Pitch perfect: a week in the life of a senior PR & comms manager
Monday
Today marks the start of a busy week, as I have a day of journalist meetings scheduled in London on Wednesday - so I’ll be away from my laptop all day. That means I need to get organised!
First on my list today is drafting a press release for our client Trex - the composite decking brand. We’re announcing that its decking is now available online and in-store at Wickes, so that’s very exciting.
I have a few internal meetings on various projects - ranging from a PR stunt with a vehicle-mounted access platform to a potential crisis comms situation - and then it’s lunchtime.
The afternoon is mostly spent preparing for Wednesday’s journalist meetings. That includes:
Compiling a Dropbox folder of our recent press content and sourcing suitable images and videos to go alongside
Establishing a selection of bespoke PR stories I can share with each journalist as exclusive content
Arranging product samples - this involves a lot of rooting around cupboards in the office!
Tuesday
Once described by an ex-colleague as ‘the Milton Keynes of the week’ (sorry, Milton Keynes!), Tuesday is full of meetings on an internal comms project I’ve been working on - copywriting and building a new internet ‘hub’ for a newly formed team in a large organisation. We’re getting ready to launch the hub, so it’s all hands on deck to get all stakeholders aligned and the work signed off.
I have a few media lists to build and update, which takes me a couple of hours. I always find this is best accompanied by a good podcast! I’m particularly enjoying The Rest is Politics US at the moment.
I finish the day by confirming the times and locations of my meetings with the journalists.
Wednesday
I jump on the train at the unreasonable hour of 7am and make myself comfortable. Whilst actioning some last minute jobs for the new intranet hub project on my laptop, I enjoy my hot flask of tea and making a total mess while eating a croissant.
I’m meeting journalists from a number of national publications to discuss Trex - as we’re now coming into our peak season, with lots of gardening advice, top tips and hacks to share! Not to mention new launches, brand stories and company updates.
I spend the next few hours dashing around London in the sunshine, drinking coffee and pitching stories to journalists. It’s great fun and it’s days like today that initially inspired me to get into PR.
You can catch up on my entire day via Pace’s Instagram here.
Thursday
After a busy day running around the capital, I certainly needed an extra coffee this morning! I debriefed the rest of the PR team on the feedback I’d received from the journalists and followed up with those I’d promised additional content. I then edited the video you’ve hopefully just watched (linked above).
I then spent the afternoon selling in (following up with journalists via email) a couple of PR stories we’d sent out for clients in the last week.
Then it was an early night for me!
Friday
I tend to have fewer meetings on a Friday, so it’s a good day to get my head down and concentrate on ‘bigger’ jobs that require quiet and attention. I have quite a few new business proposals to work on at the moment, so most of the day is spent researching PR ideas for a variety of potential clients. Watch this space!
We’re a busy bunch in the PR and comms team. Read about more of our work here.
