We unlock business performance

By growing the people behind the brands

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Marketing can be your growth engine

…if your people have the skills to fuel it.

But too often, capability challenges hold marketing teams back from delivering breakthrough performance. The most powerful unlock isn’t one star player or a new tool. It’s a strong, supported and empowered marketing team. That’s where we can help you.

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We hold the key to the capability solutions you need

Founded by Chris Lock and Alex O’Rourke, LockSmith brings decades of hands-on marketing and capability-building experience from global brands like Coca-Cola, Diageo and P&G. We know first-hand what it takes to build high-performing marketing teams, and we created LockSmith to do just that. 

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Our four proven building blocks to unlock growth

Diagnose

We enable smarter capability investment by providing a focused capability strategy and roadmap. Our diagnostic tools and capability framework surface the skills and behaviours that have the greatest impact on business performance.

Design

We accelerate marketing performance by designing learning journeys tailored to your business strategy, challenges and real-life projects. This means your team builds the exact skills and behaviours they need to drive impact where it counts.

Delivery

We equip your team with the confidence to apply their new skills straight away. Our immersive, interactive workshops are built around real challenges, so marketers leave ready to make an impact from day one. 

Embed & evaluate

We turn learning into lasting behaviour change through practical embedding tools, coaching and on-the-job application. Our evaluation methods measure impact so you can track what’s working and keep building from it.

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What can LockSmith help you with?

Building & evolving Marketing Academies

We partner with ambitious marketing leaders at global brands to build world-class Marketing Academies from the ground up, and to evolve existing ones into something even more transformational.

Each academy is tailored to your unique business needs and culture. No two are the same, but some of our favourite topics to cover are strategy, briefing and creative development.

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Developing functional skills

Our foundational courses are practical, fun and designed to give your team the skills they need to be brilliant marketers at foundation, expert and advanced levels.

We call this the WHAT.

From strategic thinking and briefing to commercial skills and brand management, we cover the core topics every marketer needs. We also offer specialist courses in areas like customer marketing and innovation.

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Instilling the right behaviours

You can be the most skilled marketer in the room, but it’s not enough if you can’t work well with others to execute your plans.

We call this the HOW.

We run courses on the critical soft skills that rarely get taught, like managing upwards or getting the most out of agencies. We also help teams navigate transitions, from stepping into leadership to adapting through organisational change.

Every course can include behavioural profiling (we’re accredited DISC practitioners) and coaching (we’re qualified coaches too!)

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But don’t just take our word for it. Listen to what these lovely people have to say.

"The content was excellent across all modules using a mix of academic thinking, practical tools, and great case studies from a range of brands – often which Alex or Chris have worked on – to bring them to life. If you have ever met Alex or Chris – you won’t need me to tell you how engaging they both are and put them together in a room and they deliver their materials with oodles of fun & energy. My team are already asking when they are coming back...”

Niall Mckee – Brand Director, Yeo Valley

“We needed an inspiring course to upskill our marketing community. Alex & Chris knocked it out of the park with a deeply engaging course, successfully blending their expertise with our processes.”

Neil Skinner – Marketing Director at Edrington UK

“The energy and passion that Alex and Chris brought to the subject was a joy to experience. I have never seen the team so engaged. The course has not only reframed and elevated the importance of the brief and brief writing as a process, but has changed our team’s way of working. It’s brought the different sides of a big team together and they are loving feeling closer to the work!"

Orla Nagle
Head of Brand, Vodafone

"Alex and Chris ran a discovery workshop for us. It was an invaluable kickstart to the training programme that they will deliver for us as it ensured that we spent time together as a leadership aligning on our priorities. When you’re investing significantly, having the senior team excited and clear on common goals is a must."

Katie Lee – COO at Wavemaker UK

"I can feel the team moving forwards on immediate changes which is so positive and exactly what I’d hoped for (immediate positive response). They are all in the process of formalising the brief template and new process as we speak."

Joe Palmer – Marketing Director at Lionsgate

"Once again, a fantastic training from Chris and Alex. Engaging, thought-provoking and inspiring to do better every day. Because stories, well told, change people’s lives."

Delegate – Clorox

Our work

Every business has its own challenges and growth ambitions. 

Here’s where you’ll find stories of how we’ve partnered with marketing & marketing capability leaders to meet those needs. 

We’ve unlocked the potential in this many marketers, and counting…

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