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Why I Started
The Plot Department
CONTENT STUDIO IN OTLEY
From taping the radio as a kid and making ads for between the songs to building a studio of her own- the founder on nearly twenty years in audio and advertising, and the leap it took to finally go it alone.
What made you start The Plot Department?
I've loved advertising and audio since I was old enough to hit record. I used to tape songs off the radio, then rewind and record my own made-up ad breaks into the gaps- I once built an entire chicken advert around Run DMC's "Tricky." Still might pitch that one, to be honest. I stand by it.
That obsession followed me straight into my first real job, at Radio Aire in Leeds. I'd gone into a marketing role after uni that felt about as creative as colouring in a spreadsheet with a highlighter. I've always loved writing poems and making cartoon strips, so that's what I did while I sat there bored out of my mind. I bundled the lot into my application, got the job, and it was basically someone handing me the keys to a sweet shop for years after that- scripts, songs, videos, chaos, joy.
From there I worked my way up to Creative Director at Global: outdoor ads, radio spots, social campaigns, video, podcasts, school workshops- even a project where two schools ended up co-writing songs with chart artists. Eventually I fancied a change and moved into education instead, building a podcast studio and a school magazine from scratch, among other big projects and events along the way.
But the itch never really went away. I still loved audio, still loved advertising, still loved the strange little magic of someone telling you their story into a microphone. So I did the terrifying, brilliant thing- took out a start-up loan and built a studio of my own.
Now I help businesses and people finally make the podcast they've been carrying around in their heads for years, I'm back to dreaming up advertising creative and social content, and I'm building The Plot Academy- a short, in-person course for anyone who wants to learn how to actually make one.
I once built an entire chicken advert around Run DMC's Tricky. Still might pitch that one.
What's different about how you do things?
I'm female-founded, and I'm based in Otley, West Yorkshire, right on the edge of the Dales, tucked inside a gorgeous old community-led building with more character than most agencies twice my size. Nothing about me is designed to intimidate- pricing's straightforward, and I will never use AI for ideas, voiceovers, or creative. That's a line I won't cross. I'm not a big agency pretending to be small, or a small one pretending to be big. I'm just me, nearly twenty years deep in this industry, pulling in the best people I know when a project needs more hands than mine.
What's next?
One day, I'd love a bigger home for the studio, a few rooms humming away on different projects at once, and a proper team behind me within five to ten years. Mostly though, I want to prove that real, hard-won experience is what actually gets brilliant work made for clients. No shortcuts, no smoke and mirrors- just the receipts to back it up.
Originally published in POD. Issue 01.
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