Welcome to another instalment of Behind the Campaign, where we dive into the stories, strategies, and lessons from marketing’s brightest minds. This time, we’re shining the spotlight on Ruth Lee, Senior Director of Creative Specialisms at Citypress, the UK’s largest employee-owned comms agency.
Ruth leads the creative, strategy, and social media teams, bringing extensive experience delivering award-winning campaigns for brands like Arla, Unilever, and Lloyds Banking Group.
In this chat, Ruth shares her journey from graduate hire to senior leadership, her approach to integrating purpose into campaigns, and her secrets to building cohesive teams that thrive.
From Graduate Scheme to Industry Leader
Can you share your journey into marketing and how your career has evolved to your current role leading the creative specialisms at Citypress? What key experiences have shaped you as a leader?
“I joined a graduate scheme at what was then called Four Communications, now just Four, fresh out of university. It’s a big PR agency, and I started in their social team. I spent a few years there learning the ropes and eventually progressed to manager level. From there, I moved to Golin, a globally networked agency owned by IPG, where I grew from manager to director.
At Golin, I worked with some brilliant comms professionals and learned a lot about brand strategy and how social media fits into the bigger picture. I also had the chance to run global social media programmes for brands like Unilever, Diageo, and Mondelez, which involved a lot of multi-market work.
After a few years, my husband and I decided to move back to the North of England, and that’s when Citypress approached me to build their social media offering from scratch. It was a great opportunity—they were very PR and earned-first at the time, and social wasn’t part of their offering yet.
Fast forward eight and a half years, the social team has grown into a significant part of the agency. Today, I lead the creative specialisms, which include strategy, creative, social, and studio, as part of the leadership team.
Key experiences that shaped me as a leader? I’ve definitely been thrown in at the deep end at various points in my career. I had senior leaders give me a lot of accountability very early on, which was both terrifying and incredibly formative. For instance, there were moments when I was handed client pitch slides in the taxi on the way to the meeting. It was a baptism by fire, but it taught me to think on my feet and be confident in my abilities.
Another major influence was having great mentors. They helped me hone my craft across B2C and B2B social while also shaping my leadership style”
What do you look for in a new team member, particularly at the junior level? For marketers just starting out, what qualities stand out to you as essential?
“At the junior level, I’m much more interested in attitude than experience. Someone who’s eager to get stuck in, asks loads of questions, and has a real appetite for growth and learning stands out. Diligence and passion are key—they need to be excited about social media and understand it in a native way.
In an agency setting, I also look for people who are articulate and confident because they’ll often be in front of clients from day one. That means being friendly, supportive, and responsive.
As for technical capability, we can teach that. At the junior level, it’s all about attitude and the willingness to learn. That’s what makes someone a valuable addition to the team.”
Bringing Purpose to Life: Arla’s Milk Bank Campaign
One of Ruth Lee’s most recent campaigns for Arla showcased how purpose and creativity can intersect. Ruth’s team uncovered a staggering insight: one in five UK food banks cannot stock fresh dairy due to a lack of fridges, leaving over 450,000 people without access to fresh milk.
Your portfolio includes work with major brands like Arla, Unilever, and Lloyds Banking Group. Can you share the process behind one of your most memorable campaigns, from initial strategy to execution? What set it apart for you?
“One of the most memorable campaigns for me is one we ran recently for Arla. They wanted to highlight dairy as a superfood and its importance in our diets. As part of our research, we discovered that one in five UK food banks can’t stock fresh dairy due to a lack of fridge provision. This means around 450,000 people who need it most are unable to access fresh dairy.
This insight gave us a real opportunity. We wanted to address this gap in a way that aligned with Arla’s commitment to purpose. They’re the UK’s largest dairy cooperative, so this fit perfectly with their values. The campaign involved Arla rolling out 100 fully stocked and sponsored fridges to food banks across the UK, enabling them to offer fresh dairy for the first time.
To bring this to life creatively, we developed the Milk Bank, a dairy ATM that we placed on a busy London high street. Passers-by could access fresh dairy at the touch of a button, and it became a central talking point. We also partnered with FareShare. They supported the rollout, and brought in nutritionists to emphasise the importance of dairy in a healthy diet.
The results were incredible. The campaign generated over 200 pieces of national and regional media coverage and caught the attention of local councils . But beyond the media buzz, what really mattered was the impact. 100 food banks now have the infrastructure to provide fresh dairy, and that’s life-changing for so many people.
For me, what set this campaign apart was its longevity. We didn’t just execute a one-off campaign; we created something that can grow and build over time. As marketers, we often think we need to come up with something new every time, but the real power lies in consistency. Such as repeating the same message in different, creative ways to build a lasting legacy.”
How did social media play a role in amplifying the Milk Bank campaign? Aside from the press coverage, what role did platforms like Instagram play in reaching a wider audience?
“Arla’s social media team played a key role here. Their social media manager came along to the activation and created fantastic point-of-view videos that showed the Milk Bank in action. These were shared across Arla’s channels, which helped bring the campaign to life online.
We also leveraged the networks of our partners, like FareShare, who shared the campaign internally and externally.
That said, this was primarily an earned-first campaign, so social played a supporting role rather than being the main driver.”
Keeping Social Sharp: Toblerone’s Triangular Worldview
Ruth also reflected on her time managing global social media for Toblerone, where her team embraced the chocolate brand’s iconic triangular shape as a lens for cultural commentary. Nail your tone of voice and align it with cultural moments to keep social media content fresh and engaging.
“One that comes to mind is my time running global social for Toblerone. Toblerone has such a distinctive visual identity with its triangular shape, so we leaned into that with a ‘triangular worldview.’ It was a consistent tone of voice that allowed us to react to cultural moments in a witty, playful way.
For example, Ed Sheeran once posted about Toblerone while travelling, and we started a dialogue with him on Twitter, exchanging lyrics and witty replies. It even ended with us sending him a personalised, oversized Toblerone bar!
We also did live reactive content during the Oscars, siding with Lego when it missed out on a nomination for The Lego Movie. These moments showed how you can connect with audiences by being consistent and culturally relevant.
But it wasn’t just about fun—it was effective, too. A study showed that exposure to Toblerone’s content increased brand consideration by 27%. It reinforced the idea that when you nail your tone of voice and align it with cultural conversations, the results go beyond engagement—they drive business impact.”
Staying Ahead in a Fast-Moving World
As social media evolves, Ruth emphasises the importance of balancing innovation with consistency.
Ruth also highlighted two key trends: the rise of sub-communities and lo-fi content over high production value, and LinkedIn’s increasing dominance as a thought-leadership hub.
With the rapid changes in social media, what has been the biggest shift you’ve witnessed in delivering global social campaigns? How do you stay ahead of the curve to keep campaigns relevant and engaging?
“One of the biggest shifts has been the move towards sub-communities and lo-fi content. High-production value content still has its place, but audiences now often prefer authentic, relatable pieces that feel native to the platform. This has a knock-on effect for everything from paid media strategies to how we approach reactive content.
Another major change is the rise of LinkedIn. With the decline of X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn has gained significant momentum, particularly as a space for thought leadership and executive profiling. It’s a platform where we’re seeing a lot of innovation and opportunities for brands to engage directly with professional communities.
As for staying ahead of the curve, the fundamentals are key. While the platforms evolve, the client’s business objectives remain the same. Everything we do is anchored in those objectives—ensuring that the campaigns we create have a meaningful impact and deliver results.
From a team perspective, we assign platform-specific responsibilities to different team members. For example, someone might specialise in TikTok and keep us updated on trends there, while someone else has deep expertise in LinkedIn. We also have strong relationships with the platforms themselves, so we’re always aware of new tools and shifts in strategy.
That said, many of the changes we see in social media aren’t sudden—they happen incrementally. Our role is to guide clients through these shifts gradually while always staying true to their objectives. It’s about adapting to trends without losing sight of the bigger picture.”
Lessons in Leadership
What’s a key piece of advice you’d give to marketers aiming to manage multiple clients and campaigns effectively? How do you ensure balance and maintain quality across the board?
“Managing multiple clients and campaigns is the joy—and challenge—of agency life. My first piece of advice would be to make sure you’re in the right environment. Agency life is fast-paced, so it’s best suited to people who enjoy switching between projects and thrive on variety.
Once you’ve determined that this path is for you, the next step is organisation. For example, we have weekly WIP (Work in Progress) calls for each client. During these, we update live documents with key actions, deadlines, and ownership, so everyone is on the same page. At the end of the week, we revisit these documents to check progress and flag anything that needs to roll over.
It’s also important to give clients visibility. We often provide access to live documents or collaborative platforms, allowing them to track updates and provide feedback in real time. This fosters a sense of partnership and keeps the workflow efficient.
One of the most crucial elements, though, is getting the scope of work right from the outset. Chaos often arises when the scope isn’t clear, or when additional work is requested without adjusting timelines or resources. By clearly defining the deliverables, rounds of revisions, and check-in points, you can ensure alignment and avoid burnout.
Finally, remember that client relationships are partnerships. There may be times when you need to step outside the defined scope, especially during a crisis, to offer extra support. Building trust and being flexible when it matters can strengthen the relationship and lead to long-term success for both sides.”
When asked about her biggest challenges, Ruth pointed to three areas: hiring the right team, managing campaign complexity, and staying true to creative sharpness. Her advice?
“I wouldn’t say there’s been one singular challenge, but rather a series of micro-challenges that have shaped me over time. These challenges often fall into three key areas.
The first is hiring the right people. If you don’t have the right team in place, it can lead to significant issues—whether it’s a lack of motivation or losing someone unexpectedly. My biggest advice here is to hire for attitude first, skills second. Skills can be taught, but the right mindset and work ethic are invaluable. Take your time with recruitment decisions, and avoid stress hiring—it’s worth it in the long run.
The second challenge is the sheer complexity of integrated campaigns. The devil is always in the details. For example, during a campaign with Cornetto and MTV, we realised just weeks before the activation that we hadn’t thought through how to keep the ice creams from melting! We ended up designing custom sampling boxes with ice blocks underneath. It’s a funny story now, but it’s a reminder that meticulous project management is essential to avoid these last-minute hurdles.
The third challenge is maintaining creative sharpness, especially when dealing with complex or resource-heavy ideas. Sometimes, teams lean toward easier solutions that dilute the original insight. My advice is to always revisit the initial creative spark—the ‘why’ behind the campaign. If the solution doesn’t align with that, it’s worth taking the extra time to figure it out.
Ultimately, challenges are part of the journey. They’ve taught me to stay focused, value my team, and always balance creativity with practicality.”
Curious to dive deeper into Ruth’s work? Connect with her on LinkedIn for even more marketing insights.
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