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James Balderson

Email Marketing Developer

I'm an Email Marketing Developer with over a decade of experience designing, building, and optimising high-performing digital communications. With a background in graphic design and deep expertise in HTML email development, I specialise in creating responsive, accessible, and visually engaging campaigns across CRM ecosystems including Salesforce Marketing Cloud. My career spans agencies, global brands, and freelance consultancy, supporting clients such as Disney, McDonald’s, J.P. Morgan, Rolex and Volkswagen. I now work within GSMA’s Brand & Content Strategy team, delivering email campaigns for the MWC global event series and driving continuous improvement through data-led optimisation and refined workflows.

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Skills

Professional Skills

HTML5 Email
90%
HTML5 Banners
70%
Photoshop
60%
After Effects
40%

 

Illustrator
30%
InDesign
30%
Figma
40%
CRM and E-commerce Email
70%

Work Experience

Email Marketing Developer @ GSMA (Digital Marketing)

January 2025 - Present

As an Email Marketing Developer at GSMA, I am responsible for designing, building and testing across multiple platforms to insure responsive, dark mode, standards compliant, on-brand HTML/CSS email campaigns for the MWC, 4YFN and M360 events. I work closely with brand and content teams, and support stakeholders with Salesforce Marketing Cloud and email templates support to secure strong engagement across platforms and email clients.

I also support the wider organisation through the design, build and maintenance of reusable email templates and modular block components within SFMC. This work ensures consistency across email communications enabling teams to deliver campaigns at scale while adhering to GSMA brand standards and email best practices.

I balance hands-on development with stakeholder management, ensuring email production stays efficient, consistent, and aligned with both brand standards and commercial objectives. Through effective workload management and clear communication, I contribute to the ongoing evolution of GSMA's email marketing capabilities.

Self Employed @ Balderson Digital

September 2018 - January 2025

This is the company I trade under for all Freelance and Contract work, please visit balderson.digital for more details and Freelance work samples.

Some of my highlights while working freelance are:

Email Developer @ Armadillo

10th January 2022 - 17th November 2023
Here I built interactive and personalised HTML emails from Photoshop and Figma for Armadillo’s clients Disney, McDonald’s and Cunard. These included interactive pure CSS carousels, video, click to reveal and pop-ups. All with fallback options for devices that do not support these technologies, such as Outlook for Windows.

Email Designer / Developer @ Loveurope and Partners (LEAP)

June 2019 - August 2021
Working at NewDay, designing, adapting and building HTML emails (Photoshop/Hand Coded) and creating social media content (After Effects).

Mid-Level Developer @ Hogarth Worldwide

September 2018 - November 2021
Hogarth Client Workshop - localising 1st tear product marketing pages. Followed by further localising for 2nd and 3rd tear locations. Skills used SVN, HTML5 and CSS3. Also HTML5 banner and email development Rolex, TK Maxx, Coca Cola and Nespresso.

My freelance clients included:
Ascender Creative, 11 London, GSMA, Armadillo CRM, Hogarth Worldwide, WeAreWiser, Pulse Creative (VML/T&Pm), Group SJR, Mischievous Wolf, Outra/UPSTIX, Publicis Sapient, Precious Media, Red Havas, Wunderman Thompson, Perfumers 1870 (Penhaligon's and L'Artisan Parfumeur), Karmarama and Proximity London

Digital Developer @ Loveurope and Partners (LEAP)

March 2010 - September 2018

My last role was Digital Developer at Loveurope and Partners’ office, creating HTML5 banners for J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Volkswagen as well as HTML email builds for NewDay, Atomic and Volkswagen. Other experience included:

Consulting for NewDay’s London office providing advice and support on several digital projects directly to stakeholders and a project to refresh and modernise the notification emails to customers ending with a First Data API driven Salesforce based system.

Heading up the digital department at AdZone, LEAP's studio within adam&eveDDB. Through developing the responsive email design for high pixel density displays, such as the iPhone, I made previously un-mobile friendly content, crisp and eye catching. The head of Regional Marketing at Volkswagen, referred to this as “a breath of fresh air!”

Head office in Clerkenwell

In-house studio at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. At the head office I worked on digital projects for Investec, FSCS, LG, Peroni and Glenmorngie.

Frontend Developer @ Crab Creative

February 2009 - January 2010

My first job was with Crab Creative, a small digital start-up in the heart of Shoreditch, dealing with some of the largest brand names in the world, Rocco Forte, for example Harris Grant, Tilda, Nature Valley, Alpro Soya and Green Giant.

Education

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