WHY
we exist
The Marketing Room was born out of two aligned passions.
First and foremost, I absolutely love Marketing! It energises me, inspires me, and never fails to amaze me with the incredible impact it can have on businesses. Yet, I know that not every organization has the resources or the budget to hire experienced professionals on a full-time basis.
Secondly, I’ve witnessed how many talented marketing professionals step away from their careers to take a break and focus on family, resulting in the loss of valuable expertise from the profession.
Enter The Marketing Room!
We’ve experienced fantastic success and have expanded into the US, UK, New Zealand, and Singapore to become one of the leading global marketing consultancies. We’re thrilled to bring our innovative approach to these exciting markets and help even more businesses thrive!
Since our beginning, we’ve broadened our offerings to include three flexible resource options for businesses, along with part-time opportunities for skilled marketing professionals. Our original Marketing Manager option continues to be a favorite, and we’ve also added sought-after Social Media Managers and experienced marketers in our Projects team to assist internal teams with their resource challenges.
No matter which option suits your needs best, you can count on partnering with a passionate, dedicated, and experienced marketing professional who’s ready to help you achieve your goals. Plus, you’ll have the full support of our amazing global team and network cheering you on!

our leadership team

Tahnee Sharp
Founder & Group CEO
Following a successful career responsible for the growth of brands from both agency and client side, Tahnee launched The Marketing Room in late 2018. Tahnee identified the declining understanding of the critical role marketing plays in business growth as an opportunity for an organisation that is dedicated to the development then execution of a strategic marketing plan.
In tandem, Tahnee saw first-hand a highly experienced, passionate, and motivated group of marketing professionals with young children, lost to the industry. Since then, Tahnee has led the business to now be Australia’s largest, dedicated marketing consultancy.

Sonya Aitken
CEO - New Zealand
A strategic brand marketer with 25 years of experience, Sonya has led the way with some of New Zealand’s biggest brands including; Fisher & Paykel Appliances, Air New Zealand, Auckland Airport, Vodafone NZ (now One NZ), Elders NZ and Naveya & Sloane.
Sonya is passionate about focusing on the customer and brand while delivering excellent growth outcomes for the business. She has led and worked with teams to deliver brand relaunches, design and delivery of New Zealand’s first digital only loyalty programme, new websites, develop and implement integrated CRM systems, ecommerce and retail solutions and customer journey frameworks.
The Marketing Room offers a real opportunity for Small – Medium New Zealand businesses to tap into marketing expertise that enables their business growth. We can’t wait to get amongst it Aotearoa!

Kelly-Anne Davis
Pod Leader - Western Australia
Kelly-Anne has 14 years of branding, marketing and advertising experience in Australia and Canada. She managed all facets of brand building from strategy and concept to campaign production, execution and post analysis. Kelly-Anne has worked with a number of large international brands like McDonald’s, IKEA and Thermomix as well as plenty of local West Aussie names such as P&N Bank, Water Corporation, Art Gallery of WA, Wesfarmers and more.
She’s spearheaded a number re-brands, executed traditional mass marketing campaigns on TV and radio, and rolled out a plethora of digital projects – all with a splash of mentoring on the side.

Jonathan Sharp
Chief Growth Officer
With over 20 years of industry experience, Jon is responsible for the business’s growth across the key pillars of people and culture, partnerships and marketing, and expansion and acquisition. Jon utilises his experience leading teams developed in previous professional positions as well as coaching roles with WA’s State 16s and 18s AFL Academy programs.
Following a career that included leading large brand and advertising campaigns for brands such as West Coast Eagles, Tradelink, St John of God and Steel Blue, Jon’s marketing experience is complimented by his understanding of the critical link between marketing, sales, and business strategy.

Allison Crowe
Pod Leader - New South Wales
With 15 years of marketing experience spanning a wide range of industries across Australia, Allison has mastered the art of uncovering what makes a business unique and translating those insights into targeted strategies that drive sales. She leads our New South Wales team, delivering flexible, senior-level marketing expertise that helps businesses achieve their goals without the commitment and cost of full-time staff.
Allison has contributed to the growth of notable brands, including Octomedia, DoComeMonday, Spinifex Communications International, and the Caravan and Camping Industry Association of NSW. Known for her ability to deliver impactful results she’s passionate about offering cost-effective, tailored marketing solutions that generate real outcomes for her clients.

Emily Watson
Pod Leader - Victoria
Emily’s experience in marketing results from over 15 years in the property and development industry. During this time, she discovered a passion for all things creative, content, marketing, and social media. Emily specialises in organic content, social media management and developing strategies to advance businesses in their niche. Her cup is filled when she has a licence to use her creativity and help other businesses stand out in the ever-evolving social media landscape.
Ultimately, she is a life-loving expert in social media marketing, strategy and content creation. Emily’s creativity, strategic mind and passion will elevate your digital marketing footprint.

Marc Gordon
CEO - UK & Ireland
As CEO of The Marketing Room’s UK & Ireland team, Marc Gordon brings a wealth of experience in driving business growth. Over a 12-month period, Marc successfully doubled revenue in both the UK and Western Australia, demonstrating his passion and energy for fast-paced expansion. With 14 years in sales and business development, Marc has held senior roles, including Regional Director at The CFO Centre Australia and National Lender Account Manager at SimplyBiz Group. A retired martial artist in Aikido, Marc now enjoys hiking and walking in some of the world’s most scenic spots. His leadership philosophy revolves around empowering his team and delivering outstanding client experiences.

Neil Davies
Regional Partner - North West, UK

Kate Downie
Chief Global Growth Officer
Kate has a strong passion for growth, collaboration, and storytelling. With over 20 years of experience, she has produced television commercials across the globe—from Iceland and Mexico to the USA and Australia—partnering with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Google Australia, Tourism WA, Citizen Watches, Lotterywest, Expedia, IKEA, McDonald’s, Nikon, Nestlé, AFL, and many more.
Building a successful company has been as much about business acumen as creative expertise. As a business owner and a mum of two, Kate knows firsthand the juggle of managing projects, people, and family life. She’s passionate about creating an industry that supports and uplifts women, championing flexibility, mentorship, and opportunity.
Kate was drawn to The Marketing Room because of its purpose to support marketing professionals returning to the workforce after maternity leave by offering flexible part-time roles. She understands the importance of providing a platform for these talented professionals whilst balancing family commitments.
She thrives on the challenge of balancing logistics, budgets, and client needs while maintaining the relationships that make any project a success.

Gabrielle Woodbridge
Pod Leader - Queensland
Having worked with some of the world’s most innovative brands across SaaS, biotech, sustainability, and technology, Gabrielle has seen first-hand what makes business communities thrive. Originally from Sydney and having lived and worked across the globe, she believes Queensland is the place to be—especially as Brisbane steps onto the world stage in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympics. With a dynamic, growing economy and a surge in innovation, it’s an incredible time for businesses here to take their marketing to the next level.
With over 15 years of experience spanning SaaS, technology, biotech, and sustainability, Gabrielle is a strategic marketing powerhouse who thrives on crafting data-driven, authentic campaigns that connect brands with their audiences. From leading customer adoption and engagement strategies across APAC at SAP to pioneering carbon market innovation with BlueBlock as an entrepreneur, her career is a testament to strategic innovation, leadership, and commercial impact.
A UQ (university of Queensland) MBA graduate and award-winning marketing leader, Gabrielle has a passion for challenging the status quo, amplifying brand narratives, and driving business growth. Her expertise in ABM, digital transformation, and go-to-market strategy makes her the perfect fit to lead and support our talented marketers in Queensland.
As a working mum of three girls (including twins!), Gabrielle is passionate about The Marketing Room’s model, which provides seasoned marketing leaders with meaningful opportunities while offering growing companies the flexibility they need to scale their strategy effectively. Having led large regional field marketing teams throughout Asia for global organisations, she sees the TMR approach as an ideal solution for businesses needing expert leadership, agile execution, and strategic direction during periods of change and growth.
Gabrielle is excited to champion Queensland businesses, helping them elevate their marketing, drive growth, and make their mark on a global scale.

Katherine Rafferty
Pod Leader - Western Australia
Katherine has extensive experience in delivering impactful brand and marketing campaigns across various sectors, including health, retail, government, and not-for-profit organisations. With over 15 years of experience, Katherine has a proven track record in driving brand growth, commercial success, and innovation. Her expertise spans strategic planning, integrated campaign execution, brand management, PR, media buying, and stakeholder engagement.
Katherine has held several senior marketing roles, including her recent role as Senior Marketing Specialist at St John WA, where she led marketing efforts for a $28 million government-funded project establishing new St John Urgent Care health centres in Perth. Her responsibilities included branding, patient experience, and acquisition strategies, showcasing her ability to drive meaningful results in both health and corporate sectors. Katherine has also worked as the Local Area Marketing Manager for Kmart Australia, overseeing campaigns for new and refurbished stores across Australia and New Zealand.
Throughout her career, Katherine has honed her skills in managing complex projects and budgets, engaging with a range of stakeholders, and ensuring that campaigns deliver on key performance metrics. She blends creative strategy with a results-driven approach, empowering brands to reach their full potential.
Her passion for creating tailored marketing solutions is backed by a solid academic foundation, including a Bachelor of Business and Marketing, a Certificate IV in Graphic Design, and Mini MBAs in Brand Management and Marketing. Katherine leverages her strategic insights and creative capabilities to deliver comprehensive, tailored marketing solutions that ensure lasting impact.
We are an independent marketing consultancy specialising in the development and implementation of strategic marketing plans. No designers, writers, web developers, videographers, media planners or buyers – just highly experienced marketing professionals working as the in-house outsourced Marketing Managers for a diverse range of clients across the globe.
- International presence
- Access to our entire team
- Dedicated Pod Leader
- Unrivalled network of suppliers and partners

what
we value
Although all of our people bring their own personality and experience to your business, the one thing we all share is the belief and commitment to our values. They are simple but powerful.
A no-nonsense guide to the people we want to work with us and the kind of people you can expect to be working with you.



WHY
marketing
IS GOOD BUSINESS

Marketing is the engine that powers a business and has the capacity to build real fiscal value into your operation. It drives sales, new markets and new opportunities. In addition, marketing shortens your sales cycle, and enables you to charge and sustain a price premium. It empowers you to build trust with stakeholders – customers, employees, shareholders, distributors, suppliers and partners. A consistent marketing approach will also decrease your cost per new business acquisition.

B2B CUSTOMERS
ARE FINDING YOU BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW THAT THEY ARE LOOKING


Marketing gives your customers a reason to choose you over your competitors. It creates a predisposition towards your brand and company, hence creating increased willingness to make contact. Marketing allows you to stand out, be different, be seen and be heard. It allows you to control the narrative and drive the conversation.

Why we are [ unique ]


Understanding your business, its purpose, its mission, its vision and everything in between and beyond means that we will spend time working inside your operation. We will get to know your customers, employees, your challenges, opportunities and the unique DNA that makes your business tick. And ultimately this makes us more efficient because we achieve more in less time by being situated on the inside and not behind a laptop and out of touch. It is crucial we develop a real relationship with you and your key staff to ensure custom marketing strategies are integrated and implemented effectively throughout your business.


Your Marketing Specialist will ensure your marketing plan and activities are directly aligned with your sales and new business strategies. They will work with you to identify new markets and then develop and implement techniques, including social media, to make them happen. Working closely with the people responsible for sales, they will monitor and optimise campaigns to ensure your new business development methods are firing. They have experience accessing the most suitable technology to harness the lead nurturing through every aspect of the sales funnel. Your Marketing Manager will always be focused on achieving tangible and measurable results for your business.


Marketing is an investment in your business that needs to deliver a strong return. So making the most of a Marketing Specialist with 10 years plus experience is vital to ensure you are making the most of your budget. They know the marketing plans, strategies and channels that will work best for your business. They will ensure any campaign or program is implemented comprehensively and professionally. And their experience ensures larger projects such as a rebrand, website design/build or product assembly are completed on time and on budget. Your Marketing Manager has access to a vast and diverse network of suppliers. From printers, to web developers, video production, SEO and graphic design. They will recommend the right supplier for the right project and then manage the delivery.


whatthey say

“Working with The Marketing Room has been a fantastic experience! A big thank you to the team, especially Greta, for all the hard work and expertise. The marketing plan you’ve put together is an invaluable resource that will help guide us as we move forward in our marketing journey. We’ve gained so much insight into the business through this process and can’t wait to start putting everything into action!”
John Gibson
Locate Negotiate

Teaming up with The Marketing Room has been a game-changer for Thermoline. Our Marketing Manager, Alli, has transformed how we approach marketing. In only a small number of hours each month, she’s optimised our automated systems, launched us into the world of SEO and SEM (and helped us become leaders in it), enhanced our website’s user experience, and delivered fresh, engaging, new content. Most importantly, thanks to her expertise, we’re not only bringing in more leads than ever before, but we’re also converting them like pros! I can’t recommend The Marketing Room highly enough!
Steven Watt
Thermoline

Geoff has quickly become a trusted advisor to our Executive Team, and his strategic brand advice has enabled us to transform our organisation for the future.
Partnering with The Marketing Room has been a catalyst to put in place a brand strategy that has reshaped our brand architecture, product suite, team culture and customer experience.
In only a few months we’ve seen noticeable results and we’re looking forward to growing the File Republic brand in new international markets.
It’s astounding how Geoff was able to grasp the complexities of our market, our organisation, and our product, and translate that into a strategy that ignited such passion in our team from top to bottom.
It’s been a great experience and a partnership that we’re looking forward to continuing.
Sean Conroy
File Republic

The Marketing Room team – specifically Jon and Kelly- Anne – were outstanding in their work with us to rebrand and develop a marketing strategy going forward. Their professionalism and practicality was outstanding, offering expert advice and strategic insights. Kelly-Anne’s work with us to plan and implement our rebrand was highly valuable, as will be the marketing strategy she developed
with us to guide our marketing activities going forward.
Highly recommend The Marketing Room.
Anna Dixon
BlueSalt Consulting

Like most businesses we were facing resource challenges within our marketing team. We needed senior, experienced marketing support that could hit the ground running to ensure we didn’t miss the deadline for a new campaign launch.
I’m thrilled to say The Marketing Room were able to provide this support. Their consultant worked inside our business and emersed themselves in our team, brand systems, and processes. It was just what we needed at a crucial stage of an important project for the business.
I can’t praise them highly enough and will consider them again for any additional short-term support we need.
Damien Van Pelt
RAC Insurance

We are over the moon with Isabel.
She is an amazing Social Media Manager, and everyone loves her in the office. I am glad she can adapt to the nature of our business and fully understood the message we would like to convey to our pages. Isabel’s content is very meaningful and knows exactly what is relevant to post in our industry. Gautam and I are very glad as well that Isabel is friendly to the team members in the office with their loudness.
I noticed she does take feedbacks seriously and used it to improve or amend any changes required. 10/10