The Mortgage Marketing Forum aims to provide knowledge, support, and inspiration, with the objective of championing the commercial benefits of good marketing and the professionals who deliver it.

It was created by Jeff Knight, Paul Hunt and Alex Hammond — three mortgage marketing experts with over 65 years of experience between them, having worked at senior executive levels spanning a range of businesses including The Mortgage Works, Castle Trust Bank, Pepper Money, Foundation Home Loans, GMAC-RFC, Kensington Mortgages, Platform, Lehman Brothers and Countrywide.

The platform, which is already being piloted with 48 members from 33 organisations, including OSB Group and CHL, is open to marketers of all levels, including lenders, distributors, brokers, tech companies, and others.

It will host regular events, provide access to exclusive articles and reports, and give members a confidential environment within which they can share ideas, best practice, and thought leadership content, and ask questions.

The online community is hosted via the Mighty Network platform, which is supported by WhatsApp, Twitter, and Clubhouse.

“Our goal is to champion the importance of marketing at a tactical, commercial and strategic level, and to equip marketers with the tools they need to add even more value to their businesses,” said Jeff.

•   Lenders struggling with deal flow warned of the risks of expanding regionally
•   New blockchain-powered SME finance platform launches
•   Andrew Montlake joins Newspage as non-executive director

“As a community, we will provide the opportunity for all members to learn, connect with like-minded people, and hopefully have some fun.”

Paul added: “Training and development are important in every business and at all levels.

“It’s not something you can achieve by just sending someone on a course, and is most effective when it comes in the form of sharing thoughts and ideas with peers and more experienced individuals. 

“Nowadays, most businesses in the mortgage industry have small marketing teams, which limits the capacity for learning and development — particularly in the current environment where so many of us work remotely. 

“How businesses communicate and interact with customers is changing rapidly, whether those customers are brokers, borrowers or other stakeholders. 

“The forum is here to facilitate ideas, discussions and debate from CMOs to those starting their careers in marketing.”

Roselle Allsop, group head of marketing, lending, digital and design at OSB Group, commented: “As a member of this incredible initiative, I look forward to the opportunity to network with like-minded peers. 

“This forum is looking to harness the marketing creativity and professionalism within the industry, with a view to share best practice as well as offer a platform for marketers to learn from each other in a collaborative space. 

“I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of this community and I’d encourage anyone in a marketing role within the mortgage industry to visit the website and take a look at the opportunities that membership could bring them.”