Meet Bateaux London's Marketing Executive, Stephanie Dodgson

Stephanie Dodgson is a dear friend who works in our Marketing team. Based onboard Bateaux London, her time is divided between the needs of Bateaux and Prestige in general.

Hello, Stephanie. So, what brought you over from the surfers and sunny climes of Australia?

 

I came to the UK at the beginning of the year in the hope of widening my career opportunities and to travel. I’ve always been excited by the events world, and when an opportunity came up within Sodexo I couldn’t believe I would be going straight in and working with the company behind some of Britain’s biggest events.

What is it like working on a boat?

 

Working on a boat is great! Mind-you, it does take some getting used to (and a few seasick days!). I love that my office is the riverfront; I have amazing views of the city and get to see the action on the Thames every day. We have a great crew of people on board, and plenty of visitors so it's always busy.

Tell us about the differences between your work for Bateaux and your work for Prestige.

 

Working for Prestige I get the opportunity to support a huge array of venues.  One day I might be helping out the team at Ascot Racecourse, the next I might be filming a repositioning piece with our Marketing Director at London launch.  However, my heart will be at Bateaux. As my office is on the river, I’m really able to get to grips with the venue, and develop an intimate understanding of our customers and our products. To be honest, I love both sides of the job though.

What are you working on at the moment?

 

I've just finished working on Bateaux London's new recycling centre which will be ready at the beginning of next month. We've converted Alexis, our barge, into an innovative recycling unit encouraging people to support us in keeping the Thames tidy.

You did a fantastic job for us arranging our stand at the Square Meal Venue and Events exhibition. Why is it such a great event for us to be at?

 

It is important to have our names and faces out and about. Client relationships are at the centre of our business, and exhibitions, like Square Meal, allow us to put faces to names we may have only spoken to on the phone, and create new partnerships with people who are genuinely interested in our products. It’s also important to be seen as the official source for our events. This was the first year we created a stand dedicated to specific events like the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Open Golf Championship, and we saw a real difference in response.

Any general misconceptions about a certain Australian mammal that you would like to dispel?

 

Well since you mentioned it, people often refer to the koala as bear, when in fact they are not bears at all. There was even a song written about it - Check it out on YouTube