River Scott

2021 - 2023

I was brought in to humanise and ‘de-jargon’ all communications for CauseIt, a US-based Digital Transformation and Innovation Consultancy.

As the Consultancy specialised in large, multi-discipline, multi-national organisations, there were often considerable differences in technical knowledge and skill between different offices, departments, and even teams. A large part of my work entailed ensuring everything was accessible to, and easily understood by, everyone, regardless of individual technical expertise.

Basically, I helped make sure all of the tech talk was interesting, understandable, and jargon-free. (Well, jargon-minimum.)

For examples of long-form copy I edited and contributed to, check out the Skills and Data sections of the Causeit Guide to Digital Fluency.

• Updated communications operations in line with new business objectives

• Wrote & implemented new processes with clearly-defined dependencies, timetables, etc.

• Edited existing materials to be more accessible, coherent, and human

• Created new content as required, in line with the larger strategic vision 

• Led post-sprint retrospectives to identify opportunities to improve processes, etc. and drove the implementation of changes accordingly

In March 2016, I was approached by Digitas LBi to work on Pigeon Air Patrol, as part of the Lost Boys team.

This was a small activation designed to raise awareness and drive conversation around London's air pollution problem: We strapped air pollution sensors to pigeons who took readings as they flew around London, and tweeting the results as they went.

Alongside this Twitter users could tweet their location within London for an up to date reading of pollution in their area, ostensibly from the pigeons but mostly using data from base stations connected to a pollution monitoring app from Plume Labs, a French startup.

I was responsible for writing and managing the content calendar for the week-long activation, along with responding in real-time to any queries, comments, etc. from the public, which turned out to be a much bigger job than anticipated, as the activity was picked up by national and international new agencies.

In fact, over the course of a 5-day activation period, Pigeon Air Patrol was mentioned in over 2,000 news stories globally (including The Guardian, the Evening Standard, TechCrunch, Discovery Channel, NPR, Washington Post, CNN, Engadget, ABC Australia, Newsweek, TechRadar, The Verge, BBC News, BBC Radio, New Scientist, Campaign, Marketing, The Drum, Sky News, CBS, Al Jazeera and, crucially, Newsround).

And in the same five days there were over 40,000 #PigeonAir mentions, resulting in 667 million Twitter impressions. More than 3,000 people in London asked about the air quality in their area, and over 18,000 people went to the Pigeon Air website for more information.

2015 - 2016

When I was retained by Cheil for Samsung UK, they were struggling to gain traction or any level of interaction with their Instagram account, as they were using it as little more than a catalogue for over-produced product shots and other paid media.

With a simple insight - Samsung handsets have extremely good cameras - we were able to shift the focus of the channel from marketing copy and product specifications to real-life examples of the great photos Samsung devices were capable of taking. I created the appropriate workflow to efficiently source content, write appropriate copy, gain client approval and post to the Samsung UK channel.

Alongside this, I was responsible for identifying new content pillars, building appropriate calendars and schedules, and leading the team of Community Managers.

• Revitalised Samsung UK’s Instagram channel with a new UGC-based strategy

• Maintained large content banks of posts for use when necessary

• 300% increase in engagement across platforms

• Optimised and expanded all Customer Service comms (FAQs, chatbot decision trees, etc.)

In 2014 I was engaged by Forever Beta, to work on RocketFuel Coffee’s Space Programme campaign.

Targeted at students, the campaign focused on a competition to become the 'Face of Space', with the winner (apparently) being fired into space in a specially-built rocket.

Due to budget requirements, assets for this campaign were very scarce, meaning the copy had to carry the campaign, as boring copy and the same four images would soon bore consumers.

2013 - 2015

Social Creative Lead and Senior Content Creator for one of the world's most iconic brands.

• Created both scheduled posts and on-the-fly RTM content, in line with the marketing strategy

• Oversaw the social media elements of various national product launches

• Co-ordinated Community Management teams

• Developed and planned content calendars and posting schedules for several well-known sub-brands

• Liaised with various stakeholders to balance priorities and business objectives

2011 - 2013

I was part of the specially-selected ‘Social Media Swat Team’, created to guide EE from pre-launch to fully operational brand.

This was the largest new brand launch in the UK for over 20 years, and the first of its kind (data-first mobile phone operator) anywhere in the world. A large part of our focus was on shifting customer mindsets to the new business model (from call minutes and SMS messages to data allowances).

• Defined strategic content pillars and campaigns relevant to brand positioning

• Consulted on social strategy; developed and iterated brand voice

• Created large amounts of consistently engaging, informative and brand-aligned content for the

• Liaised regularly with internal and external stakeholders

2010 - 2013

My business partner and I founded the UK’s largest and fastest-growing online LGBT lifestyle magazine. While we were jointly responsible for all aspects of the organisation, I was most active in the branding, marketing, and people-facing elements of the business.

In 2011, So So Gay was shortlisted for Stonewall Publication of the Year.

• Developed all aspects of the brand identity, in line with our overall mission and goals

• Created various living documents and style guides, including Tone of Voice guidelines for contributors, and media packs for communication to PR agencies, journalists, etc.

• Expanded from 0 to 55 regular contributors and implemented the entire organisational infrastructure needed to keep articles published regularly and to a high level of quality

• Grew readership to 30,000+ impressions a month, rivalling print titles in the sectorhere