From Peacocks to Festivals - Caroline Parkes Seeks Out the colour

I’ve always been the kind of strategist who brings colour to the data. I’ve worked in digital-first, data-led environments for much of my career, particularly in customer marketing—and while precision and targeting are vital, what excites me is finding the spark that makes a message resonate emotionally. I’m creatively led, a maximalist by nature, and driven by the joy of crafting standout customer experiences (CX). My favourite word is smorgasbord and and I'm definitely a smorgasbord sort of person. Whether I’m smushing together seemingly unrelated ideas, championing inclusion in brand communication, or hunting down a brand’s "peacock moment," what keeps me inspired is the opportunity to inject something memorable, emotive, and human into even the driest parts of marketing.

The power of the peacock moment

One of the tools I reach for time and again is the idea of creating what I call “peacock moments” in CX. These are the unexpected touches that make someone smile, that stand out in a crowded inbox or a bland app interface, and that give people a reason to talk about a brand. It could be as simple as the bold design of a Monzo card or the charm in how a company plays back your own data to you. It’s not about function alone—it’s about flair. In a world where CX often gets reduced to flowcharts and UX copy, I believe these moments of unexpected creativity are where brands truly differentiate themselves. They’re proof that function and delight don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

Maximalism as a mindset

I describe myself as a maximalist, and I genuinely believe it influences how I think as a strategist. My home is full of birds, bold colours, and eclectic objects. I wear colour, paint with it, and even use it to think. My Instagram handle is @colorpopcaro for a reason. This love of visual and conceptual abundance feeds directly into how I work—I’m drawn to mixing references, smashing ideas together, and seeing what unexpected combinations spark something new. In strategy, that often means pulling in surprising cultural cues or applying insights from art, music, or even furniture design to solve marketing challenges. I’m not about uniformity or safe bets—I like a smorgasbord approach that reflects the messiness and vibrancy of real life. I have my own website and the first the first thing you'll see on it is ‘Life's too short for beige’. So I, I believe in finding the colour in things and finding interest.

A festival of influence

Culturally, I find a lot of inspiration in the Wilderness Festival. For me, it’s a kind of living metaphor for how I think strategy should work: it’s eclectic, expressive, inclusive, and always slightly unexpected. There’s this wonderful intersection of high creativity, bold personal expression, and a bit of chaos—all of which reminds me that creativity doesn’t come from process alone. It comes from energy, from texture, from letting different voices and ideas bounce off each other. When I come back from Wilderness, I always feel recharged creatively. It reminds me that flamboyance and freedom can—and should—have a place in strategic thinking.

Inclusion beyond the office

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my career is that strategy doesn’t happen in a bubble—or at least, it shouldn’t. Too often, we build brand ideas or CX journeys around ourselves or the people we work with in central London offices. But most customers aren’t sitting in Soho—they’re living vastly different lives, with different frames of reference. That’s why I care deeply about inclusivity—not just in who we hire, but in how we think about and talk to customers. Whether it's creating a loyalty mechanic that feels joyful and respectful of different backgrounds, or simply making sure I step outside of my own bubble regularly, I see it as my responsibility to keep those perspectives present. Good strategy starts with empathy, not assumption.