I had the first Bud Fox moment of my career. Life all came down to a few moments. This was going to be one of them.

Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, make eye contact and begin…

I was giving a presentation about my social media plans to Antonio Gutterres – better known as the man who used to run Portugal.

He now runs the Refugee Agency at the United Nations. The presentation was the culmination of months of schedule co-ordination and persuading of key staff. It was the most terrifying moment of my fledgling career.

I am the Social Media/Online Community Manager at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. It’s a £48k per year job that over 200 people applied for. I was the youngest. You can get really amazing jobs in marketing and PR, very quickly after graduating, if you’re willing to go further than your fellow students are.

Here’s my advice for fellow graduates:

1) Become an expert and build your brand

First find a niche that’s yours, learn everything you can about it then give advice to those that know less than you. I specialize in online communities. I read up on sociology, psychology and anthropology then use those insights to help organizations build online communities. I publish much of my advice on my blog, www.feverbee.com. That’s my thing; you need your own.

Say you’re interested in celebrities (and many PR students seem to be), then bring something to the table. Become the expert on celebrities using new technology to promote themselves. Think about celebrity from a sociological perspective. Become an expert on PR for micro-celebrities in niche fields.

Pick your niche, learn everything about it, then publish yourself. You can start a blog or a mailing list. You can write white papers on what you know or aim for guest spots in relevant media. Become known for being an expert on what you do; that way, jobs will come to you.

2) Network like crazy

Networking is possibly the best use of your spare time. Yet very few students can afford to attend conferences let alone be sober and interesting.

Instead, set aside 20 minutes a day to network. During those 20 minutes, write to someone you admire and ask them if they would be willing to give you some advice. People generally like the flattery of giving advice. If you like a short-cut, ask to interview them for your blog/mailing list/white paper and simply stay in touch.

Next time they hear of a job opening, they will think of you. It won’t pay off in the first month, but if you’re not getting some great job offers as a result of your networking within a year – then you need to try harder.

3) Take a different path

Consider this. When you graduate you’re thousands of pounds in debt (now at super low-interest rates) that you don’t have to pay back until you earn over £15k. This is a long way round of saying you have nothing to lose. You try any of your crazy career ideas without worrying about dependants and mortgages. If it goes wrong, you can move back in with your parents. It’s a great life.

You can’t get an amazing job by following the same career path as everybody else. If you’re planning to apply for entry level/grad jobs after university then I wish you good luck. You’re going to have a job very similar to thousands of other graduates.

I went freelance after graduating. I didn’t earn much (at all) but it freed me up for the big opportunities – like working with marketing genius Seth Godin in New York for three months, launching my online community consulting business, moving to Lithuania and, finally, taking this job in Geneva. I couldn’t have had any of these things if I had accepted a job offer from Amazon last year.

Here are two more things to note:

You’re going to make mistakes. I’ve been called the biggest fuck-up in Tech PR. I’ve never worked in Tech PR, but it still hurts. Make sure you never make the same mistake twice.

Think internationally. If you’re born in Britain, you won the geographic lottery. Your passport can get you into 27 European countries.

Consider working in some of them. I live in France and work in Switzerland.

Band & Brown (via Facebook)
Open: Now
Closes: 15 November 2009

Blue Rubicon
Open: Now
Closes: 31 January 2010

Chime Communications
Open: Now
Closes: 15 January 2010

Diffusion PR
Open: Now
Closes: 31 January 2010

Edelman
Open: Late November 2009
Closes: TBA

Fishburn Hedges
Open: Now
Closes: 11 January 2010 and 8 February 2010 depending on when you want to start.

Fleishman-Hillard
Open: Now
FH continually run a scheme which lasts 6 months and candidates may be offered a job at the end.

Four Comms
Open: December 2009
Closes: TBA

Hill & Knowlton
Open: April 2010
Closes: TBA

Hotwire
Open: December 2009
Closes: TBA

Shine Comms
Open: January 2010
Closes: TBA

Weber Shandwick
Open: TBA
Closes: TBA

If a celebrity has it, then we will want it. For this reason, a famous face is usually a safe and effective method of selling an idea, lifestyle or product. Celebrity endorsement closes the gap between consumer and celebrity and in turn boosts sales for the corporates behind the products.

This is commonly referred to as the ‘halo effect’ – the hope that the celebrity’s glamour, or lack of it, will rub off on the subjects they endorse. And it is nothing new. Film stars in the 1940s posed for cigarette adverts, while Bob Hope heralded American Express in the 1950s.

But celebrity endorsement can be trickier than you might think. Celebrities are after all still human, despite their carefully crafted personas.

Your target celebrity may have brand synergy with your products for promotional purposes today, but there is always a chance a celebrity’s manufactured image can begin to crack – or at worst shatter, usually in spectacular tabloid style and destroy a company’s multi-million pound marketing campaign and reputation overnight.

Queen of Iceland

Take for example Kerry Katona, the ruling queen of Iceland was unceremoniously dropped from her throne after a string of front page allegations which did not fit in with the family-friendly retailer’s image.

And who can forget the supermodels of the nineties, who all endorsed PETA by posing naked rather than wearing fur; then promptly slipped back into pelts for their favourite designers, to the fury of the animal rights charity.

However, if properly managed and promoted, celebrity endorsement is extremely effective in not just selling products, but in raising the profiles of companies – particularly ones which require profile enhancement on a small budget. Charities in particular are big fans of celebrity endorsement – a famous face can raise funds by gaining empathy from the consumer.

Take for example Pugsy Bear. Cute as he is, a loveable stuffed animal was never going to be enough to cut it as the sole face of Children in Need – a host of celebrities were also drafted in to raise funds for the charity, perhaps the biggest example of celebrity endorsement there is.

The wining combination of celebrities, a strong message and superb branding has made Children In Need one of the most memorable and successful fundraising initiatives.

Universal appeal

But charities must still choose wisely and focus on relevance. Research has shown that the older the consumer, the less influenced they are by celebrity endorsement. A charity needing to appeal to both the young and old, must take into account the preference and susceptibility of all generations.

For example, Golley Slater Manchester was tasked with finding celebrities to endorse an adult hospice, which required this winning combination. St Ann’s Hospice is one of the UK’s largest adult hospices in the UK and has always retained a loyal support network of fundraisers who can be fairly classed as being in the grey market.

But the hospice needed to attract new supporters, including a younger audience is key to this and celebrity endorsement was key to hook the younger recruits in. Armed with the benefits of supporting such a highly regarded charity, the team managed to secure a host of young stars from the Coronation Street cast plus Manchester finest premiership footballers to promote and take part in the charity’s annual Manchester Midnight Walk.

Footballers and soap stars have national appeal

Not satisfied with regional photocalls and celebrity attendance, the team went above and beyond to reach a national audience by befriending the set designers of Coronation Street. They negotiated for the St Ann’s Hospice Manchester Midnight Walk poster to be displayed in several of the scenes in one of the episodes.

Cryptically informed that one of the characters was about to have an accident and end up in hospital, we were invited to submit the poster for display in the hospital reception area. Long-suffering Gail Platt had been pushed down the stairs by her evil son; bad news for the character, but superb tidings for the hospice. Enquiries about the walk surged and registrations to take part smashed the previous year’s record.

Celebrity endorsement is for pushing the boundaries, not just limited to photocalls and public appearances.

In a radical move, Pepsi has announced it will no longer use celebrities to sell its drink, because it believes they take away attention away from the product.

More product placement

So where does this leave the PR practitioner? Perhaps the recent step by the Advertising Standards Agency towards allowing product placement in TV programmes will begin to render celebrity endorsement obsolete.

Whatever the argument for or against and whatever emerging trends are around the corner, right now celebrities still steal the limelight and if the campaign is well managed, they can still take the product or company with them.

Photo shows footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips supporting St Ann’s Hospice

One of the East Midlands’ fastest growing public relations consultancies has partnered with the University of Lincoln to develop an innovative training scheme for PR students.

Lava PR, which is based in the cathedral city but represents clients across the UK, launched ‘Conduit’ in association with the university’s BA (Hons) Public Relations degree course.

The scheme aims to provide one or two undergraduates with relevant work experience during the academic year and a permanent, full-time position with the agency on graduation.

“We will be offering final year students the chance to put their academic knowledge to good use in the ‘real world’ and gain an understanding of what life is really like in an energetic, creative and successful consultancy,” said agency head, Matt Hammerton.

“There’s a widespread belief amongst PR students that to do great work and to work with great people means getting a job in the capital. We want to show that there is another way – an entry into PR that gives a better standard of living without sacrificing big name client or big consultancy standards and which puts Lincoln and the East Midlands on the map as a centre of innovative, creative and effective PR.”

Jane Crofts, course leader for the PR degree at the University of Lincoln, is excited about the Conduit programme:

“Competition for the limited number of graduate places with the big London agencies is incredibly high, especially given the current economic climate, so it’s great news that a local consultancy is launching such an initiative. Matt and his team have experience of working for national consultancies and have established an exciting consultancy in Lincoln which is run to the same standards and systems as a much larger national agency, so I know the students that apply for Conduit are going to experience something very similar to a London consultancy but without the commute.”

Lava was established in 2006 and has since grown rapidly. Today, the consultancy works with the East Midlands Development Agency, RWE npower renewables and Enterprise UK’s Make Your Mark brand amongst others.

Although the site has been up and running for several years, Twitter has recently been thrown into the limelight thanks to celebrity pulling power. As a self-confessed celebrity buff, what could be better than knowing what your favourite actor or singer is doing at all times?

He does it

I don’t seem to be the only one with this opinion as serial “Twit” actor Ashton Kutcher has gained over a staggering 3.5 million “followers” since joining. (I believe the reason the former Punk’d star became so popular was because he infamously added a “Twit Pic” of his wife Demi Moore in her underwear!)

From a bit of light-hearted entertainment to an outright fixation, cue Miley Cyrus.  No stranger to controversy, Cyrus has been the centre of tween debates across America and the UK ever since she posed topless last year at age 15 for renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz.

Not so smiley

Until recently the teen sensation had gained over 2 million followers in one short year eventually ending in her feeling the need to delete her account due to the pressure she felt to keep her fans updated twenty-four-seven. So we are already starting to see two sides of Twitter, the light hearted funny side and the dark and potentially damaging one.

With MTV’s Teen Choice Awards handing out a prize for Teen Choice Twit, it’s no wonder that teenagers can’t help but become sucked into the viral fad. There’s a fine line between curiosity and obsession, but where does it lie?

In a world where celebrity culture defines what we watch on TV, what we read in magazines and even what we wear, it’s not surprising that soon they’ll influence the way we think and act.

Fantasy world

Perhaps this is something that Miley Cyrus realised and she couldn’t cope with the burden of influencing so many young minds across the world.

Following my theory that celebrities influence us hugely, it’s not hard to imagine that there might be more than a few impersonators on Twitter. Yet entering a fantasy world where you’re a superstar and people care about what you say could be dangerous.

While I was on my placement year at Public Eye, a similar situation presented itself. One of our high-profile clients found someone impersonating them on Twitter. Within Twitter’s Rules and Policies, it states that parody is accepted, but pretend to be your favourite celeb and you’re looking at a permanent suspension.

So how did I manage to get Twitter’s attention and let them know they were hosting a fake? Though it took a good two weeks to get an initial reaction, I was pleasantly surprised with their response from then on. Two days later the fake account had been taken down.

What I couldn’t quite believe in the first place was just how easy it is to actually set up a fake account and gain followers. All you need is a few pictures of your chosen celebrity, knowledge of their latest movie or tour and away you go!

I can’t help but wonder though, with it being so easy to trick unsuspecting fans, will Twitter suffer a backlash? How long will it take before Twitter becomes so full of fakes that we can’t distinguish between the genuine and the phoney?

With social media developing every year and the competition between sites becoming fiercer by the day, how do we know Twitter isn’t just a passing phase? On one side of the argument, celebrity users pretty much endorse the website simply by having a presence (or even by leaving). On the other hand, with their stereotypical temper tantrums and need to be associated with “what’s hot”, it might only take a few more high profile names announcing they’re leaving for Twitter to suffer another media circus and ultimately a backlash. So which will it be?

It’s just the start

Personally I believe this is just the start for Twitter and that it has longevity. From US President Barack Obama tweeting about the health reform debate to Transport for London letting travellers know about planned engineering works, this is one the most versatile communication platforms to date. Anyone and everyone can use it and in this current economic climate, it’s the perfect tool for marketing, communication and promotion as well as interacting. The possibilities are endless.

To re-tweet this piece in fewer than 140 characters:

I tweet because of the celebs; even a departure brings Twitter more attention. Despite the dark side it’s the future of online communication. Better get used to it.

Conference theme: “Social Media Goes Mainstream: New challenges for internal communication, reputation, education and the public sector”

More information; call for papers (pdf)

Conference themes include: “Public relations in history before it became a named or defined discipline”

More information and call for papers

A new charity launched today uses celebrity support, media professionals and online engagement to make a difference.

Child’s i Foundation, founded by former Big Brother Producer, Lucy Buck, aims to help the hundreds of Ugandan babies abandoned and left to die every year in the capital Kampala. Through the foundation’s ‘Buy a Brick’ online donation scheme, the public can now donate by purchasing virtual bricks to fund the first phase of the project to set up a babies’ home.

Child’s i Foundation wants to help put an end to the problem of child abandonment in Uganda by setting up its ‘Child Abandonment Project’. Developed with leading experts in social care in the UK and Uganda, this unique model has three elements: a support programme to help mothers at risk of abandoning their babies; a transitional home to provide short-term life-saving care; and a family placement programme to ensure every child grows up in a loving family.

The idea behind the charity’s digital fundraising is to minimise running costs by carrying out all activity online. This means more funds can be spent on the things that matter and less money is wasted on bureaucracy.

With support from celebrities such as Life on Mars star, Philip Glenister, leading independent TV production company Endemol and a team of global supporters a charitable foundation has been created which takes advantage of the immediacy and interaction of social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, where supporters’ ideas, time and commitment are just as important as money.

Lucy Buck, founder of Child’s i said:

“Child’s i is a radical new interactive and online charity for the digital generation. We can show the impact of donations almost immediately; from day one we have been producing videos and blog posts to keep our community involved at every step and have a conversation with our supporters so they can see how and where their money is being spent. So far as a worldwide community we have raised £80,000 which is an incredible effort but we still need to raise another £50,000 before we can go out to Uganda to set the first phase of the project up and start saving lives. Today, we’re urging everyone to ‘Buy a Brick’ for a forgotten group of children.”

More than 100 UK TV professionals have signed up to volunteer their skills and visit Uganda to produce weekly video updates so supporters can see exactly where their money is going and the difference it is making to the lives of abandoned babies’, ask questions and make suggestions online. In the spirit of total transparency, the charity publishes their to do list online and everything from website build, marketing, branding, finance and legal support to child care plans have been provided pro bono by the charity’s large team of diverse online supporters.

For more information please go to: http://www.childsifoundation.org/

To ‘Buy a Brick’ please go to: http://buyabrick.childsifoundation.org

To join the Child’s I Foundation community go to: http://childsi.ning.com

As part of its EuroBlog investigation into the impact of social media on public relations practice, Euprera will make three awards at its February Symposium at Ghent, in Belgium, February 2010. Each winner will receive a prize of 250€.

The awards are open to anyone connected to a European University or University College – you may be studying now, or have recently graduated.

Candidates must have maintained an online presence equivalent to at least ten weblog posts before the deadline for entries, Friday  January 8, 2010, and the core topic of their content must be connected to communications/ public relations.

One award will be made to a student studying for a first degree (perhaps a BA or BSc), one will be made to a postgraduate and the third will be made at the discretion of the judges and may be the result of a nomination from a person other than the author of the blog. The awards panel is chaired by one of the world’s leading PR bloggers, Neville Hobson (www.neville-hobson.com).

The winning entrants will be invited to make a short presentation on their work at the Euprera Spring Symposium, at Arteveldehogeschool, Ghent, Belgium, February 25-27, 2010. Agreed travel and accommodation expenses will be paid for by the Award organisers (details in the rules).

See How to Enter: The Rules. EUPRERA Spring Symposium: call for papers (pdf).

Academic demands aside, your third year will be no different from a regular, full-time job.

My internship had to be a paid placement; I couldn’t opt for a voluntary internship, an unpaid overseas placement or a part-time job. Consequently, even with the support of my placements office, I was heavily involved in an ongoing process of securing a position. Maybe it was the economy but I couldn’t say it was easy. If your internship has to be paid, be prepared for an arduous search.

Start with your CV

The process starts with ensuring that you have an up-to-date CV and a suitable covering letter. If you haven’t already created these, you will do so as part of your university course – expect to look at personal strengths and weaknesses (that you may subsequently target), go through how to keep learning logs and possibly cover some interview preparation techniques.

The hard part starts with finding suitable internship openings. Opinions on the ‘best way’ to find them vary: electronic searches or personal contacts; Twitter or a recruitment service; formal or ad-hoc (cold) applications are some possibilities. I’m not sure there is ‘a best way’, especially when you are starting out and have few, if any, network contacts.

Companies offering internships come in all shapes and all sizes and the ones that offered an internship in 2009 may not offer one again in 2010. Also remember, if you’re applying for a PR internship, don’t forget to include marketing communications in your search.

So you’ve found yourself a placement opportunity? Jubilation! But do you apply? Going forward you will face a dilemma: on the one hand you will want an ideal placement that pays well and matches all your criteria – the elusive ‘dream job’; on the other hand you will want closure. Unless you are lucky, the process of finding an internship won’t be quick and it won’t be easy an easy process. It will be stressful and time consuming… especially toward the end.

If you’re unsure whether a placement is right for you, try to speak to the listed contact to get more information about it.

Completing applications

One factor that may influence your decision is how hard it is to apply. If all you have to do is provide your CV and a (suitably edited) covering letter, you may decide to apply and delay a decision on whether or not to follow through until later. Be aware that some organisations, especially larger ones, use their own processes (grr…): you may need to register, fill in personal details and answer several pages of questions; it can easily take an hour or more to complete.

Multiple applications can consume a lot of time so spending a few minutes to check out the company and the area you might be living in for a year may be worthwhile. If you know that you are not going to follow through with your application, time will be better spent on lectures and assignments.

After you have submitted your first application don’t expect a quick response. Most companies will take several weeks to get back to you – if they respond at all. You may attempt to follow up with a phonecall but they probably won’t say anything one way or another. With perseverance however you should be contacted, probably to arrange a telephone interview.

Interviews

Telephone interviews can vary widely in content. Your phone manner, and personality are obviously both important; you are making your first personal impression. Expect the interviewer to expand on the information you have provided in your application (have it to hand). They may ask after your hobbies and experiences and possibly examples of how you handled certain situations (so called ‘competency based questions’). Overall, the interview may last as long as forty minutes; never forget that the interview is not over until you put the phone down!

If you’re successful, the demands on your time will increase significantly. You will be asked to attend an interview or assessment centre; there will also be financial costs to cover travel and maybe overnight stays – which could total a few hundred pounds. Some companies may reimburse you but these will probably be the exception.

What can you expect on the day of the interview? You will talk to one or more people: expand on your telephone interview, be gauged on how you respond to face to face questions. Nearly all my interviews involved a writing test relating to the company. Be presentable – demonstrate that you can ‘dress up’. You may also be asked to complete computer-based assessments like those used by the civil service and possibly be involved in one or more group exercises.

If you pass this final test, have been offered – and accepted – a position, your task is nearly over. Then you can forget the stress, anxiety and disappointments of jobs that might have been.  There will be more forms to complete and you may need to arrange accommodation but you will do so knowing that your quest is over. Your many applications, dedication and stubborn refusal to give up will have come to fruition.

Writing for your lecturer is one thing. Yes, you want to be grammatically correct and you want to ensure that your key messages are communicated in your essay or dissertation. But writing copy for professional people to read is a whole different ball game, and a daunting one at that.

That was the challenge I faced when I got my first job in PR. I graduated in 2007 from Leeds Metropolitan University with an MA in PR and I was lucky enough to land my first job a few weeks after handing in my dissertation.  The company I work for is complex and communicating to its shareholders means communicating to other businesses; therefore business to business (B2B) PR is a regular focus of my day-to-day job.

The first rule, which I quickly learnt, about B2B PR is this: know your audience. Even now – two years into my role as PR Executive for a large retail and wholesale buying group – I have to ask myself who my audience is when I’m producing copy.

Fantasy older man

I always try and imagine the reader – for example, when I’m producing award entries I try to imagine the judge, and I always seem to go for an older gentleman whose hair is brilliant white, he wears a blue cravat, glasses, he’s extremely clean shaven and smells of peppermint tea and tobacco smoke – I understand this is bizarre and maybe even a little insane, but for me it seems to work!

In my experience, award entries are hard to draft. You want to champion the project or business that you are putting forward for the award yet you don’t want to sound too conceited. I still find it hard to do this, but luckily I’ve had tremendous support from my managers to help me understand how to write the entries.  One important thing that I was taught is to imagine the judge, what would they want to hear, and how can I add some visual elements to the awards to keep them engaged.

B2B means trade press

Communicating with the trade press is a routine B2B task and it is a large part of my job and one which, fortunately, I truly enjoy. Writing press releases, liaising with my colleagues and promoting their expert opinions through features in the trade press and providing company statements is all in a day’s work.

Usually the trade press have a great understanding of the business in which I work; but like in every sector, journalists move on and new ones are brought in with whom you have to establish a relationship. We tend to invite the new journalists to the company headquarters, give them a background presentation on the organisation (due to its complex structure, this usually generates a lot of questions!) and then give them a tour of the warehouse.  This often results in a positive feature about the company which helps us to raise the profile of the business; it’s a great way for us to ensure that the journalist is familiar with our organisation; and it’s a relationship-building exercise.

Member magazine

Arguably our in-house magazine, of which I am the news editor, is a B2B PR tool – as the definition of B2B PR is communicating to other businesses rather than directly to consumers (Tench & Yeomans, 2006) and the internal magazine goes out to our members who own their own businesses.  The magazine has a readership of 12,000, and its style is very different from press release copy as the tone is more friendly and less formal.

This is another dimension to the skills that are needed when producing B2B copy.  Although initially it’s hard to vary your writing styloe when you have just left university and started work in the ‘big wide world of PR’, it’s always exciting to learn about the different ways that you need to communicate within your professional role.

Annual report

The hardest part of B2B PR, for me, is writing the Annual Report.  Yes, this is mainly viewed as a financial document – but the company I work for uses the Annual Report to communicate about planned projects for the forthcoming year, as well as using it to report on the company’s annual results.

Although this might seem like a mundane communications exercise, it’s rather exciting to reflect on the year’s events, analyse them and then find a way to communicate them to the target audience. Yet again, the same principles of B2B are present: who is my target audience, and what are my key messages?

B2B is a great PR discipline which comes essentially with time and effort. The top tips, which I still go by myself each time I commence a B2B PR exercise are this: know your audience and understand the key messages.

Although these seem like fairly easy things to do some people may be complacent in thinking that they know their audiences when in fact they only think they do. Trying to ‘get inside the head’ of the reader will help ensure that you connect with your target audience and that will enable you to communicate your key messages effectively.

Viewing video clips is the most common of all social media activities nationwide, led by those in the North West. Writing blogs, using RSS and listening to podcasts are minority activities everywhere, while uploading photos and using Facebook are popular activities in all regions.

National television is the most trusted source of news, followed by regional TV. But nternet news has overtaken national, regional or local newspapers and local radio. Blogs and Twitter were the least trusted news sources in all regions.

Local media (newspapers, radio and TV) remain the most useful sources on local services, far ahead of online social media.

Joyce Lorigan, Golley Slater’s PR CEO, said: “Much has been written about the rapid rise of digital engagement, but less has been invested in understanding the nuances across the regions of the UK. We can see marked variations in both digital opinion and behaviour across the country. Before companies jump on the bandwagon, this survey shows it’s important to look at the regional differences first.”

The study shows we are a nation of supermarket shoppers in all regions, with online shopping now matching a preference for local, non-chain grocery stores in most regions (those in the south east region are the most enthusiastic online food shoppers).

We still prefer to buy our clothes in the High Street, though shoppers in the north of England are the most likely to research and buy their clothes online.

The majority (67%) of UK consumers now use the internet to research their holidays, and most holiday bookings are also made online.

The research sample was 2026 responses from 11 UK regions.

To receive a copy of the full report, go to http://www.golleyslater.co.uk/dialect.php

The ones we see everyday on the TV, in magazines, and on the internet? The world of celebrities? Their lives almost certainly fit the shape of the classic fable.

Let’s take Amy Winehouse for starters. Her ‘tower’ prison could be her addiction to drink and drugs. Her errant husband, Blake, might be described as the dragon, holding her hostage. Who comes galloping to the rescue of the poor princess, riding his pure white charger, named Media? Daddy, of course! Always there to wield his topical and PR-friendly sword of sage advice and fatherly concern.

Then there’s ‘Car Crash Du Jour’, Kerry Katona. Her self-built tower could be her spectacularly questionable spouse, Mark Croft. In this particular fairy tale, it is the public playing the role of the wicked witch, unable to release her from its grip of revulsion and pity. Her only prince would probably be a lawyer who came to the rescue waving divorce papers.

Geordie princess

A ‘Happily Ever After’ is probably still a long way off for these two celebrities, but this isn’t the case for everyone. Cheryl Cole, for example, is currently galloping off into the sunset with her Brave Knight, the Public. He rescued her from the ‘evil’ cheating husband, Ashley Cole, from her Tower of Infidelity, and things couldn’t be more rosy for our Geordie princess.

Successful pop band, television career, advertising contracts, and legions of adoring fans.  Britney Spears is another example of a ‘rescue gone right’. Her Daddy came and saw off her nasty manager, saved her from her prison of ‘Breakdown’ and she is now riding high on a fantastic comeback.

Almost forgotten are her shaven-headed-umbrella-wielding incidents. Instead, things are back to a comfortable norm  discussing her tummy and thighs.

In the real world

Leaving Celebrity-Land behind, could the lives of everyday folk be described as fairy tales? This seems unlikely. The average Joanne, with a drug-addiction, cannot regularly jet off to St Lucia, or choose from the cream of the crop when it comes to rehab. The only way her dad can help is if he turns a blind eye when she steals his dole money to get her next fix. Not exactly the knight in shining armour.

How about a single mother in the Real World? Who rescues her when the father of her children disappears into a puff of smoke?

It is different for celebrity single parents. When the public know who the father is, there really is nowhere to run or hide for him. Think Katie Price and Dwight Yorke. And Brian McFadden, who is still in ‘regular’ contact with his children from all the way in Australia. How many absent fathers do you know who could be traced from the other side of the world?

It seems that fame almost forces people to face their responsibilities, in fear of receiving bad press should they not step up to the plate.

That seems to strike more fear into the heart than the DSS seems to in ‘mere mortal’ fathers. Another example of a father being made to answer to his actions is Jude Law, whose Yuletide fling resulted in a recently-born baby daughter. Surely this was a fairy tale come true for the mother: fame, publicity, and more wealth than she could ever have imagined? And for the infant? Gosh, a movie star father although she possibly shouldn’t expect to see him too often.

The thing is, do we really aspire to celebrity so much that we wish to lead the same ‘fabled’ existence? Are we setting ourselves up for major disappointment when we sit about waiting for our handsome prince to rescue us from our mundane lives, when the closest most of us will ever get to that is a pep talk from Jeremy Kyle?

Maybe we are creating the Celebrity Fairy Tale ourselves? Perhaps we have a need to construct a fantasy land. We seem to spend most of our time obsessing over famous people; either hating their guts and ridiculing them, or championing them, and worshipping their images. Their day-to-day dealings are so much more interesting than ours, maybe we need them as little air-brushed chunks of escapism.

It might also to be to do with control, so many things are beyond our control in life, it’s good to feel a tiny sense of omnipotence when it comes to other people’s lives. Especially when they are detached from you, and you don’t have to suffer the consequences.

But really, isn’t this all just a little pessimistic?

These celebrities seem to have so much unhappiness in their lives. Yes, they have wealth and fame, but I don’t think that really outweighs the negative aspects. Fragile egos, bad relationships, addictions, few people they can trust, it doesn’t seem to result in a ‘happily ever after’ in many cases.  Do we really aspire to be like them?

Perhaps a lot of us are already being spirited away on the back of a gleaming white horse. As humble as they may seem, surely things like general well-being, secure relationships – both with yourself and others – aspirations and love, are gifts we take for granted?

With this in mind, here’s a radical thought, perhaps we have something that no celebrity seems to have: the ability to rescue ourselves.

It’s no secret that in the USA bigger is definitely better. The buildings, the people, the food portions; small just doesn’t exist. Even when talking about my car to my cousin’s husband in Atlanta (“It has a 1.4 engine? I don’t think they even exist over here!”) it was obvious size is everything, but this doesn’t stop at physical objects.

During a three month trip to the States this summer I had the chance to closely observe the popular and celebrity culture that dominates the American way of life.

Hype your money maker

My first observation was obvious: where money can be made, it will be, and nothing generates money more easily than the ever-in-demand world of celebrity. Many of the world’s best known celebrities are American, and create hype wherever they go, so why not capitalise on this?

From tours of the stars’ homes to personal shoppers ‘in the style of…’, the quantity of celebrity available for consumption is illustrated by the variety of merchandise Hannah Montana’s promotional team will sell to eager fans, keen to spend money on any imaginable object with the famous name or picture on it.

This kind of effort doesn’t stop with the media. They know the public love celebrities and are willing to give them what they want and as much as they want in celebrity news channels, websites and magazines.

If you’re in the group which thinks celebrity magazines with ‘exclusive photos’, stories of stalkers and who Katie Price is engaged to now are a waste of printed media, consider yourself lucky you’re only faced with the UK ones on a daily basis. American celebrity magazines make the UK Hello! And Closer look like the Times in comparison, with genuine headlines including ‘Obama’s past gay lover now a White House employee’, and reports of absolutely everybody being on the brink of divorce.

Whether Americans like it or not, popular culture is what the country does best, but this doesn’t mean all of it has to be cheap and tacky.

The philosophical argument as to whether pop culture means bad culture, or lower than that of high art does get blurred a little when the culture is embraced into the country’s surroundings.

For example, whilst in Chicago I had the opportunity to attend a subtitled Chinese arts film, being broadcast in Grant Park, as part of a summer film festival, where other films included widely known titles, combining high and popular culture into one event.

This was a common summer entertainment medium, also found in New York where I went to see Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands as part of the ‘Movies with a View’ season, held in Brooklyn Bridge park, located directly underneath the bridge to enable an appreciation of the architecture and view of the Manhattan skyline at the same time as enjoying a popular film. 5000 people turned up for the event, and as stereotypical as this may be, not many looked the type to follow every footstep of the celebrity of their choice.

That said, popular culture in the States is beyond what it is anywhere else. The short film shown in the run-up to Edward Scissorhands was about a girl describing her obsession with Harry Potter and what this meant to her, during which the statement “Harry Potter is Jesus!” was made with enthusiasm, much to my obvious amusement and rather unimpressed faces of some more religious members of the silent crowd around me.

Cult or religion?

Despite religious beliefs though, this did display the level of celebrity culture and what it means to some people, particularly the younger, more impressionable citizens of the country, who do, genuinely follow celebrities or crazes and worship them like a religion, which may explain why Hollywood Boulevard is the most cleaned street in the world at six polishes a week.

Others consider their favourite stars almost to be family, as we saw following the death of Michael Jackson.  While people at home were busy circulating jokes about the entertainer, I was trying not to let an over-emotional hostel owner see my Facebook page in fear at what she’d think  (since she thought drinking whisky at 11am was an appropriate way to cope with the news ‘that we’d never see Michael again’). I’m not sure he would have thought first name terms were appropriate, having never met her.

Celebrity President

Describing celebrity culture in America would not be complete without a mention of the biggest celebrity of the year: President Obama, a politician whose methods of maintaining a relationship with the public has turned him into a bigger celebrity than any film star or singer, and most definitely any politician before him.

Before arriving in Chicago, his home city before the move to the White House, I was expecting a rush of ‘Obama mania’ as it has been described. This is what I found, but not in the way I expected:

Although any form of merchandise attached to the President was available for purchase – like the cardboard cutout of Obama dressed in a superman style outfit with a large ‘O’ in the centre of his chest – there wasn’t any evidence of the city capitalising on their celebrity president, such as tours of his home area, small museums and exhibits displaying their careers and personal lives.

One reason for this is the lack of interest some celebrity worshippers have in the political side of Barack Obama; they are far keener in reading about who he has had dinner with this week than what he has achieved in the Oval Office.

But whether it is politics or fame, he knows creating hype keeps America tuned in, just like the PR team of any celebrity, keen to feed the country-wide audience around the clock.

Whatever negative reputation the US may have, it can’t be doubted that it is one of the most unique and interesting places to visit. Where else can offer States which all feel as distinct as individual countries? I managed 14 of them, and I wouldn’t hesitate to move to some of them tomorrow if I had the chance.

Photos supplied by the author

Public Relations: Concepts, Practice and Critique
by Jacquie L’Etang
290 pages, Sage Publications, 2008

Exploring Public Relations
by Ralph Tench and Liz Yeomans
666 pages, FT Prentice Hall, 2nd ed 2009

Two public relations textbooks plug a gap in the literature by reviewing the relationship between public relations and celebrity culture.

In Jacquie L’Etang’s well-received textbook, chapter 10 is devoted to Public Relations in ‘Promotional Culture’ and ‘in Everyday Life’.

‘Much of the PR role in celebrity circles is focused on promotion, publicity and media relations, and public relations has received some of its bad press from this association’ she writes. Yet ‘according to public relations scholarly conventions, publicity is a small part of public relations’.

That explains the problem of celebrity endorsement as a dissertation topic: it has not been viewed as a respectable academic subject by lecturers.

‘Some PR academics seem uncomfortable with students’ interests in celebrity and its connection to public relations… Why is this? Perhaps because celebrity is seen as hype from which academic public relations tries to distance itself.’

L’Etang, perhaps the most prominent of UK public relations academics, is best placed to attempt a rehabilitation. She even names a list of celebrities within the PR world: Max Clifford, Matthew Freud, Lynne Franks, Julia Hobsbawm and Anne Gregory. (Note how, in Hobsbawm and Gregory, she includes the UK’s two public relations professors, so perhaps she’s also attempting a rehabilitation of the public relations academic).  Mark Borkowski is absent from her list, though he’s done most to provide a media face for the role of public relations in celebrity, especially following the publication of The Fame Formula, his book on Hollywood PR and the celebrity industry.

L’Etang also guides students to key texts in this area including Graeme Turner’s Understanding Celebrity, published in 2004.

Exploring public relations – and celebrity

The second edition of Exploring Public Relations includes a new chapter on Celebrity and public relations written by Elliot Pill.

There’s space in this chapter to link the rise of the celebrity to the emergence of mass media in the middle of the nineteenth century; to cite Bernays’s use of socialites to promote cigarettes; and to discuss Boorstin’s criticism of the fabrication of celebrities in place of true heroes.

Pill rightly argues that ‘celebrity culture is not new; it has just been taken to new heights with changing media consumption.’

Following L’Etang, he also challenges the perception that celebrity PR is the ‘Cinderella specialist area of the PR service portfolio’. Indeed, he cites the work of Rein et al to show that public relations is the dominant communication discipline contributing to celebrity. (It’s no coincidence that the rise of celebrity coincides with the rise of PR.)

He ascribes the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement to ‘credibility’, and goes on to discuss ‘attention’. Celebrities attract attention and this is the most vital ingredient of success in a world saturated with media and commercial messages.

These chapters on celebrity and public relations in two mainstream textbooks will provide a good starting point for students wanting to study the phenomenon in more detail – and should answer any lingering suspicion of the subject from their tutors.

Minister for Europe, Baroness Kinnock, today announced the re-launch of the European Fast Stream and encouraged graduates to apply.

The scheme, part of the highly successful Civil Service Graduate Fast Stream, aims to prepare candidates to succeed in the EU’s demanding recruitment process by providing them with specialist work experience and training in EU affairs. As a European civil servant, individuals could have the opportunity to influence policy that affects over 400 million people across the EU, for example working to tackle climate change or to combat terrorism.

Commenting on the scheme Minister for Europe, Baroness Kinnock said:

“Joining the European Fast Stream (EFS) is an exceptional opportunity for passionate, dynamic individuals from the UK to have a voice in Europe, to shape European policy and to make a real difference to the world in which we live.”

For the first two years, successful recruits will be based in a Government Department with significant EU-related responsibilities, such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, or the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.  In addition to this, candidates will get the chance to work in the European Commission for six months on an internship.

They will also receive EU-related training and language training in French or German.  With this support, it is hoped candidates will pass one of the competitions to enter the EU institutions during their two years on the scheme. Those who do not will enter the mainstream Graduate Fast Stream and get the opportunity to do both policy and operational jobs in the UK civil service.

The Fast Stream registration and application process opens on Monday 21 September 2009 and closes on the 30 November 2009.

Further information on the scheme is available at: http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/jobs/faststream/

“I’m ready for a change!” That was what was ringing through my head during second year. Not because I didn’t enjoy what I was doing, but because I wanted a new and exciting challenge and I was desperate to put all the theory and talking into practice and see how PR really works.

Second year PR students will be having talks on placements and probably feeling very confused about what they want to do. It feels like yesterday that I was in exactly the same situation – deciding what to do and where to look.

I know some of them may be debating whether or not to take a placement; it is a hard decision to make, but from my own experiences and those that I have heard from my peers, I would recommend listening to the advice and stories and make a decision from there.

I’m not going to say it wasn’t hard looking for a placement while trying to finish second year, because it was very time-consuming. What was harder was seeing my friends on other courses quite relaxed about their work, while fellow PR students ran around shouting about applications and interviews and where we wanted our lives to go. Amidst all of that stress, I must admit I was very excited for what was around the corner.

Thinking about what you want

While the mad hunt was on for finding and applying for placements I started to think more about where I wanted to be. Many of the PR placements seemed to be in London and to be honest, I wasn’t sure that was where I wanted to be. I looked over a few other options and decided to apply for Marketing Manchester. It scared me to think about moving to Manchester as I knew nothing about the city and knew no-one who lived there, but when I was offered the position I decided to take the chance of a new life in a new city!

Now looking back it was the best decision I have made. Placed in a new environment surrounded by new people created such an exciting year that I am still now feeling the adrenaline. It wasn’t solely about my placement but also about enjoying and exploring a new city with new friends. It was a fresh change from Leeds and I loved every minute of it.

Working in tourism PR

My position was that of Communications Assistant which sat within the Press and PR team. Overall, my team consisted of four people who worked collectively in promoting the city nationally and internationally. The company as a whole had around 50 people.

Our activities involved working closely with travel media, trade media, local businesses and government bodies to develop an awareness of Manchester’s attractiveness for tourists. I also worked with other teams within the company to promote events, venues and other Manchester organisations. We also worked on campaigns which promoted Manchester as a conference destination, where I was also involved in working the Labour Conference and also managing any corporate PR for the city.

I know what you are thinking… was it really that exciting working for a government-funded tourism organisation instead of some glamorous PR agency? All I would say is not to judge a book by its cover, as you may be surprised about what you get out of your experience. I certainly was!

Hard work equals experience

There was never a dull moment in the office from the first day I started until the last. I was never treated like ‘just the placement student’ and became a valued member of the team from day one. Working in a press team is certainly a busy role, but a very fulfilling one.

I gained a lot of writing experience through stakeholder communications, editorial work for external and internal magazines and media listings guides. One main publication that I contributed to was MCR magazine; Manchester’s glossy lifestyle guide for which I wrote full features and conducted interviews with key players in the development of Manchester.

I was also involved in creating and coordinating photo shoots for nightlife features.  When I started my placement the magazine was a relatively new idea and only at its second edition; this meant I could get involved at all stages of the publishing cycle from creative planning to proofing. This was a great project to work on as I learnt so much about the procedures of producing printed publications and it’s also extremely rewarding to see your work in print. Writing was a very important part of my role and I had a lot of input in many publications.

One of my main responsibilities was to plan and execute press trips for national and international travel publications.

I was also responsible for running the national women’s magazine campaign to create relationships and coverage in publications such as Cosmopolitan, Closer, SHE and Company to name a few. This linked in with a Coldplay press trip we organised to help promote the city’s venues.

I loved working on this, as it was a great achievement to work on something alone and to be solely responsible for the work achieved. I created close relationships with these magazines and gained some great work for my portfolio.

Getting events experience

One of the major PR projects I was involved in was Manchester Pride festival (supporting the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender charities). Our team worked very closely with the event organisers and I was involved in helping to promote the event through press releases, writing interviews for magazines, dealing with any crisis situations and planning the media publicity. This was a project my team dealt with in addition to the tourism work; it became a fantastic events and crisis PR opportunity to be involved in.

During the big weekend I was responsible for looking after and entertaining the media that we invited on the press trip and help with the control of the press pit at the front of the main stage in the evenings. It was certainly great events experience and working alongside the managers was a real highlight. I even got to meet some of the stars (that’s if you class Peter Andre as one!)

Fun at work

Working life isn’t all work and no play; there was a lot of time for fun on this placement. I was asked to go to London one weekend with a colleague to a gala award dinner for a publication we produced and I helped at the Manchester Tourism Awards dinner; both great fun experiences.

There were always a handful of invitations to different events, launches, lunches, evening meals and welcome drinks. Since it was my job to help promote places in the city it was important to experience them first-hand. It also enabled me to meet the key PR contacts within the tourism industry and to establish good relationships with them. There were many of these events throughout the year so it also meant I could get to know all my colleagues in different teams too;’ some weeks I would be totally partied out!

Back to the grind

The whole year has been a fantastic insight into what options can be available and where I could progress my career to. The tourism industry was a sector that I never saw myself entering until I got this position; now, after completing the year, it has opened my eyes to a whole new world. I will even be focusing my dissertation on what I have learnt while on placement, so from thinking about this early I have built up my contacts within the industry and hope to use them whilst conducting the dreaded dissertation research.

I know now that I was not ready for my final year when I was in year two, but I am ready for the hard work with the experience I now have behind me.

Applying to do a placement has not only given me the work experience that I can use within my final year studies, but has also made me realise I can do things that I didn’t think I could a year ago. Rising to opportunities and doing things alone – like moving to a new city – no longer fazes me.

Like many other budding female PR students, I have always been intrigued by the prospect of working in the cosmetics industry. My curiosity has led me to wonder if the image of what it is to be a beauty PR practitioner reflects reality; will it be as ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ as it might appear?

During my first and second years studying BA Public Relations at Leeds Metropolitan University I was fascinated to discover the type of PR tactics used in promoting skincare. I also wondered how top-end beauty journalists operate and if the perks of being involved in beauty PR are really that glamorous.

Being Absolutely Fabulous

When I was offered a placement for a top international cosmetics brand in the heart of an exclusive area in London, I could not turn it down. Despite being reluctant to leave the comforts of Leeds, I was intrigued at the type of graduate opportunities that might open up to me after a year’s experience for such a renowned brand.

Older students had advised me that a placement really puts the theory learnt at university into practice. I hoped that having hands on experience would mean I would be in a better position to gain employment on graduating from university. After the many rumours of ‘fluffy PR’ in industries such as beauty, I was a little unsure, but hopeful that I would be able to achieve these goals from a placement in the cosmetics world.

After leaving Leeds and moving to the capital, I soon began to realise that the day-to-day duties in the press office were fairly similar in their nature to other in-house press offices I have come across before.

On previous short-term placements for Marks and Spencer I was able to see a link in certain PR tactics. They consisted of answering press calls, actioning emails from consumer, national and regional press, and sending out products. For such an upmarket cosmetics brand, a close relationship with top-end consumer magazines such as Vogue, Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar was absolutely vital. This was essential for product promotion to the desired market sector.

I saw that breakfast meetings and long lunches in top London restaurants are part and parcel of a beauty PR’s day to day activities – though I didn’t get to enjoy these myself.

Product information and samples are given out at these meetings. I found it fascinating to be involved first hand with these journalists; some were demanding but fortunately I did not come across any as fearsome as Anna Wintour (as portrayed in The Devil Wears Prada) during the year and many of the journalists I met were charming and a pleasure to work with. As far as perks went, there were certainly many to be had with plenty of free samples.

I realised however that it is important that all staff members use the products in order to be authentic when selling them on the counter in a department store, to a journalist over the phone or at a launch. After all you just don’t know until you try.

I mixed with various associated areas of the beauty industry such as make-up artists, therapists and manicurists. They would often be supplied with their favourite products in order to encourage them to continue to use and promote them to their clients.

How the beauty industry works

The importance of these relationships meant I developed a competent knowledge of the different segments that make up the beauty industry. I was surprised that these relationships were considered as important as those with top beauty journalists.VIPs were also significant to the reputation of the brand.

Assisting with events such as the launch of new products was always a very exciting part of the role. I was able to see in action how the PR practitioner and beauty journalist interact.

I learnt that as with any other industry, the PR must at all times be charming, helpful and friendly and certainly never argumentative with journalists.

My role was not limited to PR but also involved an equal amount of marketing. This was very important as I was able to understand that public relations plays an important role in the marketing mix. Visiting counter staff in both Harrods and Harvey Nichols on a weekly basis meant I was able to see elements of the marketing mix in action on the cosmetic counters.

Beauty takes hard work

Although being a beauty PR is, on the surface, a very glamorous job, like any other it requires dedication and hard work. All members of the press office worked extremely hard and were never afraid to get their hands dirty, involving themselves in simple ‘intern’ tasks in order to facilitate the smooth running of the business. There were also many late nights when all members of staff stayed in order to get things finished.

The experience I had was fantastic and really gave me an exciting insight into the cosmetics world. This was not restricted purely to a public relations perspective but opened my eyes to how a beauty business works at an international level, identifying for me the specific elements that contribute to a business. I was able to see how closely the different departments work together and it enabled me to, for the first time, not look at PR in isolation but as part of an essential mix. I was pleasantly surprised by many of my experiences during the year and I never stopped being fascinated as I discovered more about the industry I was becoming a part of.

In terms of relevant experience for my third year and for the future, I now feel confident to write a well rounded dissertation with the knowledge that I have had hands-on experience of how PR operates at an international level.  I have developed invaluable interpersonal skills and feel I will be confident in whatever PR situation I find myself in the future.

Simply being in an office environment for a year has given me skills that will prove invaluable on graduating.

Perhaps the true value of my placement was not being discouraged by the reputation of the beauty industry but having the courage and opportunity to try it first hand. I was certainly very lucky in my placement as I was not restricted to a product cupboard for a year but actually given a real PR role. I dealt with real situations and with journalists on a one-to-one level.

Of course there were products to be unpacked, teas to be made and journalists to run around after. But you have to start somewhere.

Alice Harper was asked not to name her placement employer in this article

As the university year gets underway, many second year PR students up and down the country will be telling themselves that Freshers is a distant memory, this is the time ‘ to get serious’ and that ‘the real work starts here’.

Within their first week of being back, they will have been told numerous times about the option of taking an industrial placement year – a year that will improve their employability, will give them an inside view of the working world of PR, help them gain more contacts and provide a platform to aid with the dreaded D-word (dissertation, that is). It’s a tough decision to make and understandably, all sorts of questions will go through their minds: could I cope with the transition?  Would I get real PR experience or simply be chief tea maker; and most importantly – would it all be worth it?

I was in this position less than two years ago. Just going into the second year of the Public Relations course at Leeds Met and not quite sure of all the options available to me, I was hit by the overwhelming pressure to do a placement year, where the competition was tough and the work is even tougher.

Listen to advice

After numerous lectures from PR graduates, tutors and placement advisers, I decided that, given the competitive nature of the PR industry, a year-long placement would undoubtedly be the right option for me.  Then came the second wave of questions – in-house or consultancy? Do I pack up and leave Leeds and travel to the capital? What about Bubbles and Ricky (they’re my pet goldfish)?

After applying for a few placements, I came across Leeds-based charity Heart Research UK, which recruits a PR student each year for the role of ‘PR officer’. After researching the organisation (something all PR students should naturally do to help get your foot in the door) I realised that, for quite a small charity, they have an impressive history and have shaped how we treat heart disease today. It certainly would be a change from working for PR consultancies, promoting a range of consumer products.

After accepting the position, I was determined to make the most of this great opportunity which would add more strings to my bow and allow me to gain a wealth of knowledge.

Range of tasks and experiences

From the very first day when I sat at my desk, until the very last of packing up my documents, I continuously gained valuable experiences within several areas of PR: writing press releases and feature articles, arranging photo-calls and introducing the hot-topic of social media to promote the organisation. I even dipped my feet into a bit of marketing and fundraising tasks by attending events, updating the website and  also writing and proofing the charity’s in-house magazine, which has a circulation of 12,000 people – one of my proudest achievements.

Like most not-for-profit organisations we had a small budget to work with, so emphasis was placed on spreading the word of the charity through PR activities.

This meant that writing press releases and issuing photo calls took up a lot of my working day. As the only PR officer, I had the responsibility of creating and managing my own workload and had the freedom to discover potential stories and write them, taking a specific angle. For each printed piece, I would get a buzz knowing my work was being read by people across the country.

Sure, my efforts had been  printed during previous short-term placements,  but it didn’t compare to writing, proofing and sending out my very own press release with the fancy title of ‘PR officer’ in the ‘Sender’ box. It also meant I was able to build up relationships with regional and national journalists and see what effects this had on the quality of coverage. Usually, because I was working for a good cause, the journalists were also extremely nice – a rare experience for some PR practitioners!

Other key areas that took up a lot of the working day included promoting the newest medical grants, issuing a ‘Health Tip of the Week’ to specialist media, attending internal and external meetings to give PR input and assisting with publicity materials for up and coming events. All this work meant so much variety and although it’s a cliché to say it, no two days were the same. I was constantly given new work by different departments to complete, so I was extremely lucky that I was never left twiddling my thumbs, nor did I get asked to make a tea round or shred a huge pile of papers.

A matter of life and death

Many may be thinking the serious subject of coronary heart disease and the glamorous world of PR don’t exactly go hand in hand, and on some levels they’re quite right. I put in lots of hard work learning the facts about heart disease, doing the monotonous daily jobs such as the logging and filing and generally going that extra mile, but this certainly paid off as I was invited to be an ambassador for the charity at several fundraising initiatives. Within my first few months, I attended the Transplant Games and presented medals to the youngest category alongside the Mayor and Mayoress of Sheffield, attended a glitzy pamper evening organised by the charity called ‘Love your Heart’ and went to the Wakefield Christmas Lights switch on, where a choir was singing to raise funds for the charity.

Perhaps I missed out on receiving bundles of freebies and mingling with big names, but my placement was worthwhile and rewarding in different ways.

During these fundraising events, I met inspirational people who were more than happy to tell fascinating stories of their experience with heart disease, in turn raising awareness of Britain’s biggest killer. The placement certainly did open my eyes, not only from a PR perspective, but showed that PR is vital within charities to educate and alert people to the effects of illness.

Overall, my experience of doing a public relations placement has been nothing but positive. Not only have I left Heart Research UK with an impressive placement to put on my CV and a range of portfolio pieces, but it has also helped my confidence, time management and general office skills, to name a few. As for my dissertation, I have already formed a good, solid topic on the charity sector, due to connections I have made within the industry – another thing to cross off the checklist and make the final year as stress free as possible.

So to any of those who are unsure about whether or not to do a placement year – I say go for it. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Talk to others in their fourth year, I’m sure they’d say the same.  PR is all about passion and proactivity and if you, as a student, demonstrate this through a year-long placement, you will reap the benefits, turning in the process from being a PR student into a PR practitioner.

In the UK, the £15m business with 220 staff will be led by Vivien Hepworth, who becomes its chairman; Loretta Tobin becomes chief executive officer.

In western Europe, the business will be led by new managing director Alfred Autischer; in Brussels, the public affairs team will be led by Russell Patten. Chris Dobson leads the business in central and eastern Europe.

In Asia Pacific, Chris Davies continues to run Grayling’s network reporting directly to Nigel Kennedy, who, becomes deputy chairman.

In the US, Michael Murphy, Group CEO, takes overall responsibility. Commenting on the management changes, he said:

“This merger is about capitalising on an opportunity to create a new style of global public relations and public affairs company that is fit for the 21^st Century.”

The four ambassadors will become the face of Bright One within the industry. The ambassador’s role is to raise the profile of Bright One within the industry via championing its objectives, recommending and referring suitable clients and offering mentoring support and strategic counsel to clients and agency volunteers alike.

The ambassadors are: Andrew Bloch (Founder and MD of Frank PR); Neville Hobson (consultant, co-host of the ‘For Immediate Release’ business podcast series and blogger at NevilleHobson.com); Robert Philips (CEO of Edelman UK); and Kristin Syltevik (MD of Hotwire).

In its first year of operation, Bright One Communications has recruited over 30 volunteers and worked with eight organisations, including Refugee Week, Junction49, Pants to Poverty, Pixel Project, Savvy Kids and What’s Up Information.

In conjunction with the first year anniversary, Bright One has also launched a new website, which aims to make it easier for third sector organisations to get support in their communications activities and for volunteers to find out more about how they can get involved. The site was developed by Dharmafly, who specialize in web development for social change, and features Bright One’s recently developed brand identity and a 60-second introduction video that explains the Bright One concept to the sites’ visitors.

“The first people we have to thank for the organisation’s success so far are the volunteers,” said Ben Matthews, Founder of Bright One. “Their time, energy and dedication show not only that they believe in the projects they are working on, but they also believe in Bright One’s vision of helping charity organisations who couldn’t afford PR otherwise.

“We are delighted to welcome our four ambassadors into the organisation, and with their support we’re look forward to growing Bright One and helping more charities, social enterprise and other not-for-profit organisations with professional but affordable PR and communications support.”