Daniel Nikolla Named Top Young Marketing Professional in the Midlands
TL;DR: Daniel Nikolla has landed a Midlands double — named Future Face of Sales, Marketing & Communications by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and honoured as Young Professional of the Year at the East Midlands Chamber's Generation Next Awards, all while leading marketing at Burton-based Hardy Signs.
A Midlands double for a young marketer on the rise
It has been a landmark few weeks for Daniel Nikolla. The Marketing Manager at Hardy Signs, the award-winning signage manufacturer in Burton upon Trent, has picked up two of the region's most sought-after recognitions for emerging talent — one either side of the Midlands.
In September 2020 he was named Future Face of Sales, Marketing & Communications at the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce's Future Faces Awards, the programme that celebrates the region's most promising professionals under 30. He has since added Young Professional of the Year at the East Midlands Chamber's Generation Next Awards — a rare recognition across two separate chamber networks in a single year.
Recognised for a digital-first marketing turnaround
Daniel joined Hardy Signs in 2018 as a Marketing Executive and was promoted to Marketing Manager in early 2020. Over that period he rebuilt the company's marketing around digital transformation and content marketing — modernising the brand's presence and, crucially, driving a measurable uplift in sales enquiries and pipeline for the manufacturer.
It is exactly the kind of commercially-grounded marketing the Future Faces judges look for: not vanity metrics, but a clear line from marketing activity to business results. In a year that tested every marketing team's resilience, delivering growth through content and digital channels made his case a standout.
From film school to chartered marketing
Daniel's route into marketing was anything but conventional. He studied an HND in Creative Media Production at City & Islington College before completing a BA (Hons) in Film Production at the University of West London, then converted that storytelling craft into a marketing career via the CIM's Diploma in Professional Marketing at Nottingham Trent University.
Leadership has been a constant thread. As Students' Union President at City & Islington College, he helped the union earn runner-up for FE Student Union of the Year at the National Union of Students Awards. That instinct for building things — teams, brands, momentum — is what these two awards ultimately reward.
Why it matters for the Midlands marketing scene
Recognition like this does more than decorate a CV. Programmes such as Future Faces and Generation Next exist to keep ambitious young talent in the Midlands rather than watching it drift to London — and wins like Daniel's are proof the region's marketing and communications community is nurturing its next generation of leaders.
For employers, the takeaway is a simple one: give young marketers real ownership of strategy and let the results speak. Hardy Signs did exactly that, and both chambers took notice.
Quick FAQ
Q: What awards has Daniel Nikolla won?
A: Future Face of Sales, Marketing & Communications (Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, 2020) and Young Professional of the Year at the East Midlands Chamber's Generation Next Awards (2020).
Q: What was he recognised for?
A: Leading a digital-first, content-led marketing strategy at Hardy Signs that modernised the brand and drove a measurable uplift in sales.
Q: What are the Future Faces and Generation Next awards?
A: Regional programmes run by the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the East Midlands Chamber respectively, celebrating the most promising young professionals across the Midlands.
I am ecstatic and really pleased, and I feel honoured that the work that myself and our team have been doing over the last two years has been recognised. — Daniel Nikolla, Marketing Manager, Hardy Signs
The takeaway: give young marketers ownership of real strategy and let the numbers make their case — that is what turns talent into award-winners.
Who's the emerging marketer on your team ready for their own moment — and are you giving them the ownership to earn it?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (Future Faces Awards 2020), East Midlands Chamber (Generation Next Awards 2020), City & Islington College (CCCG), Hardy Signs.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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