My Job in 5: Fraser Hutchinson

Describe your role
I work in the UK children’s trade team in the education division of Oxford University Press. The role is incredibly varied and incorporates not only our children’s book list but also our dictionaries list and home learning list, which includes Bond 11+ and SATs Skills publishing. As with most marketing positions, our team feels at the centre of the action—liaising with sales, production, editorial and design colleagues on a daily basis to ensure we bring the best product to market, position our list appropriately and deliver an excellent consumer proposition.

What do you like best about your role?
Relationships. We’re a small team of six across marketing and PR, and working closely together means we can be innovative and creative in our approach. Cross-departmentally, we are in continual dialogue with our wider teams and we’re incredibly lucky to work with fantastic authors, illustrators, agents, retail customers, librarians, schools and more. On a personal level, I love being able to publish Pippi Longstocking—she was my absolute radical hero when I was little.

Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?
We’ve got a major new home learning rebrand coming in May 2018, which we’re all incredibly proud of. Our working tagline for this publishing is “Let’s Get Them Flying”—we’re all really passionate about that, we’re all in this to make a difference to children’s lives. We’re also well underway with our campaign plans for the upcoming launch of the 500 Words Competition this month, which we’re running in association with the BBC.

What are the benefits of working for a small publisher?
The opportunity to multi-task, build trusted relationships, have a passion for what you do and be flexible in your approach. The publishing sector and marketing communications is evolving at an incredible rate—so being able to adapt is key.

What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?
Try to get experience in different departments—the first one you think of might not always be for you. As an English Literature graduate, I was always adamant I wanted to work in editorial but fell in love with the creativity and analytics of marketing.