Stephen Low

If career paths were TV shows, Stephen Low’s journey from Glasgow Caledonian University to a successful role in media sales at Scotland’s leading TV channel would undoubtedly be a hit series.

Stephen has turned his passion for marketing and advertising, and a love for all things television, into a blockbuster career working as a Business Development Manager at STV.

His story started 23 years ago at GCU, where he was a student on the Consumer and Management Studies course.

“I was quite lucky because I really loved my time at University, and I loved the course that I did as well. After having left University, I went on to develop my career in advertising and sales, and I've been doing that ever since."

“I chose that because I came across marketing and advertising when I was in high school and realised that I really liked it, really enjoyed it, and so decided that that was what I wanted to pursue as a career.”

Stephen credits his success in part to the skills he honed at Glasgow Caledonian.

"One of the key things that I learned having come to GCU was really the importance of presentation, presenting skills, and being able to get up and talk.

"Being able to sell yourself, being able to sell the thing that you're interested in, these are all really important skills, no matter what career you get into.

“What was great about coming to Glasgow Caledonian was there was a real integration with enterprise and practical experience. Integrating that into your studies, so it wasn't just all theory, you were encouraged very much to go out there and try and get relevant experience, so I did manage to do that.”

This hands-on approach was exemplified by his part-time job with the Scottish Media Group, which allowed him to work on his dissertation on branding in newspapers.

Currently, Stephen works as a Business Development Manager for STV, where he thrives in his role promoting advertising opportunities.

“I'm responsible for mainly what we refer to as spot advertising. So that's your commercial breaks, in amongst all the different TV programs we have on, from Loose Women to This Morning.

“It's my role to go out and about, meet different businesses on a direct basis, and convince them to look at investing in promoting their businesses on television.

“It’s a great feeling when you’re able to get a deal signed for sponsorship of a prime-time TV show, or even selling an advertising opportunity around a show like I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.”

When it comes to advice, Stephen finds inspiration from an unusual source: TV celebrity Judge Judy.

“One of the things she said that I've always thought was fantastic, is that no matter who you are, no matter what age you are; if you didn't make it in your 20s, don't worry, because you can make it in your 30s. And if you didn't make it in your 30s, don't worry, you can make it in your 40s. And if you didn't make it in your 40s, don't worry, you can make it in your 50s and your 60s.