We are so excited to announce that this May, we’ll welcome our new Director of Experience to Pickle Jar… Dana Rock!

Dana (they/them) comes to us from a long and celebrated career in higher education at the University of Derby, Oxford Brookes University, University of Exeter and University of Nottingham.

And, in 2021 they were the recipient of ContentEd’s Martin Bojam Award. This award recognises the influence and heart of Martin Bojam, who “existed in this sector to raise and lift other people up”—something Dana has also devoted their career to.

We asked Dana to answer a few questions for you to get to know them a bit better.

Can you tell us a bit about your career and how it led you here?

I have always been curious about how to create communications that resonate with people.

In my first proper job after graduating, I was responsible for getting volunteers to sign up for fundraising events. The original communications were very generic.

I wondered: how can I use what I know about someone to change how I communicate with them?

I fiddled around with the data so that the letters were personalised by location, giving the specific details of the local events we needed volunteers for. It made a huge difference to the response.

Numerous people phoned me to thank them for personally contacting them. And they signed up!

I started working in Higher Education eight years ago and have since worked in a variety of marketing and communications roles at three different universities in the UK.

Throughout this time I’ve kept my fascination with personalisation. (Editor’s Note: You totally want to read Dana’s blog post Is Personalised Content Worth It?)

For example, at Oxford Brookes University I led the award-winning #helloBrookes campaign which delivered individually personalised communications to welcome new students.

My interest in personalisation led me to content design. At the University of Nottingham, I led the change to make content design the default way of working.

I’m excited to be joining the Pickle Jar because it gives me the opportunity to help others in the sector to harness their user insights to create compelling, impactful communications.

Your title is Director of Experience Design. Would you tell us what that is and why it matters for educational institutions?

Experience design is the process of using data and insight about your users to create a seamless experience from start to finish. It’s about thinking about the whole journey, the online and offline touchpoints, and how they all fit together.

It’s really important for educational institutions to think about because the journeys we design, for example for our students, are often long, complex, disjointed and fraught with uncertainty.

Experience design gives us the tools to drive recruitment, retention, and improve the student experience.

What is your grandest goal to achieve through your work at Pickle Jar?

To help people create better experiences for other people.

If you had a magic wand, what is the one content thing that you would forever fix for all universities?

I’d wave the magic wand over the esoteric lexicon and complex syntax of academic prose. It would be re-written in easy-to-understand, plain English. It’s not dumbing down, it’s opening up.

What is something new you’ve learned this past year?

How to make sourdough bagels. I am a millennial lockdown cliche, I know.

Now for some quick, single-word answers…

Coffee or tea? Coffee. Black, no sugar, please.
Favourite food: Homemade sourdough bread.
Least favourite food: I haven’t eaten it yet.
Favourite season: Spring.
What must be put on first, socks or trousers? Trousers. I am often barefoot.
Favourite font? Arial, let’s keep it simple. One of my pet hates is hard to read fonts which choose style over substance.
Chat or email? Chat.
A word you always misspell: my nickname ‘Dino’ often autocorrects to ‘dunno’. If I sign off my text ‘dunno’ then it’s not a sign of an existential crisis.
Most-used emoji: star eyes or thinking face.
How many tabs do you have open this very moment: 3. Keep it simple.

And to close, do you have a mantra or life motto?

“Use what you know about someone to change how you communicate with them.” My mantra for content.

“Time is an ingredient.” A lesson from sourdough making which extends beyond.

Dana, welcome to Pickle Jar!

If you read this and you are eager to work with Dana, let us know!

Or, if you’re eager to work on Dana’s team, we’re hiring!

Meet Dana, our new Director of Experience