How Anne Robinson and grazing sheep won me a first job in PR
Faced with a looming essay deadline I did what most students do – procrastinated. I took to surfing the web: bidding for a pair of retro cowboy boots on eBay and looking up everyone I have ever known on FriendsReunited - but I still had another six hours and 1000 words to go.
A pot of coffee later, my distraction had at least become relevant to my postgraduate course – I clicked on the ‘PRWeek’ website and saw an advert which would completely change the direction of my future career in PR.
The advert read: “The James Maxwell Award is a prestigious new award created by PRWeek, to recognise and assist extraordinarily talented young people to carve a career in this highly competitive industry.” I sipped my now cold black coffee, “Hmmm, what’s the harm in giving it a try,” I thought – even though I knew the competition would be fierce. Filling out the application form I deliberated over questions such as ‘Name’, ‘Age’, and a few slightly more difficult ones such as: “Outline recommendations the Prime Minister Tony Blair should adopt to regain public trust and to secure a third term for the Labour Party.” Phew! By the time I had completed my application the deadline for entries was only 24 hours away, I faxed, e-mailed and posted my entry… just to make sure!
For the next month I turned my efforts back to the diploma, and long hours were put into preparing briefs on behalf of the Welsh Development Agency, Millennium Stadium and Child Poverty Action Group with my classmates.
"24 hour curry and beer”, “10 books for a penny” and a red phone bill (from previous tenants) – “Final Reminder!” Sifting through the usual student junk mail one morning, my heart raced as I noticed an envelope bearing the PRWeek logo. I tore it open: “Congratulations, you are through to the next round.” Enclosed were instructions informing me to prepare a 15-minute presentation during which I should outline proposals to increase domestic tourism in the UK. My presentation would be on March 24th before a panel of eight judges at Haymarket Publishing. I was already nervous, and in hindsight, I was in for three of the toughest weeks of my life.
The Cardiff postgraduate course had prepared me well, and working on a brief like this wasn’t anything new. However, this time the stakes were a lot higher, and I knew the judges would be looking for candidates who thought “outside the box”.
Why do holidaymakers choose to stay in the UK? Or perhaps more importantly, why don’t they? My family and friends soon became bored of discussing holidays, and invitations to the pub dried up – so instead I took to the streets of Cardiff to pick the brains of the public. Armed with a video-camera and waterproofs, I hoped to find answers to the all-important questions. Standing drenched in the town centre it soon became clear that weather was a major influence in choosing a holiday destination. After explaining: ‘No, you wont be on the 6 O’clock News’, I gained a surprising insight into public opinion which was to fundamentally effect my later proposals.
Ten hours of editing out drunks and American tourists asking for directions, and one uncopyrighted version of Cliff Richard’s ‘Summer Holiday’ later, I had a punchy and to-the-point asset for my looming presentation.
My tendency to cyber-procrastinate – honed through three years of undergraduate study, finally paid off with an idea to create a publicly owned online-forum celebrating the UK’s Ultimate Holidays.
Friends of mine outside the industry think Public Relations is all about attention-grabbing gimmicks and catchy slogans – of course this isn’t the half of it, but I knew I would need a few quirky elements to catch public interest at the launch of the campaign. Studying in Wales, there was always the running jokes about sheep, leeks and coal-miners, I thought about turning this on it’s head and actually using the stereotypes to promote the country.
Anne Robinson had become infamous for her Room 101 faux pas and I thought that she would make a good celebrity to endorse Welsh tourism. I also imagined using an aerial photograph of sheep grazing and spelling out a key message might prove to be a unique photo opportunity for journalists. Elsewhere in the UK, my quest for quirkiness lead me to use famous landmarks as launch locations. In Northern Ireland - the Giant’s Causeway. England has her crop circles and for Scotland – the ubiquitous Loch Ness Monster.
March 24th soon came around – 11am at Ketchum for a tour followed by my presentation at Haymarket Publishing at 2pm. I had worked in London and Cardiff based consultancies as part of my course, but this was my first experience of a truly global Public Relations company. It was amazing – a beautiful building with large open floors and glass meeting rooms. As the other three finalists and I were guided around, we were greeted with many a smiling face and a great office ‘buzz’. I knew then – this was somewhere I wanted to start my career!
Traveling to Haymarket’s headquarters gave all the finalists some time to chat. We spoke about our fascination for the industry, and avoided the subject of our imminent presentation for fear of giving too much away! As the judges began to arrive, the nervousness really kicked in. My palms became sweaty and I remembered reading that taking deep breaths helps with nerves. It didn’t, and I was first to present.
A short lift ride up to the first floor and I was finally there, stood before almost a dozen people waiting for the first ever presentation for the first ever James Maxwell Award. I had practiced so many times, and had memorised my lines to perfection - I knew what to do. After a brief introduction and my video – which went down very well, my confidence was boosted and I presented the recommendations which I felt very strongly about. The atmosphere in the room was amazing. After all those weeks of continuous hard work I could not believe it was almost all over. The panel was comprised of James Maxwell’s close friends and as such, the questions were presented with a genuine interest – it was clear why these people were the industry’s great and good – and it was a pleasure to talk about my ideas. It wasn’t the job interview grilling I had expected!
Waiting for the judges decision seemed to take an eternity. In the three or four weeks before I heard the outcome, my classmates were all starting to chase consultancies and companies they planned to take on by storm – Lawson Dodd, BAA, Red Door, Harrison Cowley, Equinox… the list goes on. Finding a graduate job can be very daunting, but I knew that regardless of the outcome of the award, our course tutor Michael Smith wouldn’t simply be waving goodbye to us on the last day of term. Mike had promised us from day one that he would help us all find the job we wanted. We even had a workshop about interview techniques, specifically geared to deal with the sort of questions you might be faced with in a PR job interview. When I was stood in front of a bright projector light with all those faces staring my way, I remembered my tuition, remained calm, enthusiastic about my ideas and most importantly… got straight to the bottom line.
April 21st, 4.00pm – I highlighted this in my diary but it was soon implanted in my mind. This is when I would hear the outcome of the decision. The phone finally rang, I answered to find Stephen Farish of Haymarket Publishing on the other end. When I heard the result I was speechless. I have never received such a good piece of news.
The late April edition of PRWeek featured a double page spread about the award, describing my presentation as a “multi-media extravaganza”. It was at that point it all sunk in. My hard work had been appreciated, I capitalised on the opportunity to use my technological and presentation skills, and most importantly, I managed to think outside the proverbial box!
The award win was covered by a range of regional newspapers, the Western Mail, HERO website (higher education and research opportunities), the Guardian and of course, PRWeek. For anyone thinking of entering the award this year, I can only wish you the best of luck! My advice would be to present proposals you truly believe could work – that way you won’t have to worry about defending any crazy media stunts! If you’d like to see how I won the award, you can find copies of my report, presentation and vox-pop video on my website: www.fyrne.com.
I am starting with Ketchum on September 6th and literally cannot wait. I have been promised a “cook’s tour” where I will be working in several different departments on clients as diverse as Roche, Procter and Gamble and Pedigree. My Mum was thrilled – more by the fact that I might get a few dog food freebies rather than winning such a prestigious award!
My FriendsReunited entry sounds a bit more impressive now and the cowboy boots are still looking good, but “researching” on the PRWeek website that evening was a stroke of luck which will have fantastic future repercussions. I couldn’t have hoped for a better start to my career.