Page 36 - 363990 LP241339 In and Around Magazine 56pp A5 (July 2022)

PLEASE MENTION IN&AROUND WHEN CONTACTING ADVERTISERS
Tell us about one working moment
Meet: TONY VAL
that you’re particularly proud of!
V: My proudest moment would have to be reaching our 200th edition! What an achievement!! To still be North Durham’s favourite independent community magazine after 17 years is something to be proud of.
T: As part of my main job, I am I&A’s house photographer. Occasionally I get to meet business owners face to face and discuss how we can help them raise their business profile, through photography. I find this so gratifying, compared to simply just designing their ad.
What are your deadline day essentials?
V: Every month is different and brings its own challenges, but our team here is amazing and we always get there together. Oh, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee!
T: Personally, I don’t have any rituals or anything. I just get through the day knowing that we have such a great team here and we can make it to the end, no matter what. We always do our best to help each other out.
And finally, what’s your favourite thing about working with the other person?
V: What is my favourite thing about working with Tony? I guess it’s that we connected from the first day he joined the company. We work very closely together on creating the adverts and the final magazine. Each day is a laugh. We are totally crazy together and bounce off each other, but we understand each other’s roles and we work really well together. I’m Goose to his Maverick!!
T: Val is always full of energy and is always ready to help and get you through the day. She is 100% the mam of the office (lol) and I loved that her Skype profile picture was the Fairy Godmother. It also helps that we are both dog lovers. Sometimes, we don’t always get much work done - we just send each other dog pics!
And there you have it - Tony and Val. We hope you enjoyed getting to know more about the dream team, who spend their time making the magic happen (when they’re not looking at pictures of dogs, that is).
IN&AROUND wouldn’t have made it to 200 editions, without our fantastic team; Tony and Val. It didn’t seem right to hit this milestone and not include a feature that lets you get
to know our dynamic duo a little bit better...
How long have you worked for IN&AROUND?
V: I started working for IN&AROUND in September 2006...just over a year after it first launched!
T: My debut came in December 2018, so coming up to four years now.
What does your job entail?
V: My job consists of calling businesses and seeing if we can help raise the profile of their company by advertising with the magazine. I offer advice on the most effective advert size for their needs and what the best approach would be to get their next customer. I manage every aspect of the magazine, from advert positions to proofing adverts and text.
T: My main role is to create the eye- catching ads you see in the magazine every month. My main priority is
to create an ad that will help your business generate revenue, by using all the specialist design programs at my disposal.
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How have things changed at I&A during your time here?
V: A LOT has changed in the 16
years since I started working on IN&AROUND. We have changed the way we lay out the magazine, added extra editorial to engage our readers, and run competitions every month that get an amazing response. It’s important that we move with the times to keep people interested in the magazine. It’s also important that we listen to what our customers want - we wouldn’t be here without them!
T: I feel like we’re seeing lots more young people becoming entrepreneurs - especially since 2020. I don’t know whether it was the pandemic, or perhaps it’s recent trends on social media, but it makes me so happy to see so many younger people building their own businesses.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
V: My favourite part of the job is when I speak to a customer and they tell me they had a call from their advert within days of the magazine being delivered.
T: I have always wanted to work in publishing, since I grew up reading magazines. Mixing images and body copy into an interesting page layout will always give me a buzz.