01732 759725 30 with customers. It’s why we’ve seen demand for managed print services take-off because it suits the control and efficiency that customers need in 2025. As an industry, we are in a constant state of flux to adapt and thrive, and it’s important that we stay in tune with what partners and their customers need so that we can respond quickly for them. PITR: If you could change one thing about the last decade, what would it be? JH: The pace at which governments and industries have embraced sustainable practices. Despite growing awareness of the issues, the world has fallen behind on global targets. Brother has made significant progress towards our sustainability goals, including achieving carbon neutral status at our remanufacturing and recycling facilities, and I’m happy to work for a company that has sustainability as a core business strategy pillar. However, globally we are close to irreversible climate tipping points and it’s everyone’s responsibility to take action. PITR: What has been your proudest moment of the past 10 years? JH: Passing a Google Analytics exam has to be one of them! Growing up in the analogue age, I’ve had to acquire digital skills relatively late in life, but as an analytical person, I love the information and insight digital tools can provide. PITR: Sum up the decade in three words. JH: Digital. Adaptability. Trust. of learning. Both the print sector and marketing as a discipline have been through so many changes, there’s always something new to learn about and from, and that keeps every day challenging and interesting. Some things stand the test of time though. It was around 2016 when I really enjoyed creating a new marketing campaign for Brother’s specialist electrical labelling solutions ‘The mark of a smart professional’. It was so well rooted in customer insight. What I love is how it has stood the test of time. It’s evolved, but we’re still using it nearly 10 years later – that’s the mark of a good campaign for me, and electricians’ labelling has grown into a key vertical sector for us. PITR: And the low point? JH: Perhaps not a low point, but a real challenge we faced as marketers was responding to the step-up in data privacy rules, particularly when GDPR was introduced in 2018. It’s an essential measure in a digital age, but we had to rethink everything. We overhauled data collection and targeting practices, and lost access to some analytical data. Having said that, customer trust is key, and data transparency has been the right direction to move in. PITR: What (or who) has had the greatest impact in the sector in the last 10 years? JH: Digital transformation and automation, accelerated by the impacts of COVID-19. It’s driven a whole host of changes in the way businesses work, and also how the channel works PrintIT Reseller (PITR): You’ve been working in the print and IT industry for more than ten years. What led you to enter the sector? Julia Harrison (JH): Well really it was the marketing role rather than the sector that drew me in. I didn’t know the difference between a laser and inkjet printer before my first interview. I’d worked as a direct marketing specialist in diverse sectors, from mail order, travel and commercial banking, to hearing aids and insurance, and moving to Brother in 2013 was an opportunity for me to broaden my responsibilities to wider marketing communications. This is the longest I’ve worked in one sector. After so many years in direct marketing, it took me quite a while to get my head around the channel model, so I plan to stay put now. PITR: What was your first job? JH: At 15 I started volunteering at a local animal shelter, and my first full-time job was as a trainee horse riding instructor – a world away from where I have ended up! PITR: What has been the high point of the decade? JH: Instead of one point, I’d say it’s more about being in a continual state Julia Harrison, Senior Marketing Communications Manager at Brother shares her experiences over the past decade, what she’s learned, and the highs and the lows of our unique and challenging industry A decade in print Julia Harrison ...but a real challenge we faced as marketers was responding to the step‑up in data privacy rules, particularly when GDPR was introduced in 2018 INTERVIEW
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