01732 759725 20 MA: It’s hard to ignore the impact of COVID. It made the market more challenging, which meant sales, marketing, and commercial teams had to align more closely to seize opportunities. It also transformed working patterns overnight, from full remote working to today’s widely accepted hybrid model. While that brings benefits, it also creates challenges around maintaining a strong culture and ensuring employees feel connected and valued. PITR: What has been your proudest moment of the past 10 years? MA: Winning Marketing Team of the Year at the PrintIT Awards, B2B Marketing Awards, and CRN Awards has been a real highlight. I love the buzz of team recognition; it’s a great confidence boost that we’re doing the right things and making a positive difference for our partners. www.brother.co.uk UK marketing team to deliver the best possible support to our channel partners. As a channel-centric business, we’ve positioned ourselves more like a partner-focused marketing agency than a traditional in-house team. That approach is exciting because it gives the team the best of both worlds – agency-style creativity combined with client-side strategic depth. PITR: And what are the biggest frustrations or challenges? MA: Right now, the biggest challenge is keeping pace with developments in AI. Understanding its potential impact on our industry, identifying tools that improve efficiency without compromising jobs or creativity, it’s a lot to navigate. It feels like there’s a new breakthrough every week, and staying on top of it is tough. PITR: What (or who) do you think has had the greatest impact in the sector in recent years? PrintIT Reseller (PITR): What was your first job in print? Mike Anderson (MA): My first significant role in print was a placement year in the marketing team at HP back in 2003. They took in around 50 students that year, and it was a fantastic experience. I gained hands-on marketing knowledge, met new people, and, of course, enjoyed the thrill of receiving a real payslip for the first time. Giving a student £1,000 a month should probably come with a health warning! PITR: What led you to enter the sector? Did you choose print by design, or accident? MA: I spent about five years agencyside before deciding I wanted to move client-side. The main driver was the opportunity to get involved in long-term strategic planning and see projects through from start to finish. As it happened, Brother was hiring for a Channel Marketing position, so I went for a chat – and that was 16 years ago. PITR: What excites you most about working in print today? MA: It’s a competitive market, which brings challenges, but also pushes us to think creatively about how we differentiate ourselves. Over the past five years, I’ve focused on reshaping the Brother Mike Anderson, Chief Marketing Officer, Brother UK, shares details of his life in print, what he’s learned, and the highs and the lows of our unique and challenging industry My life in print Q&A Mike Anderson
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