Sue Keogh

Experience and expertise

Sue Keogh is a recognised specialist in communications whose career has spanned radio, print, digital, TV, and social media, working closely with the BBC, ITV, University of Cambridge and Government Digital Service, and leading a highly successful digital marketing agency for 16 years.

A Fellow of the RSA and The Chartered Institute of Marketing, host of the Communication Untangled podcast and a judge at the National Business Women’s Awards, Sue draws on extensive industry and business experience to support senior leadership teams in solving critical communications challenges now, and in the future.

Full biography

Sue started her career in radio, joining independent radio production company Smooth Operations and helping to produce specialist music content documentaries, series and live events for BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4, before becoming editor of the BBC Country website and managing forums for Soaps.

She became Project Manager for ITV.com, overseeing content for flagship programmes including Coronation Street, Pop Idol, Emmerdale and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, then website editor for Heat magazine and Magic FM.

As a freelance homepage editor for Yahoo! and AOL she produced entertainment, sports and breaking news content about Big Brother, the World Cup, and the London 7/7 bombings.

In 2008, Sue founded digital marketing agency Sookio, working with ambitious and transformative organisations to help them communicate their message to the world through brilliant strategy, content and training.

See case studies with the University of Cambridge Museums, Alzheimer’s Society, Techfugees, NHS, Cambridge Trust and District Councils which showcase some of the work of which the agency is most proud - helping stop the spread of covid, getting people back into museums, and boosting high street recovery.

Her instinctively positive style of leadership led to a highly motivated team and supportive company culture which helped the business stay resilient through challenges like a pandemic, a recession, and a fire that nearly destroyed the building.

Known for her plain-talking, fun approach to digital, Sue is always beating the drum for quality, accessible content. More than 8k people have taken her Skillshare courses in digital marketing, and her webinars, online and in-person training have given thousands of people valuable new skills.

As host of the Communication Untangled podcast Sue explores the minutiae of communications - signs, menu design, colour psychology - which she’s found fascinating her whole career.

Pivoting the business from an agency model to consultancy gives her the opportunity to really focus, drawing on a wealth of industry experience to give senior leaders an external perspective and clarity in their communications right now, and in the future.

Awards

  • Judge at the National Business Women’s Awards since 2020

  • Finalist, Digital Communications Business Owner, British Business Awards 2019

  • Finalist three times in the Best Business Women Awards for Marketing & PR

  • Silver, Business Person of the Year in the SME Cambs Business Awards 2020

  • Silver, Business Person of the Year and Gold for Sookio for Service Excellence in the SME Cambridgeshire Business Awards 2022 (pictured)

  • Medals! Sue has also raised funds for Motor Neurone Disease Association through various 10k running events, and Arthur Rank Hospice Charity when she ran the London Marathon in 2017.

Education

Sue has a BA (Hons) in Communication Studies with Spanish from Anglia Ruskin University, and graduated from the University of Leicester’s School of Business Help to Grow: Management scheme.

Courses planned for AW24:

  • Ethical Practices to Guide Innovation, Royal College of Art

  • Behaviour Change Interventions: Introductory Principles and Practice, UCL

  • Microsoft Accessibility Fundamentals, and Discover Microsoft AI for leaders in sustainability

  • Carbon Literacy for Marketers, accredited by The Carbon Literacy Project

  • The Circular Economy, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Networks and membership

  • Cambridge Wireless, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, Cambridge Network

  • Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing

  • Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce

  • Active in The Agency Collective for 6 years

  • Sue works closely with multiple divisions of the University of Cambridge and within the Cambridge biotech cluster, and gets how it all ‘works’

Community and careers

With an ethos of ‘lift as we climb’, Sue developed work experience initiatives which have supported hundreds of people in getting a leg up into the industry. See more on our Impact page.

  • Agency Bootcamp (our annual week of remote work experience which ran for 5 years with 150+ people taking part)

  • Mentoring partnerships with Anglia Ruskin University

  • The Long Road Sixth Form Marketing Challenge

  • Sessions with the Homerton Changemakers programme

  • Speaker at careers fairs and in schools

She helped homelessness initiative It Takes A City when it was first getting off the ground in Cambridge, helped run CamCreatives in the early years and set up sister group, Creative Ely. She was on the board at community station Cambridge 105 Radio for 2.5 years from 2019.