LSBF Great Minds with Bite Global: “this is the most exciting time to be in communications”

London, 13 May 2016 – In a live interview with London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), Kath Easthope, Managing Director of Bite Global – an agency which delivers innovative marketing and communications solutions, spoke about how the industry’s landscape has become more exciting to be a part of.

“I personally believe this is the most exciting time to be in communications,” she said. “The whole landscape we work in has changed […]It used to be that you created a client story and got coverage and were measured on the volume of coverage. But we are now competing with everyone.

“Every single client brief is different now. You have to be able to go into a client’s organisation and change the way they think.”

Speaking with Dr Steve Priddy, LSBF’s Director of Research and Academic Dean, Ms Easthope explained the history of Bite and how they became a successful company, what she looks for in a “Biter” (the affectionate term used for their employees), and how the PR industry has adapted to technological advances.

She added that videos now absolutely integral to Bite’s work, explaining that their most successful campaigns are video-based.

With offices in San Francisco, New York, and London, Bite Global’s clients include companies such as Amazon, Google, Citihub, Survey Monkey, and Sage – their team specifically looks for the most exciting and innovative brands, particularly entrepreneurs. After a recent restructure, they have enjoyed their most successful financial period, and are looking forward to the fourth quarter.   

Ms Easthope has twenty years of experience in communications, and in that time she has learned a degree in PR is not necessarily the most important quality for a new employee.

“For me, it comes down to attitude and passion and enthusiasm,” she explained. “I know that feels like it’s stating the obvious, but I think not every intern or graduate comes in with the right attitude, and there’s often just an expectation that you’re going to work on the best projects from the get go.”

She added: “The more diverse the mix of skills, the better the agency will become[…]That really raw ability to spot a good story and create a good story is what makes PR so exciting.”

Ms Easthope was interviewed as part of the LSBF Great Minds Live series – an initiative which invites leading thinkers from a range of industries, from business to law, to share their insights with a live audience of LSBF students.

LSBF Great Minds Series

As well as offering programmes dedicated to fostering leadership skills, London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) also endeavours to provide students with insight and inspiration through a number of innovative resources. One of these initiatives is the LSBF Great Minds Series: a collection of video interviews with leading business and political leaders promoting debate on education, employability, entrepreneurship and the economy.

The video series started in 2011 with a conversation with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, followed by an interview with former Education Secretary Lord Kenneth Baker. In 2012, entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group said that universities worldwide should become hubs to boost entrepreneurship and inspire self-starters to develop their own businesses. In 2014, LSBF spoke to Will Butler-Adams from Brompton Bicycle, Guy Hayward-Cole from Nomura Bank International, with former British Prime Minister Sir John Major, entrepreneur and investor Deborah Meaden, Google UK sales director Kevin Mathers and BBC Worldwide CEO Tim Davie.

In 2015, LSBF hosted interviews with Andrew Miller, CEO of Guardian Media Group; Jill McDonald, CEO of McDonald's UK; Kevin Costello, CEO of Haymarket Group; Amy McPherson, CEO of Marriott Hotels Europe; veteran BAFTA-winning broadcaster Jon Snow; live chats with Kevin Ellis, Managing Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers; Guy Hands, Founder of Terra Firma and many others.

In February 2016, the series won the prestigious Editor’s Award at the PQ Magazine Awards 2016.