Marketing strategy & leadership for those who believe in saying it simply and doing it brilliantly.
Plain Speak gives you marketing strategy that is sharp, strategic and easy to act on so you can grow your Brand with clarity, conviction and confidence.
Hi, I’m Jemma.
With more than 15 years of building brands in agencies and in-house, I’m passionate about commercial, jargon-free marketing for businesses in growth mode who are over complexity, buzzwords and marketing that doesn’t actually make sense (and therefore mostly, not work).
Before founding Plain Speak I was the first and only Marketing Director at Four Pillars Gin, Australia’s leading craft spirit business. At Four Pillars we championed an ethos of making things - products, content, experiences, homes - as marketing, setting new standards for how a gin brand can consistently, creatively generate noise and emotion. In 2023, I led the team through the acquisition by Lion becoming Marketing Director of the Lions Spirits portfolio where I managed a portfolio of 40+ brands alongside Four Pillars Gin including Fortaleza, Four Roses Bourbon and Fuji Whisky.
I’ve seen (and done) the good, the bad, and the downright messy when it comes to marketing plans. At its worst, marketing becomes a scattergun of tactics and endless PowerPoints packed with jargon. At its best, it brings clarity and commercial focus to what a Brand stands for, giving permission to find creative ways to express that over and over and ultimately, a path for growth.
I created Plain Speak to help businesses who are starting out or scaling up to build clarity and purpose into their brand and across their teams.
From a fractional CMO offering, to marketing strategy, team building or brilliant campaign execution - I can help.
A Marketing Director on retainer, not your payroll
Think of our Fractional CMO service as senior advice we can dial up and down depending on where your business is at.
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You may not be ready to hire a senior marketing resource but investing too late may mean you miss an opportunity. I work with companies as the senior marketing lead on a fractional basis.
I help develop and execute marketing strategies, manage teams, track performance and improve ROI, all while bringing an objective and experienced perspective to your company's marketing efforts.
Fees can be agreed on a day or retainer basis based on your business needs.
Marketing strategy for start-ups
Have a product or an idea but don’t know where to start to get it out there? I can advise on brand strategy or launch plans.
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I work with Founders and Leaders to develop brand and launch plans including pricing, positioning, target markets, tactical execution and more - I can set the strategy and help your team bring it to life.
Rates can be on a project or retainer basis.
Marketing strategy + team review
Feel like you’re doing lots of stuff and have some great people and partners, but something isn’t quite working? Gain clarity and let’s reset the focus and team with a strategic review.
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We can do an audit of the market, competitors as well as your current marketing channels, touchpoints and resources and provide recommendations and plans to set you up for the next 12 months and beyond.
Rates can be on a project or retainer basis.
Executing, brilliantly
Putting in place the resources (internal and external), systems, processes and reporting is vital to the success of your Brand.
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From briefing agencies, supporting your team (or finding the right people to do the job for and with you) to measuring results and implementing the go-to-market plan. Plain Speak can help get the work to your customers.
Plain Speak is born out of the hustle and empathy of agency culture, the creativity of building a fast-growing craft brand in Four Pillars Gin and the critical perspective from 15 years questioning how businesses grow.
“I’ve known and worked with Jemma Blanch for more than a decade. When it came time for Four Pillars to hire our first Marketing Director in 2020, her name went straight to the top of our shortlist. She’s strategic, commercial and operationally savvy while also attuned to the cultural and creative sides of brand building and marketing. And with her formative background in the world of public relations and earned media, she instinctively gets the nuances of modern creative communications. I’ve always said Jemma’s the first person I’d hire again if I had the chance, and anyone who engages her services should count themselves very, very lucky.”