As Vice Chair - Events for the CIM South East Committee, Hannah Allbrook MCIM, Chartered Marketer, brings a passion for connecting marketers, creating inspiring events, and learning from peers across industries. With a professional background in the charity sector and a commitment to personal development, she uses her volunteer role to expand her horizons and contribute to the region’s thriving marketing community. From leading the flagship annual conference with Henley Business School to championing continuous learning, she’s dedicated to helping fellow marketers grow, connect, and thrive.
What inspired you to join the CIM South East Committee, and what role do you play within the team?
I joined the committee in January as an Events Ambassador initially, before swiftly becoming Vice Chair – Events. I lead on planning events for members in the region, which so far has mostly been about our flagship event with Henley Business School. I’m grateful to be part of a great team of really talented marketers, and extra grateful that we now have Boryana on board as an Events Ambassador so we can work together.
In my professional career, I work in the charity sector, and I work a four-day week. For my development, I use my fifth day to volunteer and expand my horizons. The CIM South East Committee felt like the perfect opportunity to do that!
How has being part of the committee impacted your career and understanding of the marketing industry?
In my marketing career so far, I’ve worked in non-profit businesses (charities and education). It’s great, therefore, to work alongside marketers in different sectors and get an understanding of what they do. We have a variety of different specialisms on the committee, and I am enjoying learning from others about what they do.
What upcoming initiatives or projects are you most excited about for the South East Region?
I think here most committee members will probably say our October event – our 3rd annual conference with Henley Business School (but as the person most involved in the planning, I feel I have extra permission to!). The theme this year is "Leading the digital future", and we have a great mix of academic and professional speakers who will bring fascinating insights on topics such as AI, customer behaviour and leadership in the digital world.
The event is on 8th October and tickets are available now. If you book before 31st August you get our earlybird pricing, so it’s definitely worth signing up soon. Click here to order your tickets.
In your opinion, what makes the South East Region unique in terms of marketing opportunities and professional growth?
From my perspective, our charity sector is thriving, particularly in Brighton & Hove, where I live. There are lots of opportunities to work in such a wide range of different charities, including some big national charities based in Sussex and Surrey and smaller local ones (like the one I currently work in!). Working in charity marketing is brilliant, even if budgets are often stretched.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring marketers looking to join CIM, what would it be?
I have found being part of CIM helpful in my career so far, so I’d encourage you to go for it! Keeping up with my CPD ensures my knowledge is current and relevant to the industry today. I’ve done two CIM courses (Level 4 and Level 6) through Cambridge Marketing College, which gave me a good grounding in marketing skills and theory, alongside my practical experience gained from my job.
The CIM monthly webinars are always super insightful, and you also get access to an e-learning course each year with your membership too. It’s a great investment in you.
What’s one marketing campaign you always remember – whether you loved or hated it?
For most of my career, I’ve specialised in digital marketing, so the examples that come to mind for me are brands that get social. The team behind Duolingo’s TikTok get the platform and their audience so well. I also really rate Surreal’s LinkedIn – I think they are the right level of fun and creative for the platform.
From the charity sector, ones to watch are RPSB (I like their Bluesky!), Greenpeace (the UK Instagram is challenging social issues), Amnesty International (I enjoy their LinkedIn!), and RNIB (it’s accessible and they call people out when they are being awful!).
There are clearly some very creative marketing and digital teams behind all of these accounts – and they are bossing it.