Published by Sue Johns-Chapman
Published Date 22.09.2026 
Being shortlisted for the Emerging Talent Award at the UK Agency Awards is a really proud moment for me, particularly when I think about how much has changed since I joined Spa Communications in 2024.
I came to Spa as a Junior Social Media Manager from a web design agency, where my experience had largely been focused on B2C marketing. Moving into the world of data centres and digital infrastructure was a completely new challenge. I had a new industry to understand, a very different audience to communicate with and a lot to learn about using LinkedIn strategically within a B2B environment.
Just over two years later, I’m now Social Media Manager, leading social strategy across key accounts, developing national campaigns, working on executive profiling and helping to mentor junior members of our social team.
To have my journey and achievements recognised by my peers and the UK Agency Awards is a truly special moment for me.
Finding my place in a highly technical industry
Spa Communications is Europe’s leading specialist B2B communications agency, focused on the digital infrastructure, data centre and technology sectors. We combine PR, social media, content, events and strategic communications to help organisations tell complex stories in a way that people actually want to engage with.
When I first joined, one of my biggest challenges was getting to grips with such a technical industry. I made a conscious effort to fully immerse myself in it, attending events, researching the issues shaping the sector and listening to the people working within it. Over time, something that initially felt like one of my biggest challenges became one of the things I enjoy most about my role. Being involved in such a dynamic and evolving landscape, with clients leading the way in real change, makes the role and agency so interesting to me.
There is a real creative opportunity in taking a subject that can initially seem complicated or inaccessible and finding a way to communicate it clearly and make people care about it. That thinking has become a big part of how I approach social media today, making something complicated, technical and often misunderstood, into engaging and thought provoking content.
Creating something bigger with National Data Centre Day
One of the projects I’m most proud to have worked on is National Data Centre Day.
Following the UK Government’s recognition of data centres as Critical National Infrastructure, I saw an opportunity to create something that could help the wider public better understand what data centres are, why they matter and the role they play in our everyday lives.
From there, my idea of National Data Centre Day began to take shape.
I helped develop the positioning, campaign themes, social strategy and creative execution, with the ambition of creating something the whole industry could get behind rather than simply another Spa campaign for one client.
Seeing that happen has been one of the most rewarding parts of my time at the agency.
In 2025, National Data Centre Day gained more than 50 official industry supporters, reached over 25,000 LinkedIn users, attracted more than 950 new followers organically and resulted in over 200 campaign-related social posts being shared across the industry.
It also opened new business conversations and partnership opportunities in the UK and internationally and has grown beyond social media into podcasts, events, educational campaigns and wider industry discussions.
For me, the biggest achievement isn’t just the numbers. It’s seeing an idea develop into something that other organisations and people across the industry genuinely want to be part of.
Making B2B social media more creative
Another part of my role that I really enjoy is challenging the idea that because a subject is technical, the way we communicate it needs to be corporate or predictable.
I’ve had the opportunity to develop creative social concepts and campaign assets across a range of client projects, including playing a key role in the social activation of Kao Data’s “AI Taker Not Maker” campaign.
I’ve also worked extensively on executive profiling, helping senior leaders develop their own voices and build engaged audiences on LinkedIn.
Results like these have reinforced something I’ve come to believe strongly: people want to hear from people.
As the B2B social landscape continues to evolve, I think personal brands, accessible expertise and authentic communication will become even more important alongside traditional corporate channels.
What being shortlisted means to me
Being shortlisted for the Emerging Talent Award has given me an opportunity to reflect on just how much I’ve learned in a relatively short period of time.
When I joined Spa, I had limited knowledge of the data centre sector and limited experience of using LinkedIn as a strategic B2B platform. I certainly didn’t imagine that two years later I’d be managing members of the team, leading social strategies and helping create campaigns that are being recognised across the industry.
There have definitely been moments where the learning curve has felt steep. I’ve had to become better at balancing client delivery, creative thinking, strategic planning and team management, often all at the same time.
But that challenge has also pushed me to develop.
Being shortlisted feels like recognition not just of individual campaigns or results, but of that progression. It has made me even more excited about what I can do next, the ideas I can develop and where I can take my career within B2B communications.
Team Spa
While my name might be on the shortlist, none of the work I’ve been nominated for happens in isolation.
Spa has given me the space to learn, experiment and bring forward ideas, even when those ideas sit outside a traditional client brief. Having a team around me that is willing to say “let’s try it” has played a huge part in my development.
That’s particularly true of something like National Data Centre Day. Turning an idea into an industry-wide initiative requires support across PR, content, social, events, partnerships and business development. The results are a reflection of what can happen when a small specialist agency gets behind an idea collectively.
I also hope the shortlist reflects the investment Spa makes in developing its people. We’re a tight-knit team, so everyone has the opportunity to make a genuine impact on the direction of the agency.
I’ve been trusted with more responsibility as I’ve developed, but I’ve also been encouraged to bring my own perspective to the role and for me, that’s what makes this recognition feel like an achievement for Spa as well as a personal one.
Looking ahead
There is still a huge amount I want to learn and I consider myself so lucky that I get grow and develop within my role.
Social media is changing incredibly quickly, and the way B2B organisations communicate is changing with it. Audiences expect more personality, more creativity and more useful content from brands and their leaders, even when the subject matter is highly technical.
I think that creates a massive opportunity for agencies and social media professionals who are willing to challenge what B2B communications traditionally looks like.
For me, the next step is to keep pushing that creativity, continue developing as a strategist and a manager, and keep finding ways to make complex industries more accessible and engaging.
Being shortlisted for the Emerging Talent award, is something I’m incredibly proud of. It’s a milestone that has made me appreciate how far I’ve come since walking into Spa as a Junior Social Media Manager in 2024 and made me even more excited about where I can go next.
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