Vicky Glanville founded Marketing Harmony in 2015 with a vision to build marketing solutions that worked for her clients and which fit around her own family commitments.
The businesswoman made the brave decision to quit her successful marketing career with the AA after becoming frustrated with the lack of worklife balance and creative freedom. Recognising that there must be a better way, she hoped to carve her own path in the industry and build a business that offers flexibility - for both clients and her team of freelancers.
“When I first started I didn’t have any expectations of what I would be able to achieve. But the fact I had few expectations was in my favour because I didn’t have any intention of turning it into an agency,” she explained. Instead, it became an agency organically, with Vicky building a talented team over the years, with her at the helm.
Working remotely was an unusual concept when Vicky founded Marketing Harmony, before video calls and working from home was normalised by the Covid pandemic. Vicky realised early on the benefits of building a remote team, allowing her to hand-pick the best people with a diverse range of skills. This approach has not only kept costs low - with no office overheads - but enabled her to deliver bespoke marketing strategies for her clients, by assembling a team of individuals with different skills depending on the needs of the client. The approach also allows her team the flexibility to manage their work around family commitments - something which Vicky said brings out the best in people.
“I realised that there are people with incredible talent out there in the marketing industry working in the corporate world who want that flexibility and freedom. When I started working with people on a small scale I realised that we were better as a collaborative force rather than me on my own. But it has grown organically and we all have the same aim - to achieve the best for our clients.”
Working remotely also enables Marketing Harmony to accept clients from anywhere in the world, allowing Vicky the freedom to deliver marketing solutions to a diverse range of clients and build an impressive portfolio across industries. “I have had clients with offices all around the world. I ran one workshop from the UK at 5am for a company with people in Hong Kong and Singapore across different time zones. But it’s what we do, we offer flexibility. The clue is in the name harmony - the work has always harmonised with my life but it also enables that for clients and the people I work with. That was really important to me. The beauty is in bringing people together and I’ve allowed people to evolve in their roles. I enjoy allowing people to focus on their strengths and give them the work that they really want to do.”
Ten years ago, Marketing Harmony began with just Vicky, it is now a larger team who work collaboratively. Vicky realised how far the business had come during a personal challenge, when the team pulled together in her absence to continue delivering for her clients and ensuring everything ran smoothly. Their efforts were testament to Vicky’s hardwork and skill in building a loyal, committed team of freelancers, many of whom have worked for Marketing Harmony for years. “At the start, if I needed time off for personal reasons, everything would have come grinding to a halt,” explained Vicky. “But now, if I need to take time out, I can do that with the reassurance of knowing that the team will step in to fill the gaps. Although the team is built of freelancers, there is still a loyalty.”
Reflecting on the last decade of Marketing Harmony, Vicky said it has been interesting working with clients across different sectors, explaining: “When you are a team working in just one industry for one company there is the risk of having tunnel vision and not being able to see new ideas or opportunities. In house marketing often results in creativity drying up, with people stuck doing the same thing which stifles creativity. At Marketing Harmony, we work across different industries and our ideas can cross pollinate. It’s exciting for the team and allows people the space to come up with innovative ideas and maximise their creative talents - you see patterns which generate ideas.”
In terms of Vicky’s role, she sees herself as the ‘investigator’, there to discover what makes her clients and team tick and bring the right people together to deliver solutions. “We are small enough to make the client feel valued. I never wanted to have a big client base or to become faceless. People come to us for a variety of marketing services, from strategy to training. We use an holistic approach.”
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