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Sofia Middleton

Marketing Architect

About
Me

The birth of a Marketing Architect

My journey to founding XPOH hasn't been a straight line - it’s been an adventure. From the fast-paced PR world of London to the sunny hills of Marbella and the energy capital of Aberdeen, I’ve spent my career learning one vital skill: how to make things happen.

The Foundation - London & High Stakes PR: My professional roots were planted in London, notably working for the legendary Lesley Brend at Shandwick Communications. It was a whirlwind of high standards and incredible opportunities—including those coveted yearly invites to the Jean Muir sales!

That era taught me the importance of presentation, precision, and the power of clear communication.

The Turning Point: One 1st Class BA Honours Reset. After traveling the globe, I returned to Staffordshire to "temp" away my world-tour debts. A chance conversation with the Head of the Business School changed everything: "Why are you temping? Get yourself onto one of our courses."

Taking that advice, I threw myself into International Marketing, graduating with a 1st Class BA Hons degree (a huge thank you to Malcolm for the push!). This academic rigour, combined with my practical experience, became the engine for everything I did next.

Concerts, Castles and the Costa del Sol: I spent years promoting outdoor classical concerts at some of the UK’s most beautiful stately homes, working my way from PR to Marketing Manager.

Later, I was headhunted to work in Marbella, where I discovered a knack for building and training high-performing telemarketing teams

The Move to Aberdeen: In 2006, love (and some questionable claims by my husband that a summer in Aberdeen rivals one in Puerto Banus!) brought me to the North East of Scotland. Since arriving, I’ve had the privilege of:

Working with Maggie McGinlay at Scottish Enterprise to launch Scotland Food & Drink.
Navigating the complexities of the private healthcare sector.

Why Xtra Pair of Hands (XPOH)? Every stop on my journey, the high-pressure PR pitches, the marketing strategies for stately homes, and the logistical challenges of international property, has all led to this.

I realised that busy professionals and businesses don’t just need "help"; they need someone with a marketing brain, a PR eye, and the proactive energy to take tasks off their plate and execute them to a 1st-class standard.

I’m here to be the resource I know every busy leader needs.

Xtra Pair of Hands

Happy clients...

"Sofia has helped Ruby Services Group (Aberdeen) greatly from a marketing perspective. Her attention to detail, after getting to know your business, is second to none.

The solutions to overcome some obstacles were presented and now used on on going basis. Knowledge of marketing and how to promote is very good indeed. We would definitely recommend giving Sofia the chance to help you and your business move forward with any marketing help that you may require."

Johnny Montgomery (MD)

"Refreshing" was the first thing that came to me when I was asked about my marketing meetings with Sofia when we were on board as one of her marketing clients through Business Gateway (Aberdeen)

Escone Solutions met Sofia through Business Gateway and from our first meeting it was clear that she understood our business and where we want to take it over the next couple of years.

With her knowledge and infectious enthusiasm for marketing we left with a clear plan for our strategy as well as a “buzz” from time spent with such a positive and productive person.I would personally recommend Sofia to any individual or company who require an enthusiastic, knowledgeable, dedicated professional who delivers."

Kevin Wyness (Partner)

"I was delighted to have worked with Sofia and have her help our clinic with marketing and promotion.

She delivered a tailored, yet sensitive strategy to promote our clinic to the adult market. Specifically, her task was to raise the clinic's profile in the wedding market and help us exhibit for the very first time at "Your Wedding Exhibition" at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

She listened carefully to my brief and delivered a very sensible yet comprehensive plan to market our clinic and our services. Sofia also brought to life my vision for the exhibit that I wanted to create and made it happen.

I was impressed with her enthusiasm and her ideas as well as her dedication to delivering what the client asked for. It resulted in a very successful exhibition for us, with popular promotions and an extremely professional looking stand exhibit.

I look forward to working with her again in the near future and would highly recommend her to anyone."

Lisa Currie (Owner)

"I have worked with Sofia for over 20 years. She is one of the most driven individuals you will ever have the pleasure of working with. She is a wealth of information and incredibly creative when it comes to anything PR.

The results she achieves are a result of her hard work and determination in getting a job done well."

Lisa Ward (Director)

Thank you so much for all your fantastic support last year helping us to reach this important milestone, your marketing advice and guidance really helped us to focus on what we needed to do!

We now have an excellent foundation to move forward with the project."

Donna Doo (Marketing Manager)