Adam Gray's Location
London, England, United Kingdom, United Kingdom
About Adam Gray
Ferris Bueller's Day Off.A film from my childhood that still makes me smile to this day. What happy memories do you have of this era (or anything else from your past)So, why am I here…Some children want to be astronauts, some firefighters, for me I knew that my destiny was to perform (playing the violin) to audiences. When I was accepted at one of the world’s top music conservatoires I thought that was my future taken care of, but injury (and if I’m honest, a lack of talent) put a stop to that dream so I had to set-off in to the big wide world.Since then my journey has been an interesting one - retail, sales, design, marketing and finally social media - I’ve always enjoyed what I’ve done and I have always tried to bring the knowledge I have gained in other areas to bear on whatever situation I happen to be in.It’s only recently though that I have become aware of the cyclical nature of my life. Despite my long journey I am, in many ways, back fulfilling my childhood dreams and this is why my job at DLAignite is so perfect for me.We aren’t just a “social selling” company we are a "strategic business transformation through social media" company. In this environment everything I have learned is useful - how social media affects marketing, sales, HR, how small businesses need to react, how large enterprises need to embrace this new environment - all of these challenges are things that I have seen first hand.All of my years of experience in business and my time spent on stage as a performer is crystallised when I stand-up to talk to an audience or train a room full of people and I love it.A previous headline I used was "the harder I practice, the luckier I get." It’s a great quote popularised by Arnold Palmer or Gary Player (nobody seems quite sure which) and I love what it implies about life rather than just about their sport - doing something over and over again until you get really good at it not only makes you better at it, but it also increases the chances of you just “being lucky.” Or in the case of social media just happening to being the right place at the right time is a cornerstone of the success that you too can create.In the modern world social media is the key to success literally everyone who you want to talk to is accessible (or influenceable) through it and for many it is the primary resource for decision making information. You MUST have a strategy for this.
Adam Gray Work Experience Details
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Co-Founder - Head Of Intellectual PropertyDla Ignite Aug 2016 - PresentLondon, London, GbWe are Modern Digital Commercial Advisors for our clients. We help them shape and execute strategies to succeed today.The reason this matters today is that from our conversations with a huge number of organisations there are a repeating series of themes to the challenges they’re facing:- visibility- credibility- pipeline & revenue- attracting talent- motivating and retaining talentMost organisations know that the tools and techniques they are using no longer solve these problems. The challenge seems most acute in the sales and marketing function where the KPIs for impressions/impacts/calls/emails do not to relate to forecast and revenue in the way that they once did.Simply tweaking existing processes won’t achieve the result that’s needed. Broadcasting to an audience that isn’t listening (and probably won’t believe even if they are) isn’t going to make your organisation look like “the obvious choice.”If organisations wish to appear relevant to their prospects, clients and future hires they must stop using behaviours and narratives that drive people away and start to behave in a different way, a way that encourages people to walk towards them rather than back away.This requires an innovative and brave approach to tackling these challenges but it is an approach that we have developed, implemented and refined on our own business and for a number of organisations so it CAN be done and YOUR organisation can do it.Ask yourself “who looks like the obvious leader in my space?” if the answer isn’t you then you need to do something differently because it should be. In a world where everyone is empowered and educated and can find the answer to any question by simply tapping it in to their phone ask yourself “why would they choose the second best organisation or person?” The answer is that they won’t.You need to have a strategy which acknowledges that the challenges are different today and they the solutions to overcome these challenges are also different. -
Podcast HostThat Album Aug 2021 - PresentMusic has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember so I set-up That Album with a friend during covid as a weekly chat show about great albums over the years that have shaped our lives.Now, approaching our 100th show, I have a roster of guest hosts who join me to discuss albums that are important to them and things that were going on in the world and the band at the time. We chat about what might have been the inspiration, which songs we like and which we don't.Come along for a bit of Friday fun and join the chat, become part of a community of people who love classic music and its power to create a shared experience. Why not join our LinkedIn group https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12790560/ and talk about music. -
LeaderInstitute Of Sales Professionals Mar 2023 - PresentHarpenden, England, GbThe ISP are a Government-backed professional body representing sales in the UK and around the world.We are proud of our profession and passionately believe that sales should be a chartered body - this is part of our mission.We are bringing sales into parity with other professions by providing qualifications and lettered accreditation, underpinned by life-long learning, for those who choose a career as a sales professional.We uphold the quality, ethics and standards of professional selling and are here to celebrate everything that is great about being a sales professional. -
Podcast HostThe Digital Download Apr 2021 - PresentLondon, GbContributor, occasional chair, and regular panelist on the longest running weekly business LinkedIn Live show.We talk about business issues, the digital world and the latest trends and how the effect you in your business.Our regular guests are leaders in their fields and give their time to help the viewers rather than to promote themselves.Why not join ournewly formed LinkedIn group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12829604/ -
Co-FounderMear & Gray Guitars Mar 2023 - PresentFor almost 20 years I have been a keen amateur guitar player and collector. I am very definitely not interested in quantity but in quality and this has led me through various purchases/sales/trades to have a small collection of exceptionally fine instruments. Through chance on LinkedIn as the result of posting occasionally about this, I was approached by someone whose partner had decided to make a career change to become a luthier.Seldom have I seen someone with a natural talent for woodworking as obvious as this. The level of precision is what you would expect of someone who has dedicated their entire life to this art rather than someone who has dabbled in it until now.The first three instruments they made were exceptional in construction and in sound but as they have made more the vision has developed.Now the instruments fall in to two categories - replicas of golden era instruments such as the Martin OM-18 from 1930 and bespoke modern fingerstyle instruments. These instruments are nothing short of breathtaking in feel, attention to detail and sound.You can see some of the eye-candy here: https://www.instagram.com/mearandgray/ or on our website https://mearandgray.comFast-forward 6 months and this person not only asked my to advise on how to take the instruments to market but has placed my name alongside theirs on the label. This truly is a dream come true for me! -
FellowThe Rsa (Royal Society For The Encouragement Of Arts, Manufactures And Commerce) Aug 2017 - PresentLondon, GbUsually I would write a description of my “role” in this section…however, the RSA has a strong mission which is written by people far more eloquent than I and they say:The mission of the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) is to enrich society through ideas and action. We believe that all human beings have creative capacities that, when understood and supported, can be mobilised to deliver a 21st century enlightenment.By sharing powerful ideas and carrying out cutting-edge research, we build networks and opportunities for people to collaborate - creating fulfilling lives and a flourishing society. Through our nearly 30,000 fellows we are a source of capacity, commitment and insight in communities from the global to the local.The RSA Fellowship is a powerful national and international network of accomplished individuals. Fellows are encouraged to engage with a wide range of the RSA’s work and to develop their own local and issue based initiatives.Fellows have access to the brightest new ideas, innovative projects, a diverse network of like-minded people and a platform for social change. -
Head Of Client Social Media, EmeaOracle Jun 2014 - Aug 2016Austin, Texas, UsOut of the blue one day I had a call from one of Oracle’s recruiters saying “we have been online looking for a social media expert and everything points to you”! The process of joining Oracle was an exhausting one, but eight interviews finally yielded a job offer.Once there I was fortunate to have an exceptional team around me and the best boss I have ever had who, even within a huge organisation, enabled me to be entrepreneurial by “flying air cover” for me. This was a fantastic opportunity for me to test all of my thinking from the small and medium sized business arena on global enterprises. Whilst there I worked in London, Madrid, Istanbul, Oslo, Copenhagen, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Riyadh, Kuwait City, Amsterdam, Utrecht and San Francisco with some of the biggest and most well respected companies in the world.Always, my role was to help these clients to become more innovative through embracing social media so that they could better engage their clients, help them gain competitive advantage and be more profitable. This was largely a job of education and helping them to see social media as a strategic tool.My internal responsibility was to help support the sales process (at both a strategic and an operational level) and as an evangelist for social media in the business world so the sales teams could talk to their clients with confidence and passion about the importance of social media.Specialities:- keynote speaker- social media strategy- internal team alignment & sell-in- process engineering- KPI identification and benchmarking- ROI analysisUltimately though, Oracle creates and sells software it doesn't create change, and both Tim and I left because we wanted to make a difference. To quote Steve Jobs "we wanted to make a dent in the universe!"My time at Oracle taught me how to navigate the enterprise environment (both within Oracle and my clients) to get the job done. This was a vital learning and one which I have used often since leaving. -
Social Media Marketing Director & OwnerAdam Gray Social Media Ltd Jan 2009 - Jun 2014Bedingfield, Suffolk, GbBy this time it was clear to me that that social media was going to be a major force in communications. I provided expert advice and support to help organisations through the digital and social transformation process.My role usually required me to work closely with senior management and marketing teams to help them devise, then implement a social/digital strategy. In the early days of this there was no such thing as “best practice” per se, so creating an environment which was effective at delivering increased engagement, improved profitability and competitive advantage was always a leap in to the unknown for clients.Even at this point though, the challenges of “socialising” an organisation were apparent;- organisational inertia- lack of understanding- fear of change- holding-on to old practices These were all obstacles which needed to be overcome.My working relationships often centred around finding a way to integrate social media with client’s existing marketing processes and up-skilling the team to the various social networks, tools and campaigns that were necessary for a successful implementation. Typically this encompassed such diverse things as; safety & security, key performance indicators, goal setting, moderating and tracking & measurement.Sometime, clients with an established presence sought more rigorous examinations of their success, ROI and social analytics.Specialities:- social media strategy- digital transformation - social media marketing- social media ROI analysis - digital marketing strategyThis was a very exciting time for me as I felt that I was a pioneer, there was little in the way of documented process around how social media could be used for business and may of the things that I developed became part of my best selling book Brilliant Social Media (published by Pearson) which you can see more about in the publications section at the bottom of my profile page. -
Managing Director, Owner & Head Of Digital MarketingLemon May 2003 - Jan 2009For 6 years Lemon worked with clients from start-ups through to blue chips, to deliver creative and targeted marketing.We helped our clients understand why their existing marketing often didn’t work well, and then changing this to deliver big improvements through the application of the “new” social media marketing and digital marketing world which was opening up.I was predominantly responsible for digital marketing, social media marketing, business development, client retention, strategic planning.Our clients included:- Hertfordshire Constabulary- Epson- Starbucks- Clerical Medical - The Canadian High Commission- CCLASpecialities:- social media marketing- digital marketing- marketing change strategies- maximising marketing ROI- branding- focused communicationRunning Lemon taught me a huge amount about delivering excellence to clients. The better the work that we did and the better we presented this work to clients, the more successful both our clients and Lemon were. This “under promise - over deliver” mentality has been with me ever since and it in part defines who I am. -
Being A Dad!On Sabbatical Mar 2002 - Apr 2003Johnson, Vermont, UsI had become a dad 6 months earlier. Restructuring meant that I was able to take a severance package from Asylum which gave me the opportunity to take 12 months away from work, which I spent with my wife and daughter - without a doubt the most rewarding year of my life so far! -
Digital Marketing DirectorAsylum Feb 2000 - Feb 2002This was a great opportunity because I was able to set-up and run the digital marketing division of the business (based largely on what I learned from my time at R|evolution). It was a surprisingly entrepreneurial environment and I was given the chance to experiment with all sorts of ideas, some with great success...some not so!Asylum was an environment when we were encouraged to challenge everything and we often used to ask client "why" they were commissioning projects and to tell them that it wasn't a good idea if we didn't feel that it was appropriate.As the digital wing of the agency though we saw our purpose was to help develop the client's thinking and learning of all things digital as we knew this was where the future was.Whilst at Asylum I was able to push the envelope for digital marketing and social media marketing for a number of clients including Unilever and Criterion Software - a subsidiary of Canon.My specific responsibilities included; digital marketing, finding and acquiring clients, retaining clients, tailoring the agency’s offering depending on industry.Key clients included: - Unilever- DeutscheBank- Canon - Hutchison Telecom (now '3').Specialities: - online brand creation and development- customer capture strategies- business development- online planning, marketing.
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Account DirectorR|Evolution Sep 1998 - Feb 2000Revolution was (at the time) one of the top 10 integrated agencies in the UK and was the first of the large full-service agencies to focus on digital marketing.I had the opportunity to work with (and learn from) some rockstars of the design and marketing world many of whom went on to true greatness. As an account director I was responsible for ensuring that some of our key clients were happy with our work. Clients included: - One2One (prior to acquisition by T-Mobile)- Green Flag- Virgin Vie - Coutts & Co Bank.It was at Revolution, a company that specialised in what they called "Net Centric solutions" that I gained a real understanding and grounding in the digital marketing world, working on some of the very first commercial online communities and portals.Particularly exciting at this time for me was the opportunity to be seconded to One2One for a 6 month period so not only was I working very closely with them I had my own desk at the client’s office!Specialities: - Digital marketing strategy & implementation- online community development- business development- salesWhilst at Revolution I learned the importance of personal networks and relationships and I feel now that my network is one of the greatest assets I have developed during my working life.
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Project DirectorSure Group Dec 1993 - Aug 1998Wow, this was a bit of a baptism of fire! Moving from the B2C world to the B2B world was a real shock. Budgets were an order of magnitude greater. The complexity of print or video production was simply overwhelming to begin with.After a short acclimatisation (and education) I found myself commuting to Amsterdam each week to run a number of high profile projects for their main client - Canon Europa NV. I also ran some projects for Canon UK, and The V&A Museum. The EMEA nature of our relationship with Canon meant that I was expected to travel further afield and more frequently. Culminating with nearly 6 months living and working in SpainThose projects included:- Analysis of the Russian market prior to Canon's official launch.- Official Canon launch in Moscow- Product launches in Spain- Rebranding of Canon photography dealer network in the UK- Personal Office Products merchandising in; Russia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain- Training in; South Africa & Saudi Arabia.It was whilst I was at the Sure Group that I became fascinated with using new technologies and techniques to solve exiting problems more efficiently.Specialities: New market development strategies - CEE & Russia, Territory specific problem solving.Although this was extremely hard work where many of us would frequently work 60 or 70 hour weeks (or more) I would not trade that experience for anything, many of the people I worked with are amongst my closest friends…I even met my wife whilst working there!
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OwnerKraft - Absolutely Fabulous Hi-Fi 1990 - 1992After securing business angel funding from two key sources, I was (with my business partner) able to launch Kraft, a Knightsbridge based showroom retailing the finest audio equipment available.At the time we our top hifi system (CD player, Amplifier, Speakers and cables) retailed at £105,000 which even today is still a significant amount of money to play CDs.Because of the location we became the supplier of choice for a number of celebrities, heads of state and royal families and that was a glimpse of a fascinating world that many people never get to see. It was a great time to be interacting with some of the most powerful individuals I have ever met and it certainly taught me the meaning of “high expectations” from customers.Our work was frequently installed by us overseas so I had the chance to run projects in the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland, Belgium and France.It was here that I began to understand the vast difference between "getting people to buy" rather than "selling to people" and that is something that has stuck with me ever since. To this day I don't like to sell...but I like to make such a compelling case that my prospects buy.Eventually rising rents in Europe's most expensive shopping street (and therefore falling profits) meant that the only sensible move was to close the business. Every cloud has a sliver lining though because one of the business angels who funded Kraft asked me to go and work for their company...a marketing agency in Soho which is the heart of London's advertising land!
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Sales SpecialistUxbridge Audio 1987 - 1990This was my first "proper" job. I loved the fact that I was surrounded by music and tech...as young man (particularly an ex-musician) just starting out how exciting was that! Going from fiddling with my father's record player to being hands-on with a host of expensive systems from the UK's leading firms - Linn, Naim, Meridian, KEF, B&W, Mission - was an exciting environment.Demonstrating and selling a range of these high quality systems gave me a great opportunity to indulge my passion for quality, technology and gadgets whilst expanding my musical tastes…well, listening to music 8 hours/day every day would expand anybody’s musical tastes don’t you think!But there was a serious side too. We were a hard working and focused group of salespeople who worked long days and late nights. I will never forget the time I said to a customer “we will be with you some time before midnight” and the look of horror on their face at the idea that a couple of us would show up at their home at 11.30 in the evening to spend an hour installing their system. At the time though this seemed like perfectly acceptable and normal behaviour!But it was this commitment that made Uxbridge Audio the UK's most successful hi-fi store.It was here that I went on my first residential course, a sales course, and whilst it was a fascinating excursion, I was very aware of the problems with sales even at this point. You cannot sell to people who aren't there and this piqued my interest in how we might increase footfall to the business and my love affair with marketing began.
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Sales AssistantThreshers 1987 - 1987Dudley, GbMy first job...working in a wine merchant.It gave me a good grounding in wine so "I can tell the difference between a Bordeaux and a Claret" (for those who don't remember that's a quote from Fawlty Towers) and as a young man (just 20) what better perk can there possibly be than a staff discount on wine and beer!Like so much in life, it was a good education. I had a good boss and it was a good company to work for (at that age) because it taught me an important lesson...work harder (longer hours) and you earn more money. It also taught me about customer service and that some people work on Bank Holidays, Boxing Day and New Years Day...I was just such a person...but don't feel sad for me I got paid double-time on those days!It was that "customer service" angle that really was crystallised for me during this job. I was always friendly and helpful and one day a "regular" customer came in and we were chatting when he said "you're wasted in here...why don't you come and work for me"...so I did. -
Christmas Relief PostmanRoyal Mail Dec 1985 - Dec 1985London, GbWell what can I say…my first ever paying job was as a relief postman at Christmas. It was actually quite nice to be out in the fresh air and to have finished work by just after lunch…the pay wasn’t too bad either (for an 18 year old in 1984).When the fist day of training (which started at 09:00) finished and the trainer said “okay, everyone go home and get an early night because you need to be here tomorrow at 05:00” the full horror of what was required for this job landed!Two weeks later I left…In fairness, it taught me that there is no job which doesn’t require an element of training and some skill to do properly.
Adam Gray Education Details
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University Of California, BerkeleyMathematics -
Trinity LabanViolin & Viola
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The MisbourneMusic
Frequently Asked Questions about Adam Gray
What company does Adam Gray work for?
Adam Gray works for Dla Ignite
What is Adam Gray's role at the current company?
Adam Gray's current role is Save Ferris!.
What schools did Adam Gray attend?
Adam Gray attended University Of California, Berkeley, Trinity Laban, The Misbourne.
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