It Started With A Tweet(100)

‘Exactly,’ says Dominic. ‘So it’s essential that we get the marketing and branding right. We want to have an in-house marketing manager, and they can work with a branding agency towards the launch.’

‘Which is where you come in. Dominic said you worked as an account manager at an agency, so this would be a bit of a change for you.’

‘Yes, it would,’ I say, trying to stay professional, despite the fact that I know Dominic has clearly brought me here for a joke, as there’s no way in hell we’d work together. ‘But I have ten years’ experience in different marketing roles, and having managed corporate clients through rebranding and also product launches. I’m more than qualified.’

‘Excellent,’ says Ben. ‘So we’ll start asking you questions, then.’ He laughs a little nervously, and it comes out as a bit of a honk.

‘Daisy,’ says Dominic, with a look that lets me know how much he’s enjoying this. ‘Our business is quite reliant on social media.’

He pauses for effect, and I desperately try to keep my poker face.

‘We’ll hopefully be looking for something to create a buzz and go viral. Perhaps you could talk us through some good examples of companies that have recently gone viral?’

He raises an eyebrow in his smug way. If I wasn’t being filmed, I’d have tipped a glass of water over his head and stormed out, but, instead, I smile politely.

‘Well, as I’m sure you are well aware, the problem with relying on things to go viral is that you’re at the mercy of other people to do it. A lot of companies spend a lot of money trying to do quirky videos or adverts in the hope that they will be liked and shared, and often what they find is that the things that go viral are unintended things. Misinterpreted tweets,’ I say, holding Dominic’s eye, ‘or letters sent to clients that are exceptional for either the right or wrong reasons. Therefore, I usually advise my clients instead to focus on targeted advertising via social-media platforms. That way, you know who is going to be watching and reacting to it, and you have the control.’

Dominic might not be impressed with how I’ve answered the question, but Ben certainly is.

It spurs him on to ask another couple of routine interview questions, and I can’t help but feel like the smug one as I knock the answers out of the park. Dominic starts fidgeting and looking at his list of interview questions, and when I come to the end of an answer he gives me a look, and I brace myself for what’s coming next.

‘So, Daisy. What do you think the biggest enemy to a woman in the workplace is?’

I can feel the anger rising up inside me. He’s trying to unnerve me by making reference to my tweets during the hen do.

‘Dominic,’ says Ben in a hushed whisper. He holds up a book in front of the side of his face to shield him from the camera. ‘You can’t ask that. Not with the camera here. You’ll stir up a hornets’ nest and everyone will accuse us of not being a feminist-friendly company.’

Dominic flexes his fingers and looks furious at being overruled, but he doesn’t argue back.

‘So, Daisy,’ says Ben, smiling as he puts his book down. ‘What’s your biggest weakness?’

Dominic perks up again and he raises an eyebrow as if to bait me. Well, if he wants me to talk about social media, maybe I will.

‘I think that my greatest weakness is always being switched on. I think it’s so easy to do in the modern world, and I’m sure the two of you are just as guilty of answering emails at midnight and interrupting what you’re doing to check what’s happening online. It’s hard sometimes to stay focused when you’ve got the whole world at your fingertips. Yet, I’ve recently been on a digital detox and I feel as if I’ve regained more perspective on my mobile-phone usage, and I believe that this won’t be so much of an issue in the future.’

‘Ah, a digital detox; that’s a bit like what you did, wasn’t it, Dominic? In Thailand,’ says Ben.

‘Mine was more of a spiritual retreat that cut out the trappings of modern life,’ he says in his weird accent. Of course his would have to be better than mine.

‘Now, our business is based on social-media profiles and seeing what they say about a person. We thought that a good marketing strategy would be to have adverts that made people think about what their social-media accounts say about themselves. So we thought it might be a fun idea to bring up one of your social-media accounts to see if you can analyse your public persona based on it, and see if you could tell us what different interactions say about your personality.’

Dominic’s pursing his lips with expectation as Ben taps a few buttons on his iPad and its screen appears on one of the screens on the wall. He opens Twitter and slides it over for me to log in.

I take a deep breath, remembering the film crew sitting there. I don’t want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me break down.

‘I recently deleted my Twitter account after I started to receive obscene messages,’ I say, holding Dominic’s gaze. ‘But, I think it’s a very good idea. I’m sure you can tell a lot from someone’s Twitter feed.’

I type in Dominic’s and bring up his profile. It takes him a good second to realise what I’m doing.

‘Now, hang on,’ he says, but Ben holds his hand out to stop him.

‘Relax, see where it goes,’ he says.