On “day one”, sitting alone in Prospect House in Guernsey – now flattened to make way for the southerly end of the Admiral Park development – I had no clients and no idea how Orchard would develop. But I needn’t have worried. I soon had plenty of work to keep me busy, with Martel Maides and the Bella Luce Hotel being two of the first clients to sign us up.
Do you trust me? Interesting question…
Aladdin asked Jasmine before she got on his magic carpet and Jack asked Rose in Titanic…before it sank. It’s a weird concept; hard to gain and easy to lose – what makes you trust someone over someone else?
Orchard has been taking part in the IoD Management Shadowing Scheme (sponsored by KPMG) and for a few days this week we have had Laura Butler in the office with us. Laura is really keen to get into PR and plans to study it at degree level after she finishes studying at The Grammar School next year – so she seemed like the ideal candidate to come along to Orchard and see what a manager does here. She will write a report and give a presentation on her experience later in the year, but for a sneak preview – we asked what she thought of her short time here…
The end is nigh for my time at Orchard PR and I can safely say I have thoroughly enjoyed myself and learnt a great deal about the industry I hope to become part of one day.
My few days here have really surprised me as this is certainly not your average 9-5 desk job. It was good to see early on that PR would not just be about being in an office when straight away, before I’d even had the chance to take my jacket off, I was off to the Guernsey Press to get a real understanding of how working with the media and PR go hand in hand and are key in this industry.
2012 certainly seems like it will be a year of opportunities. For two people starting out in PR it has certainly proved that way as we have opened the doors of Orchard Towers to Laurence Makins and John McCarthy who have joined the team in account executive roles.
Here is what they thought of their first month in PR.
What made you consider a job in PR?
Laurence: Having written for student publications in the past I knew that I would enjoy a job that allowed me to be creative. But what made me consider PR over other creative careers was that it allows for applied strategic thinking alongside more traditionally creative elements.
John: I was looking for a fast-paced, varied job that would allow me to use my strengths and constantly develop new skills, particularly in communication. I have been a freelance reporter for a few years and have a huge passion for writing.
Last week we heard from our current crop of account executives about working in PR, and of course, working at Orchard. We promised to bring you news of some Orchard apples that have moved on in their PR careers, having been lured away to other parts of the UK and indeed the world. Today we have guest blogs from Martyn and Emily, now forging PR careers in Nottingham and London respectively.
Orchard is still recruiting for an account executive, so if a career in PR sounds like the thing for you, please get in touch.
Last week I spoke to about 100 students and managers at the IOD Guernsey Management Shadowing Awards – the reason I was chosen as the guest speaker was that I was the winner of the Management Shadowing programme way back in 2001. For you mathematicians out there you will have worked out that was 10 years ago. My presentation therefore was appropriately titled ‘what a difference a decade makes’….
You might have already heard – Orchard is hiring…
We have a vacancy for an account executive, often the first step onto the PR ladder for many people. It’s a position that comes with fantastic opportunities for learning and experiencing new things and developing skills and meeting very useful people. So, rather than writing out another job ad, we thought who better to tell you why you want to be a PR account executive at Orchard than our awesomely talented team themselves. So we asked them a few questions to see what they think.
What is the best thing about working in PR?
Chloe: Seeing coverage you have achieved for your clients. It sounds nerdy but you get a real buzz from opening a newspaper and seeing your story.
Cat: No two days are ever the same because quite often you are reacting to stories reported by the media and participating in issues management. It is also a great chance to develop relationships with clients, journalists and photographers and sometimes you even get the chance to meet a celebrity!
New research out this week (as published by PR Week) shows that only 41% of the companies surveyed have a PR practitioner at executive level. It’s a worrying stat – as the same survey points out 84% of senior comms professionals feel that communications has the biggest influence on corporate reputation. The survey has focused on in house expertise, but in our experience this is a key issue for agency based PRs as well. We find that our clients get the best out of us when we are included in discussions at the highest level – most frequently because potential communications issues can be identified, addressed and planned for effectively when you involve people with the right skills and knowledge early in the process. Problems occur when, because of a lack of PR input at the top level, a ‘head in the sand’ approach is taken to crises rather than addressing issues head on and dealing with them on the front foot.
The public sector by its very nature relies heavily on communications. Governments need to reach people, inform them and help them make vital decisions and access vital resources. Without strong clear communication local government in particular would become insular, self absorbed and completely lose touch with the people they are mandated to serve.
Today’s editorial in the Guernsey Press highlights a PR ‘blunder’ by Guernsey’s States – news that the head of tourism is leaving the island needed to be handled carefully to ensure that negative connotations (that you can’t market a place if you don’t live there) would be balanced by positives (continuity, the fact that in 2011’s knowledge based, networked economy your location has little to do with your ability to do a job).
The Press’s opinion piece today suggests that this transition has been handled badly, and left the public questioning the wisdom of the move.
What could have been done to better prepare the media for such a story?
Most Channel Islands professional services and finance sector businesses understand what they hope to achieve through marketing. Their aims are, generally, to promote their business so more people know about them, to showcase skills and expertise, as well as products and services, and to engage in conversations with referrers and potential clients.
These businesses are now having to consider how to position their brands online and this article by Emma Anderson was written for Contact Magazine to show why online networks are becoming so important to businesses and why social media is a significant channel through which business objectives can be met.
The full article is reproduced after the jump with many thanks to Contact.