People

Katie Morris

Day Job
As Chief Executive my role is to lead and oversee the output from the agency. I make it my business to ensure we deliver outstanding and inspirational service that sets us above the competition and keeps clients coming back for more. And that means keeping close to clients and staff alike. I'm a people person so this is my perfect job, getting under the skin of clients, finding out what makes them tick and how we can meet their aspirations. Keeping involved with the team, helping them to meet their own professional goals as well as the agency's. It means constantly pushing the boundaries to crack an idea or a problem; supporting and driving people to do better and push further and being a critical friend where it's needed to ensure we get the right results every time. I believe that's genuine consultancy and it's what our clients have come to expect. Honesty, insight and hard work. A winning combination.

Weekend Job
It doesn't take more than a whiff of vanilla or the whirr of the magimix to get me out of work mode and into the kitchen. A self confessed foodie junky, I must also fess up to regular lurking in Waterstones at weekends, loitering around the culinary section leafing my way through Heston's Big Fat Duck Cookbook or drooling over A Day at elBulli. The genius of it all. My favourite cookery course, a brilliant birthday surprise one year from my husband , was a course at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons, learning how to dazzle at a dinner party. I arrived with excitement and trepidation and it didn't disappoint. A small group of like minded souls, hell bent on learning more, we lived through every emotion possible to man , anticipation, intensity, a good sprinkling of pressure with a generous helping of genuine fun. I enjoyed every second from watching the professionals in action making it all look so easy, to dashing out between the unseasonal rain showers to pick handfuls of herbs for my dish fresh from his legendary cottage garden. Cooking to me is the ultimate creative activity it satisfies all the senses with how it looks, tastes and smells . It's the centre of our social lives at home whether it's serving up a flavour explosion for culinary friends or just tucking into a family roast, food is the ultimate connector. It can say you're special, welcome home or don't worry far better than any greetings card. It's my way of showing how I feel to those I love. I am pleased to say I appear to have passed at least some of this great passion of mine on to my daughter who is just becoming interested in cooking, having a go at mixing flavours and ideas and impressing her friends along the way. Perhaps I will get her that new lemon reamer for her birthday after all? Who needs Chloe ankle boots anyway , you can't walk in them and they're bound to be out of fashion by Thursday!

Mike Pritchard

Day Job
Hi, I'm Mike Pritchard, Business Development Director at Seal. My role is to build our business through winning new clients, growing business from existing clients and ensuring that we are fully meeting and challenging their expectations. I'm also very involved in the strategic support on key accounts, from research planning to brand strategy. I think that our core strength is the quality of our people at Seal and we work together to deliver outstanding and insightful ideas to help build business. Our awards for campaign effectiveness prove this. My job is to broadcast Seal and our strengths throughout the marketing industry in the UK, particularly emphasising our cross discipline strengths in PR, Digital and Marketing. Encouraging prospective clients who are reviewing their agency relationships to consider Seal as a potential business partner. These are difficult times for both clients and agencies. Certainly those who have survived the last 3 years, where we have seen savage cuts to marketing budgets, are now looking to rebuild their businesses and support their brands. We are certainly sensing a degree of optimism with more clients investing in marketing again. And there is evidence of an increasing number of pitches which is encouraging and is the opportunity for us to show off our skills. My focus is for Seal to be invited to participate in these pitches. And win.

Weekend Job
Mortimer says, As an ambition we should all grow old disgracefully, which seems a fine ambition to me. Weekends are spent diving, climbing, cycling, skiing or otherwise depending on the time of year. Anything not involving comfy chairs and slippers. And certainly not TV. We will have spent evenings during the week planning for the weekend, which usually means loading up the car on Friday night with either bulky scuba gear, or rucksacks filled with dry bags (it is the UK after all) and all of the clobber needed to head for the hills. Then we'll head off early (6am) on Saturday either usually to North Wales where we keep our Club RIB (inflatable boat) if we're diving, or to Snowdonia if we're climbing. Fueled with bacon baps and mugs of tea, we'll then begin attempting 2 dives during the day. Or, heading off to a distant summit. Either are challenges and both are very satisfying. Then, if we have had a successful day it's all down to the pub to discuss the day in great detail, or else wend our way home. It's a great contrast to my working week. And a great way to get stuff out of your system, and also time to think. Whether you're watching scallops dancing at 20 metres, or finally reaching that trig point these are wonderful moments to enjoy. It's also very refreshing to be with people from other very diverse walks of life. For example, Dentists, Fireman even a fertility expert (!) are club members. Then if we are back in a day we'll often have friends staying over on Saturday which means it's action stations in the kitchen. We'll conjure up a Goan curry then contentedly settle into great conversation and good wine. Sunday is never planned, except for our roast dinner at 6pm with my wife's magic roast potatoes. An unbeatable, irresistible and disgraceful pleasure.

Nigel Pipkin

Day Job
Hello. I'm Nigel Pipkin, Director at Seal. I take a strategic role on accounts. It's my job to ensure the teams deliver outstanding campaigns and first class results that make our clients proud. All good PR, whether B2C or B2B, traditional or social media, should include a healthy sprinkling of 'Eureka moments'. Ordinary just isn't good enough if your client is to stand out from the crowd. But inspirational ideas must be grounded in what's achievable, which is where experience and insight are invaluable. A barn-storming idea is all very well. But it's so much confetti in the wind if it doesn't feed back into a client's business objectives and achieve the desired results - a measurable change in the target audience's behaviour or in their perceptions of a brand. Giving a strategic view, sometimes acting as a 'critical friend', is also part of the role. Good advice isn't always about saying 'yes'. Working so closely with the media we often find out about competitor activity or spot business opportunities before the client. That advice can be priceless. As well as keeping the Seal PR team's on task and motivated, that's an easy job ' I seek to ensure the highest standards in all that we do. From headline grabbing press releases and eye-catching photographs to nurturing relationships that really matter, from key journalists to other influencers. Also, operating within an integrated agency, offering PR, design, marketing and digital services, I take the wider view in recommending which are the most appropriate communications tools to bring to bear to maximise clients' budgets.

Weekend Job
The sun shines, the birds sing and all of Saturday and Sunday is spent being Alan Titchmarsh, bringing my garden up to 'Yellow Book' standard. Well, that's the dream! In truth, yes it looks nice but it could be so much better. It's lucky that moss is the same colour as grass. And I still haven't entirely cleared my compost heap after 23 years! So that's what I enjoy the most, digging, weeding, pruning, planting. If I were to describe my gardening style it would be like Jamie Oliver's cooking. Rip this, tear that. Anti-fussy. But the result is very satisfying. So Friday night, relax, unwind, drink (a little) beer or wine, read Gardener's World magazine. Interact with family. Saturday plan to watch Dr Who. Talk my way out of going shopping. Make soup for wife's return from shops. Work at 'the list' of jobs that's been left me. Steal a guilty hour in the garden, while listening to the Villa. Get the tea. Remember Dr Who too late. Go out with friends - in the summer to see The Subterraneans or the Crisis Blues Band. In the winter the world has to stop for 'Strictly Come Dancing' (and Day Job for 'It Takes Two'). Sunday morning is devoted to Radio 4 and the Sunday roast (with home grown herbs). Desert Island Discs, Just a Minute or Sorry I Haven't a Clue and, of course, Gardeners' Question Time. Grab another hour in the garden if can get away with it (and while doing so come up with another PR brainwave). Early evening get round to watching Dr Who on iPlayer. Finally, trot off to bed after updating iPod nano with Friday night's News Quiz for listening later Day Job.

Kate Watkins

Day job
As account director I oversee and manage account teams to ensure we deliver first class, original and relevant campaigns for our clients. Today, communications channels work best when in harmony, working seamlessly together and PR is often at the heart of the mix playing an ever increasing role in getting clients noticed. Adopting the right channel and medium is crucial to ensure you are getting your voice heard amongst the right people - whether it be social media, print, advertising or broadcast - our campaigns are relevant and exciting and importantly, meet business objectives

My role is also about developing and nurturing client relationships which we are very proud of at Seal. All the teams have their fingers on the pulse with the daily news agenda which they share with their clients to keep us one step ahead and breathe life into day-to-day PR; we have efficient processes in place to ensure we deliver what we set out, and we host regular client meetings to ensure our campaigns stay on track.

As well as managing and overseeing the client work, I am responsible for developing the talented and enthusiastic team we are lucky to have at Seal. Whether we are developing campaigns for generators and car parts or driving the media relations for the acclaimed Michelin Stars, you will see a dedicated and enthusiastic Seal behind every campaign. It is this passion and energy that our clients tell us gives us our stand out.

Home job
As a daughter to two art teachers, design and creativity have been central to my life growing up with many trips to the Tate, National Gallery and Barbara Hepworth. Art, and being creative, is still important to me today and there is not a holiday or weekend that goes by where I don’t have some sort of project on the go. Whether it’s making dresses, reupholstering chairs or lately, learning to draw on my shiny new tablet, being able to create something unique and express myself gives me a sense freedom. I love the bright vibrant colours of Warhol, Hockney and Picasso and how they use shape and light to make you think differently about inanimate objects and the environment around you. Thrashing colour and textures across my new digital canvas, I imagine what it’s like to live in a Parisian studio and be a part of bohemia!

Katie Morris CEO	Mike Pritchard Marketing Director
Nigel Pipkin PR Director	Kate Watkins Account Director

Katie Morris

Mike Pritchard

Nigel Pipkin

Kate Watkins

Latest Blog Posts