The life of a PR strategist
When I meet people at social gatherings or networking events and they ask me what I do, I’m always interested in their reaction when I say, “I’m a PR strategist.”
Some look faintly interested and others totally confused!
Most people don’t know much about what someone working in public relations does, let alone what a public relations strategist spends their day doing. So, I will try to explain it here!
WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF PUBLIC RELATIONS?
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations has this definition of public relations:
“Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.
Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its public.”
WHAT IS A PR STRATEGIST?
A PR strategist is someone who has to create a plan for their client, which will result in them getting the most publicity for their project and be seen in the right places, by the right people, at the right time.
It could be to launch a major campaign, elevate someone’s personal brand or image, promote a new product, or plan an event, but also to prevent any risk to their reputation.
People use PR strategists for a variety of reasons:
- PR strategists are experts in their field with years of experience
- They have a huge range of contacts across media and industry
- Experience means they will know what to do in a crisis and how to prevent one
- PR strategists will tell your story for you
- Because they are independent, they will look at things with a fresh perspective
- They will save you time
A PR strategist will plan your project from start to finish and will know who to contact and the best way forward. Their role is to earn you positive media coverage to put you in front of your target audience in the best light possible.
What they do for you, of course, will vary depending on your business, your goals and also your budget.
They need to be given ample time to work on projects to achieve the highest chance of success.
For example, as a PR strategist, I work directly with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, senior executives and big-name people to help build and protect my clients’ brand, both personally and professionally, and get them worldwide publicity.
WHAT DOES A PR STRATEGIST DO?
No two days are the same for a PR in this busy industry – and that’s the way I like it!
Once you work with a PR strategist, there are a number of things they will do for you.
Like many others, I already have my contacts book stuffed with names. I will go through this and carefully pick the best people or companies to whom to pitch your idea. Often, it will be the big national broadcasters or media organisations, but in some cases, a smaller outlet, such as a regional or local station, a specialist website, or magazine, would be better.
Once your plan is decided, we can draft media releases for you specifically targeted at the most appropriate people, co-ordinate any international interviews and manage a full 360-degree campaign.
It might be that a blog is also a good way to get your message out there, or posting on social media. In that case, we would monitor any responses so you are aware of the reaction and also to protect your reputation.
Other things we could do include:
- Curating a bespoke press list
- Engaging journalists and producers
- Managing interviews or speaking opportunities
It is likely that you will be working towards a particular date, so all this information will be embargoed and released to the public at the same time. We could create an online teaser, asking people to mark their calendars for, say, 9am on a specific day, to increase interest and excitement around your launch.
Physical world
As well as online and broadcast publicity, it might be important to you to get your message out into the physical world too.
I could set up a launch event, involving:
- Finding a suitable venue
- Working out how many people it could hold comfortably
- Sending out invitations and collating the replies
- Deciding what refreshments would be best to provide
- Making a decision on giving out free promotional material to guests
If you have written a book, for example, would you want to do a signing session and sell copies? If so, we would need to ensure you had enough books in place on the day.
The key things are to:
- Increase widespread awareness of you and your project
- Ensure you are seen in a positive light and protect your reputation
- React quickly to any negative issues
- Successfully achieve your end goal and drive the outcomes
Whatever we do, our strategy is customised for each client, platform and ultimate goal.
HOW CAN A PR STRATEGIST PROTECT YOUR REPUTATION?
At times, you may need a PR strategist to do some firefighting for you to protect your reputation.
Imagine a situation where you are running a publicity campaign on your own and something has gone wrong. Time is ticking towards your launch date or deadline – or you may even be up and running – and you don’t know what to do.
That is where a PR strategist can come in. One advantage is our crisis management knowledge – with our experience, we have seen most things which can go wrong and we know how to fix them.
I always tell my clients that: “Preparation is key to successfully navigating a crisis.”
When dealing with crisis management situations, you must:
- Have the right team in place
- Take responsibility
- Get ahead of the game
- Be social media savvy
- Keep everyone in the loop
- Be prepared
Don’t try to hide mistakes if they happen – customers respect honesty far more than cover-ups.
Take the TSB IT meltdown in 2018. An upgrade to their computer systems overran. Their chief executive officer apologised via Twitter, but then went on to blame the bank’s parent company and IT provider, when it was not their fault.
Far better to take the KFC approach from the same year when some of their shops in the UK and Ireland ran out of chicken. Rather than passing the buck, they hastily published a page on their website listing the shops that still had stock and also paid for witty newspaper ads. These were well-received by customers and won an award at the Cannes Festival.
HOW DO YOU BECOME A PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIST?
There are different ways to become a public relations strategist. Often, people who work in the industry will have a degree in PR itself, or maybe in communication or journalism.
However, other qualifications and relevant experience can be equally – or even more – important.
My entry into the industry was through training with the NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists) when I was 18. My passion for following the news also helped me secure a position in the industry. I was a Senior Journalist in the Midlands before transitioning into other media and PR roles and then setting up this company at the start of 2008.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PR STRATEGIST AND A PR ADVISER?
The difference between a PR strategist and a PR adviser is mainly in the timeline.
- A PR strategist will work on a longer-term plan for a particular project, developing ideas and seeing them through to complete a campaign
- Meanwhile, a PR adviser will be dealing with specific situations which need a rapid response, offering their guidance and expertise
For example, in 2022, I was hired to help raise awareness of a forthcoming art exhibition at London’s OXO Tower by Sophie Green.
Sophie was a selective mute until the age of seven and was immersed in nature during her childhood. With her exhibition aiming to raise funds for worldwide conservation projects, I focused on the fact that it was happening at the same time as the UN climate change conference, COP27.
We decided to lead our PR campaign with high-resolution pictures of her paintings and YouTube footage of her at work. As a result, she was featured on the likes of BBC News, ITV News, Sky News and CNN, who all used our PR materials.
Sophie also made a live appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour programme at Broadcasting House in central London.
This shows how much work, time and planning needs to go into a single campaign and what success and coverage it can produce for clients.
HOW A PR STRATEGIST’S WORK HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS
Like everything else in life, the state of a PR strategist’s work has evolved as time has gone on, particularly more recently because of the rise in the use of digital and social media.
Back in the days before those media forms and smartphones, running a PR campaign in the media meant getting your clients into newspapers and magazines and on to TV and radio.
While those things are still important now, they are only part of a much bigger picture dominated by platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
A survey last year revealed that the internet has replaced TV as the most popular news source in the UK, with more than half of the respondents using social media, in particular, for news.
Using influencers and appearing on podcasts are also good ways to promote your campaign. PR strategists have had to adapt and make use of social media, often to good effect.
For example, a product like Persil is something most of us use without a second thought – but how can you make washing powder more interesting?
One PR company came up with a campaign involving finding the signature of England and Arsenal footballer Bukayo Saka, They drafted in a group of people to make a short film and placed seven posters with the striker’s autograph near the club’s Emirates Stadium for fans to find.
The posters were heavily promoted on social media, and the campaign led to a rise of 1,642% in social media interactions about the product.
TAILORING A CAMPAIGN FOR YOUR FIELD
While the principles behind every campaign are the same, I will tailor each one to a particular client’s field.
For example, I have more than 30 specific approaches to various areas of expertise, ranging from Art to Sport and Food and Drink to Property.
One success was with food entrepreneur and celebrity restaurateur David Moore, who wanted me to raise his profile, and as a result, that of his two restaurants.
I invited various journalists and producers from the media to interview him over a Michelin-starred lunch at one of his restaurants, where they were also given a VIP tour of the kitchen. Others received personal cookery lessons from his chefs.
The result was acres of coverage for his restaurants and profile pieces on his head chefs.
I took a completely different approach with the billion-dollar power couple Dr Ann Kaplan Mulholland and Dr Stephen Mulholland, when they moved from Canada to Kent, where they bought a 1,000-year-old castle with the aim of restoring it.
Ann is a very well-known reality TV star across the water, but totally unknown over here. The British press loved her story, and it took off. She was featured in a 12-page feature in Hello! Magazine and a six-page piece in the Telegraph Magazine.
This highlights the importance of the underrated skills of flexibility and creativity, which a PR strategist must demonstrate for every single client.
THE FUTURE FOR PR STRATEGISTS
What is the future for PR strategists?
One company suggested four challenges to tackle during this year to cope with the ever-changing scene.
- Deal quickly with crises. Ensure you have a response team ready and develop scenario-based plans
- Keep top talent and foster engagement. In big companies, PR strategists can often move companies if they are unhappy. A survey showed that firms with happier employees are more profitable. Maybe this is one reason to work with a smaller company like mine, as the PR person you work with won’t change!
- Adapt to new PR trends. Make sure you stay up-to-date with ever-changing trends, as those continue to shape how we communicate
- Understand the impact of AI. It’s here now and is fast becoming embedded in everyday life. Learn how to use it to your advantage and beware of its pitfalls, and remember the human touch is equally important
CONCLUSION
Being a PR strategist means being a listener, storyteller, fixer and forecaster – all at the same time. It’s fast-paced, unpredictable, and ever-changing, which is why I love it.
The key question to remember when hiring a PR strategist is “Do you want my story told or do you want it heard?”.
That is the difference a good PR strategist can make.
