Robin Sansom doesn’t really fit my idea of a brand manager for Blackburn Design. In his checked shirt and shorts, with sandy coloured surfer fringe and flip-flops, he looks more ready to take to the stage with an acoustic guitar to duet with Jack Johnson.
Yet over the last few years, Robin has taken the Blackburn brand from ‘trusted and reliable’ (but a bit dull) to ‘innovative and cutting edge’. One of his pet projects has been the introduction of the Blackburn Rangers – not a new football team, but a yearly influx of brand ambassadors who are sent out into the world to spread the word about the rapidly expanding range of products that the company is producing.