Owning the Narrative: How Candice Jenkinson Builds Product Stories That Travel Across Borders

This episode of South African Tech Marketers features Candice Jenkinson — a strategist who didn’t follow the “linear” path to global tech, but built one of her own. Candice brings nearly 20 years of experience across agencies, FMCG, retail, B2B, and now SaaS, and currently leads product marketing at Metaphor, a 40-year-old UK-based software company.

She joined Metaphor after running a high-stakes SEO revamp as an agency partner — and was soon recruited as their first South African hire. Her story is a masterclass in leveraging hybrid skills, asking sharp questions, and building trust across borders.

Candice unpacks the mindset shift from agency urgency to product marketing depth, the unique cultural advantages South African marketers bring to international roles, and how to lead with storytelling in a metrics-driven environment. This is essential listening for marketers navigating their transition into international, remote-first tech teams.

---

🎯 What We Cover

• From drama school to marketing strategy

• Moving from agencies to in-house global tech roles

• The value South Africans bring to remote international teams

• Cultural lessons from working with UK-based teams

• How to turn product marketing into human storytelling

• Creating internal content that celebrates your team’s impact

• Advice for early-career marketers finding their path

• Why niching down early is a game-changer

---

🔑 Key Takeaways

• Start by earning trust, then challenge the brief

• Internal content isn’t fluff — it’s a growth lever

• South African marketers bring built-in cross-cultural fluency

• Pause before shipping — strategic patience matters

• Position yourself globally through intentional focus

• Your “just make a plan” instinct is a differentiator

---

📌 Action Steps

• Audit your positioning — are you known for something?

• Add internal storytelling to your next GTM

• Practice structured curiosity — ask sharper questions

• Work async with tools like Notion, Loom, Slack

• Join peer communities (like SA Tech Marketers)