S1 E1: Creativity with Mark Rofe

Louise Parker:
If you’re on SEO or digital PR Twitter, then you’ll know our next guest, Mark Rofe. Mark is a freelance digital PR who recently launched an online digital PR course. He’s also sold Christmas trees, appeared on a billboard to find a girlfriend, and created the “wank sock.” Hi Mark, welcome to the podcast!

Mark Rofe:
Hey, thanks for the great intro. Thank you so much for having me.

Louise Parker:
I had to pick the stuff to reference because you’ve done so many interesting things over the years. So, I picked my favourites for the intro.

Mark Rofe:
Thank you, cheers.

Stephen Baker:
Yeah, and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you since I follow you on Twitter. Your name was the first one mentioned when we started the podcast as someone we wanted on. Thank you so much for coming, Mark.

Mark Rofe:
No worries, thanks again for having me. It just shows that being really active on Twitter can lead to some great opportunities.

Stephen Baker:
Absolutely. So, let’s start with an existential question: Who is Mark Rofe?

Mark Rofe:
I’d describe myself as a bit of an internet prankster who stumbled into digital PR and uses that to sell Christmas trees online.

Stephen Baker:
Nice, an internet prankster turned digital PR expert. Louise, you’ve looked into Mark’s background more deeply.

Louise Parker:
Yeah, I checked out your LinkedIn and saw all the different places you’ve worked. You’ve moved around a lot!

Mark Rofe:
Yeah, I’ve lived in Barcelona, Dubai, and London. I’ve worked across various marketing channels, but digital PR interests me the most because it’s where all the fun is.

Stephen Baker:
Totally agree. We wanted to talk to you about creativity because you have great experience in creative ideas and campaigns. Can you tell us about some of your favourites?

Mark Rofe:
I often do things for myself, like “Edit My Ex,” where people could upload photos of themselves with their ex and I’d Photoshop the ex out. It picked up some coverage, even landed me on Japanese TV. Another fun one was renting the domain name liar.co.uk and redirecting it to Boris Johnson’s Wikipedia page.

Louise Parker:
Do you find it harder to be creative with more serious topics?

Mark Rofe:
Yes, it’s definitely different. For serious topics, it’s not always suitable to do something provocative. It’s about finding other ways to be creative, like data-driven campaigns or product stunts.

Stephen Baker:
What is creativity to you?

Mark Rofe:
Creativity in PR is something original that makes you feel and think differently about a subject.

Stephen Baker:
How important is creativity in digital PR?

Mark Rofe:
Very important. The industry is becoming less creative as it becomes more productised. Creativity gives you a competitive edge. Repetitive, spammy campaigns won’t provide long-term success.

Louise Parker:
Can digital PR ever be as creative as traditional PR or advertising?

Mark Rofe:
Yes, but in a different way. It’s about using data creatively and being bold with ideas. Even within standard formats, you can add unique twists to stand out.

Louise Parker:
When you need to come up with ideas, where do you start?

Mark Rofe:
I look for problems in the industry and try to solve them in a creative way. For example, Duolingo’s campaign offering to fix mistranslated tattoos was a fun way to address a relevant issue.

Stephen Baker:
Any creative campaigns you absolutely love?

Mark Rofe:
I loved the campaign with stamps showing endangered animals, where the number of animals on the stamp represented their population. Another favourite is Doppelganger Destinations by the German Rail Network, showing cheaper travel options within Germany that resemble famous landscapes.

Stephen Baker:
Great examples. Now, I’ve got a few ideas to pitch to you. First, “Sock Smeller”—hiring someone to smell socks to determine if they’re clean enough to wear.

Mark Rofe:
I like it. It’s funny and would definitely get coverage.

Stephen Baker:
Next, “Danny DeTreeto”—having Danny DeVito erect and decorate a Christmas tree for a lucky customer.

Mark Rofe:
That’s brilliant. The pun alone would get coverage.

Stephen Baker:
Finally, “Lion Bars”—a pop-up bar staffed by actual lions.

Mark Rofe:
There might be legal issues, but if you dressed people as lions, it could work.

Louise Parker:
Mark, is there anything you’d like to see more or less of in the digital PR industry?

Mark Rofe:
I’d like to see more people involved in the entire process—ideas, outreach, pitching—to improve overall skills. Also, we should be open to critique to learn and improve.

Stephen Baker:
Thank you, Mark. This concludes episode one. If people want to find out more about your digital PR course, where should they go?

Mark Rofe:
It’s called the Digital PR Course, and you can find it at digitalprcourse.com.

Louise Parker:
And for feedback or questions for future guests, you can contact us on Twitter. Steve’s handle is @SteveBaker83 and mine is @LouiseVParker. Thank you, Mark Rofe, and see you soon.

Stephen Baker:
Thanks again, Mark.

Mark Rofe:
Thanks for having me.