plates.
What are the most useful measurement tools you use in your work?
Collecting anecdotal evidence from the right people. Qualitative human insight is very powerful in terms of gauging brand perception and credibility.
What’s one fintech brand (other than your own) that’s getting marketing right?
Klarna, at a push. They’ve managed to aspirationalise debt, which I suppose is quite impressive.
Why is marketing so hard?
Because everyone has an opinion on how to do it, and no one really knows what ‘it’ is.
Whose answers to the above questions would you most like to read?
Felicia Tang, Chief Marketing Officer at Relm.