Proper marketing for leaders in the thick of it

I’m Louise. Welcome to Woods & Trees.

A black and white picture of Louise McLoughlin smiling, standing in her happy place, her art studio

We’ve all been there. The times you can’t tell left from right. Don’t know up from down. Can’t see the wood for the trees.

In an increasingly complex, uncertain and automated marketing landscape that’s really common. Leaders often need accessible senior thinking to help them find the right path. That’s why I founded Woods & Trees.

I added an ‘&’  to this well-known phrase because I believe solving tricky problems needs both perspectives. The ability to see both the Woods & Trees at the same time.

I walk alongside organisations to help them do marketing better. Often that’s a mix of zooming out to build strategy and stepping closer to the detail to build plans and teams that work.

Say Hello

Who I Help

  • Over 20 years of Automotive experience at both OEM and retailer means I am perfectly placed to quickly onboard and understand your challenges. Open to both Operational and Marketing Projects and small number of fractional engagements. Passionate about driving the move to electrification and increasing mobility for all.

  • Commercial and Not For Profit Organisations who have reached that moment - either a challenge or an opportunity - when they need some senior marketing thinking but aren’t yet ready to invest in or need more flexibility than a full-time Chief Marketing Officer can bring.

  • I’ve been privileged to work with some amazing women, and after participation in a Female Leadership Development programme, I especially love helping other women leaders achieve great things for themselves and their organisation

How I Help

  • Marketing Strategy

    Common challenges

    • I’m launching this new thing, but I need structure

    • I’ve got a great junior team or person doing the doing, but its all a bit disjointed

    • Growth has been great, but it’s slowed

    • I just got funded. Yay! Now - help!

    How I help

    • Audit your market position

    • Set meaningful objectives linked to commercial success

    • Define audiences and propositions

    • Create actionable Marketing Plans

  • Marketing Capability

    Common challenges

    • I know marketing matters, but I don’t have time to choose the right tactics

    • I’m not sure if I need an internal team or if I should outsource this

    • I don’t know what marketing tech or automations I should choose

    • My agency isn’t hitting the mark, I need to figure out how to fix it

    How I help

    • Advise on Marketing Organisational Design and agency requirements

    • Help you define the processes and technology to meet your goals

    • Support resourcing decisions, agency selection or role profile building

  • Sustain & Grow

    Common challenges

    • I need to make sure my plan stays on track

    • I want to help my junior marketers develop

    • My plan is quite simple - so I just need someone to keep it ticking over and optimised

    How I help

    • Keeping the plan alive and true - a few days every month or quarter to assess progress and troubleshoot

    • Coaching sessions with you and your team

    • Simple activations - e.g. basic website design or digital marketing

Why Me?

‘Proper’ marketing creds: CIM Diploma, MiniMBA in Marketing, MiniMBA in Brand Management. I start with the customer. Marketing heart, commercial brain: Experience in operations and organisational design. I connect the dots. Senior Blue-chip experience: 20 years working with Toyota and Lexus. Led change programmes and board-level influencing. I make good things happen. Problem solving through people: Trained problem solver and coach. I put people at the centre.

Frequently Asked Questions

I love a question. they are often the start of inspiration. Take a look at the FAQ or reach just drop me a line.

Say Hello

  • As a Marketing Consultant I typically work in one of three ways;

    1] Project basis. We agree the outcomes and deliverables and the fee for achieving these.

    2] Fractional. Think of me as a part-time Chief Marketing Officer. I work for your organisation for a set number of days a month or quarter on a day rate for an agreed ongoing period.

    3] Set packages. For example if you just need someone to coach your marketing team or to run a planning or strategy workshop I have set rates for these and they can be one-off engagements.

  • Woods and Trees is just me. I am deliberately a founder-led business and I am careful to work with a small number of clients at one time so you get the right focus and I am confident I can deliver great outcomes.

    So I focus most of my work on strategy and building marketing capability rather than execution (for example running your ad campaigns). For the right size of client I can take on execution work like website building or digital marketing (e.g. Google Ads or Social Media). But if I think you’re better served by working with someone else for a task I am happy refer you or help you define the right brief.

  • The word marketing seems to mean many things to many people. And unfortunately there is quite a bit of misinformation out there. I’m proud to have been properly trained and I work with an approach that starts with diagnosis, followed by strategy and then and only then should get into tactics. Google ‘Mark Ritson’ and you’re get a flavour of my schooling! But it’s never a perfect world - and sometimes something is better than nothing - so you’ll find my work led by pragmatism and a drive to simplify.

  • I have over 20 years experience in the automotive and mobility sector and it is an incredibly dynamic and challenging space. So naturally I remain passionate about as we all try to figure out how to get the freedom good mobility brings with fewer harms. So I’m uniquely placed to help retailers, OEMs and start ups needing auto experience.

    However I am motivated by organisations trying to create good and good growth and have recent experience with start ups and the non-for-profit sector.

    I also love working with other female-founders and leaders and having been part of female development and leadership programmes I am particularly keen to support other women.

  • I’m currently open for engagements starting January 2027. Of course these often need a few conversations to understand your needs and get set up so if you would like to secure your project get in touch and we can explore how I can help.

Say hello

If you’d like to find out more, ask a question or book a free 30 minute discovery call.