Background Stories – Marketing ‘Innovation’ in the Space Sector
When people hear the words “space company”, they picture rockets, satellites, astronauts and teams of engineers in mission control. So, when I tell people I work for a space company as a Marketing & Brand Manager, I sometimes get a slightly puzzled look. It’s often followed by a question along the lines of, “How did you end up doing marketing in the space sector?”.
The real story behind my ‘journey to space’ is probably one for another blog. But for now, my days at a space tech company look quite different from what most people imagine. They usually begin with checking our website and LinkedIn channels, keeping an eye on how we’re showing up in search results, and planning how we can tell our story more effectively. A lot of my time is spent helping people understand our technology and how it can genuinely change the way we see the world.
That’s where marketing comes in.
It’s not about making the technology sound simpler than it is. It’s about making sure the people who could benefit from it understand why it matters to them. Because even the most ground-breaking innovation can be overlooked if its story isn’t told clearly.
Of course, before I can tell the story, I had to understand it myself…
Space is complicated, but it doesn’t always have to be.
When I first started working in the space industry, my biggest challenge wasn’t learning the marketing…it was learning the language. Earth Observation is full of technical terms, acronyms and concepts that were completely new to me. Like anyone joining a new industry, there was a steep learning curve.
The best way to overcome it wasn’t by reading manuals or glossaries. It was by talking to the team around me. Sitting down with our developers and asking what probably felt like very basic questions and listening as they explained the challenges they were solving, the features they were building and the vision behind this innovative technology. Every conversation filled another gap in my understanding. Gradually, the terminology became familiar, the technology started to make sense, and I became more confident in explaining it to others.
But the moment everything truly clicked wasn’t in a meeting room…
It was standing at a Spelfie stand in Glasgow’s George Square at a UK Space event, talking to children about satellites.
The children attending the UKSA event wanted to know how a satellite could take a picture of them...as well as...How did it know where they were? How could it capture thousands of people all at once? Explaining something as complex as satellite imaging to a group of curious 12-year-olds forced me to strip away the jargon and focus on the fundamentals.
If they could understand it, anyone could.
That experience completely changed how I thought about marketing. Good marketing isn’t about oversimplifying technology or watering down the science. It’s about making complex ideas accessible without losing what makes them incredible. It’s about helping people understand why something matters, not just how it works.
I’ve seen the same thing at industry events, such as GEO Business. I’d spend just a few minutes explaining what we do, and I’d watch people immediately relate it to a challenge in their own organisation. That moment, when someone’s expression changes from curiosity to understanding, is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. It’s a reminder that good communication doesn’t just explain technology, it helps people see what’s possible.
Because if we can’t explain our innovation in a way that people can connect with, we risk leaving its true value hidden behind technical language.
Communication is Part of Innovation
We often think innovation ends when developers finish building something, but that’s only half of the story.
Real innovation happens when someone uses the technology that has been developed to solve a problem they couldn’t solve before.
That only happens if they understand what it is, why it matters and how it fits into their world.
Marketing isn’t the final step after innovation. It’s part of innovation itself.
Curiosity is one of the most valuable tools
Another key thing I’ve learned is that it’s okay to not know the answers straight away. Asking questions is one of the most valuable parts of my role, as well as truly listening to those with the insight and knowledge. Each conversation we have as a team teaches us something new, and leads to inspiration to enable the next logical development in both tech and marketing. Somewhere amongst all of the conversations and development is where the story comes together.
Why Space Aye?
Ultimately being part of a team that is creating truly innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems motivates me massively. Space Aye has patents across the world which means it is the only way to merge real-time satellite imagery with IoT data. This capability unlocks potential across all sectors, and once you’ve had that idea and concept opened in your mind...it’s hard to unsee it.
More than rockets and satellites
So, when people ask me what it’s like working in space tech, I still smile.
No I don’t build satellites, or write code, or launch spacecrafts…
But every day I get to work alongside people who do incredible things and help tell a story in a way that connects with customers, partners and the wider world.
Why? To help change the world. To help people find the solution to their problems and see the world with greater confidence.
And for me, that’s one of the most exciting parts of working in the space sector. Because after all, innovation only changes the world when people can understand it.
