We recently welcomed our new Senior Client Partner, Sasha Johnston to the agency. Sasha’s first foray into Client Services started when she was still studying for her degree at university – a summer internship that revealed a natural knack for this kind of work. Since then, she’s cut her teeth at various Southwest agencies, as well as client side, honing her skills and refining her expertise.
We caught up for a chat to find out more about her journey so far, marketing side hustles, and why her best decisions happen on gut feel.
Tell us a bit about your journey into Client Services. How did you get into it and what have been the highlights so far?
At school I was quite academic so I got funnelled into less creative stuff. I was originally going to study Politics at Bristol Uni. Then after one week I realised: “No. Not for me!” I switched to study Ancient History, which I actually really enjoyed. It was the first experience I’d had of choosing something for me, then seeing it through till the end.
I think my degree gave me a lot of the soft skills for this kind of job – time management, research skills, and so on. I then did work experience over the summer where I got an intro to Shaped By. I owe a lot of my career to them. They took a punt on a 19 year old and got me doing work that I loved. I messaged the next year to ask if I could go back and ended up doing that two summers in a row.
This type of work always felt like a good fit. I’m very big on gut feel, and I had the sense it would suit me. I’m quite Type A – very meticulous, I like things to be planned and organised in a way that works for everybody. And I like speaking to people. You have that constant communication and build good camaraderie with the team and your clients who value your opinion. I like being that go to strategic partner.
My biggest career achievement was at TSB. I delivered big campaigns, and a few things I worked on when I was there were ‘firsts’ for the brand – including the first shoot they organised since splitting from Lloyds. I was overseeing a completely different creative direction for the company. That was a big one for me as well as the business.
This type of work always felt like a good fit. I'm very big on gut feel, and I had the sense it would suit me.
Sasha Johnson, Senior Client Partner
What drew you to Fiasco? What excites you most about the opportunity?
I always wanted to work for Fiasco. I saw a role there years ago but I felt like I was too under-qualified to apply so I went elsewhere. Then this job came up and I thought, if I don’t go for it now, I’ll shoot myself in the foot. You can see the craft and the love of the creativity in everything the studio puts out. I wanted to be part of that. When I was interviewed, it highlighted our similarity in shared values. It felt good – it felt right.
What are you most looking forward to bringing to the team?
My skills and personality, for as long as I’m here! I’ve got a breadth of stuff I’ve worked on and loads of different skills I want to bring to the table. And I’m very flexible. One of my clients used to be a fuel tank manufacturer – I’m very happy with variety.
With everything the studio puts out, you can see the craft and the love of the creativity that goes into the work. I wanted to be part of that.
Sasha Johnson, Senior Client Partner
Tell us about your side hustles.
I help to manage the Bristol & Bath Marketing Meetup in my spare time. It’s networking, but not – it’s more about building community. You come as you are, enjoy an evening with pizza and drinks, stand and chat for half an hour. It’s very inclusive, people naturally bring you in, then there’ll be a 20 minute talk by someone on a variety of marketing-focused topics. I really love it. I got into it through a connection in a previous job.
Outside that I’ve been cultivating a new home with my partner who is a designer. We decorated the place together and have very similar tastes – there’s something relaxing about putting thought into something like that.
What do you think are the big shifts happening in client–agency relationships today?
I think the traditional old school agency was much more do, go, deliver. These days budgets are pinched, plus there are tools that allow people to do more with less, which can make things a bit more restrictive. But when you get clients that are really up for investing in their company, brand and marketing it’s a nice shift away from pure delivery. We become the strategic thinker in the room. Then, you’re building a relationship that’s more of a partnership where you become the sounding board.
At Fiasco we talk about partnership as a mindset – what does that mean to you in practice?
It’s about bringing those proactive thoughts before you’re asked. It’s the client knowing you know their pain points and needs, inside out. You become an extension of their team essentially. When you get to that level, you know them and their business but you also know them as people. You know their kids’ names and their lives. That’s part of the challenge of building relationships. It’s about opening up and letting people feel comfortable to be themselves.
If you weren’t working in agencies what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I really love interior design and naturally gravitate towards it. If I had all the time in the world to retrain, I’d want to do that – it’s a different way to express creativity.
On the flip side I also considered sports marketing. I’ve been into Formula 1 for years, ever since I started watching the Drive To Survive series. I’ll watch any live sport and find an interest in it. I absolutely lost my mind watching the curling in the Olympics – it was so intense! Live sport has an energy to it and even if I have no idea what’s going on, I like to be involved.
What advice do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?
Don’t compare where other people are at and don’t worry so much about what others are doing.
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there in the world as you want to be, not what you think you should be. Otherwise you won’t find what it is you truly enjoy. It’s ok to start again. It’s ok to be junior.
And don’t be afraid to do the scary thing – usually that gives you the most opportunity to grow!
When you get to that level, you know them and their business but you also know them as people. You know their kids’ names and their lives. That’s part of the challenge of building relationships. It’s about opening up and letting people feel comfortable to be themselves.
Sasha Johnson, Senior Client Partner
Written By
Charlotte Cowling
