The right piece of content, at the right time, to the right audience, in the right way.

 

That’s our philosophy. It’s simple, straightforward and easy to understand. And it works.


With more than 35 years’ experience in newspapers, radio, television, magazine, digital and social media, we know better than most that well-told stories always captivate people.
Telling powerful stories creates an intimate bond between you and your audience. For business, this often becomes the fertile ground in which the seeds of brand loyalty and brand advocacy are sown.


Years before Little Joe Media was even a twinkle in our eye we’ve been in the business of storytelling. Back in the day, our stories were resolutely analogue, told via regional and daily newspapers, magazines and, later, radio and television.


But audiences, platforms and technology have changed and so has the way people choose to communicate. And that means we’ve changed, too. Our work has increasingly taken us into digital spaces where we’ve told our stories and the stories of others via websites, blogs, social media, newsletters, email, video and podcasts.


But we haven’t forgotten our roots, either. We still remember the smell of hot metal. We can still hear the roar of a web-offset press in our dreams. We still feel a bit nostalgic about coming out of a newsroom with newsprint on our fingertips. 


So we believe there’s still a place for the tangible platforms – the ones you can hold and turn and manipulate. The secret is in knowing where that place is and when to use it.
We’ve been around the block when it comes to content. We know what works and we know what doesn’t. And most importantly of all, we know why.


We’re proud of who we are and of what we do. We pride ourselves on immersing ourselves in the businesses of our clients, on working hard to learn their language, to understand their ambitions, to speak in their tone of voice and to be as wild about what they do as they are.


So come and talk to us about your passion and let us make it ours.

 
 

MARK NORMAN

CONTENT DIRECTOR

In a 30-year career Mark has held senior roles in newspapers, magazines, broadcast – including both BBC radio and television and national commercial radio – and marketing.

After training as a journalist, he worked in local weekly newspapers before moving to regional daily news, at The Northern Echo in Darlington (still the greatest newspaper ever printed), and from there to The Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday and The Independent.

In 1991 he moved into broadcast journalism with the BBC as a reporter at BBC Three Counties Radio, a station he subsequently went on to lead to record audiences and a record-breaking 18 Radio Academy Awards, including Station of the Year. From 2010 – 2011 he was Head of BBC Local Radio Development, responsible for BBC strategy for regional radio broadcasting.

As a journalist and editorial leader he has covered some of the biggest breaking news stories of the last 30 years, including the Kings Cross Fire, the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster, Lockerbie, Piper Alpha, the Hatfield and Potters Bar rail disasters, the closure of the Vauxhall manufacturing plant in Luton and the Buncefield oil depot explosion.

In 1990, he was one of the first journalists to uncover, investigate and expose systematic child abuse in the Catholic church. Mark’s work contributed to the imprisonment in America of Father Anton Mowat and helped pave the way for further widespread investigative reports into one of the biggest cover-ups in recent history.  

After a brief period as Commercial Director of national digital radio station Planet Rock, Mark worked for a national charity as Group Head of Commercial Content where he led a team generating more than £1.5m in revenue from a standing start.

He has worked on above the line and below the line marketing campaigns, written brand campaigns and written brand and advertising copy.

He launched Little Joe Media in 2012 and has been privileged to work with a number of blue-chip clients, including Skoda Motorsport, Hyundai, Kuoni, the Radio Academy and the BBC.

 
 

CRAIG HENDERSON

BROADCAST ASSOCIATE

Craig has acted as both a television commissioner and designer of programme formats in his time as senior manager and programme maker within the BBC’s English Regions. He has years of experience and possesses a keen understanding of how stories are commissioned for television and radio both locally and nationally.

He led the launch of the regional current affairs series Inside Out, now the most watched current affairs programme in the UK. He also launched the regional football magazine Late Kick Off, regional politics format The Politics Show and has worked with many internal and external partners such as the BBC’s Natural History Unit, BBC Sport (Olympics) and on major BBC moments such as Children in Need, Comic Relief, and the RHS Flower shows. Most recently Craig led cross-platform projects linked to the 100th anniversary of WW1, and Shakespeare.

His work involves making contacts with people right across the BBC genres – from arts to current affairs and politics. He still maintains contacts with a number of high audience television strands and is currently working on a project involving Greenham Common.  

As the former Head of Programmes for the BBC regions Craig has excellent contacts across local and regional services in BBC Local Radio and regional television (News and Current Affairs). Head of Programmes is a role which also involved linking the regions into national news and programming, hence Craig has good links with a range of major programmes right across the BBC (TV and Radio) and also commercial output too. He has recently worked with The One Show, Countryfile, Arts programmes, News strands, Songs of Praise and major BBC Learning projects.

Craig has worked on partnerships involving communities and major institutions such as Imperial War Museums, the British Library, Royal Shakespeare Company and the British Museum. He recently led a project capturing people’s recollections of the home front of World War One while working with the BBC, where he also commissioned regional programmes and acted as an important link between the regions and national radio and television.  

He has worked on arts projects, most recently a street theatre event involving local theatre groups, the National Theatre and artist Jeremy Deller. Craig also worked on heritage programmes such as Restoration and was Chairman of the Trustees for the BBC Restoration Fund. He now works as a freelance director of his own company specialising in creating cross-platform impact with programmes - via broadcast, community events and in education.

Throughout his career Craig has prided himself on keeping close to programme-making, while also maintaining strong links with broadcast teams and partners.

 
 

PAUL MCCARTNEY

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & COMMERCIAL CONTENT

Paul  held  senior  positions,  primarily  in  the  commercial  radio  sector  launching  and  running  several successful radio stations before becoming group commercial Director for Radio Investments Ltd.  

Having  started  as  a  sales  executive  in  1987,  he  has  worked  with  more  than  10,000  advertisers helping them to identify their core strengths, the  target markets that would most likely value what they had to offer and working with clients on a needs analysis to recommend campaigns that would maximise their return on investment.

In  2007,  he  graduated  from  the  University  of  Leicester  with  an  MBA.  This  puts  him  in  the  unique position  of  having  significant  levels  of  practical  business  experience  and  the  theoretical  knowledge taught at the world’s leading business schools which he shares with his clients.

Paul is passionate about helping entrepreneurial business owners by working closely with them on a one to one basis to effectively plan and grow their businesses through effective commercial projects.

Paul offers a unique approach to our clients by using his expertise in sales and business development to  help  them  evolve  successful  commercial  strategies  and  maximise  both  revenue  and  return  on investment.

 
 

SHAREEF ALI

Graphic Design

Shareef Ali is an accomplished graphic designer with more than twenty-five years’ experience. From a foundation in fine arts, he has developed a broad field of expertise that includes original illustration, magazine, brochure and book design, corporate identity and brand guidance, logo and website design.

He has worked with a large number of companies, both in the United Kingdom and overseas, including small start-up enterprises, established institutions, publishing houses and individuals. Notable among them are Hatfield House, Lloyd’s List, Informa Maritime Events and Ella’s Kitchen.

A key feature of Shareef’s work ethic is his ability to quickly interpret a design brief and, in turn, communicate his solutions and suggestions in a clear and concise fashion. He maintains this approach whether liaising with individuals or design and marketing agencies.

 
 

NISHA SACHDEV-PATEL

BRAND MANAGEMENT

Nisha enjoys the challenges of developing marketing strategies that will enable stakeholders and clients to stand out from the crowd, and identifying new routes for growth that will maximise potential.

She has an impressive track record of high-quality delivery in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, with 16 years’ experience at leading multichannel offline and online campaigns across paid, owned and earned platforms. She’s managed Brand refreshes, new product launches, small and big scale £Multimillion advertising campaigns.

Nisha understands that you need to put just as much effort into engaging your employees with your next campaign. She can equip your staff to speak for you and with you.

As a marketing expert she can help you create a winning brand strategy, develop marketing and timings plans, advise on how you can measure success.  She has a strong strategic focus in tandem with a can-do, hands-on attitude

 
 

NICKY KIDNER

AUDIO SERVICES

Nicky is a natural-born storyteller and audio content expert. She understands the power of audio as a medium and knows how to use podcasting, radio and embedded website audio to help you connect with your audiences in the most effective way possible – wherever they are.  

Nicky has worked with a number of stakeholders and clients across a variety of sectors, including the health industry and the charity sector. Having launched a radio station – where she developed the brand, playout, production and presentation - she has seen how audio can change the way people think about brands.

She's also mastered how to get a good interview out of anybody! She does voice over work and knows her way around the media training landscape.

But she’s not a one trick pony either - she can support with content generation and brand management and is particularly partial to using audio as a brilliant way of communicating with audiences in an easily-digestible.  

Whatever you need, Nicky is the ideal person to help you produce engaging and creative content.

 
 

STEPHEN DAVIES

EDITORIAL

Steve has been a journalist since leaving school, hacking his way into the media jungle via a much-respected training course in Hastings, Sussex. There he met Mark Norman and, courtesy of a shared love of rock music which overcame early tensions over the cut of a particular suit, they’ve been friends ever since.

Steve’s professional journey has taken him around the country, cutting his teeth and honing his craft on regional weekly and daily newspapers before writing for Hayters, one of the most prestigious sports agencies in the world and then entering the competitive world of freelance writing.

He has covered everything from the FIFA World Cup to the Slough Town reserves and written for such titles as The Mail on Sunday, the Racing Post, Total Sport, Rugby World and Chelsea Village, with countless blogs also contributed to a variety of websites.

As a writer and editor, Steve has been involved in many publications, brochures and websites for, among others, the Department for Education, the Department of Health, local government and a local clinical commissioning group - work that emphasises an absolute passion for health and education.

Happiness in downtime is a round of golf, a long-distance bike ride, watching football, listening to rock music and Sunday lunch at any pub where the specials are spelled correctly. Steve lives in the New Forest, is happily married and a proud dad of three.

 
 

CHRIS LAYTHORPE

WEB DESIGN & CODING

No one at Little Joe Media knows what Chris really does. There was a rumour going around the office last week that despite what it says on his LinkedIn profile, he was actually educated at Hogwarts, because as far as anyone here can tell he’s a digital alchemist.

We send him to talk to clients, he takes half-formed and abstract ideas, disappears into the digital darkness for a short time and emerges, blinking and somewhat dishevelled, with pure gold.

As a frontend engineer and developer with blue chip corporates that include Time Inc., Barclays, Lloyds Bank, Emirates Airlines, Sky and EE, Chris’ experience and expertise in building innovative, dynamic and visually compelling digital platforms speaks for itself.

Whether he’s working with highly complex concepts or projects where functionality and simplicity are key, Chris has an innate and instinctive ability to interpret need and deliver results accordingly