Well, I must admit, it has been the most challenging and exciting thing I have done so far.
Firstly, I created a dedicated email address superinternwanted@gmail.com as I knew I'd have to look professional, then I came up with the text for my invitation which I kept as brief as possible pointing out the main benefits for the agencies.
I did not not even know where to start as I had never organised a professional event before, so I just turned to the CIPR member's directory to find contact details of top PROs. I was really excited about the event, so my expectations were way high. I had to send out about 50 emails to receive the first positive answer which was from Stuart Skinner, Senior Account Manager at PHA Media. The second enquiry came from Helen Proud, Director of HR at Lansons, and, since I only had 4 weeks left before the event and had to interview the agencies before I sent out my press release, I had to make use of personal contacts and emailed my fellow student from LondonMet Jonny Stark, Digital PR and Media Consultant at Three Monkeys, and Antony Poppleton, PR Director at Phoenix, who used to provide PR support to my current employer PRP Architects who both showed great interest in my event.
Now that I had four agencies interested in the competition I was the happiest event manager in the world! My first interview has been scheduled for 13.20 on Monday 26 April with Stuart Skinner from PHA Media. The main purpose for my visit was to see the environment in which the winner would be working and to meet the PRO in person. Stuart has been more than accommodating. As I work full time I am only available at lunch time or before or after working hours so I appreciated that Stuart made an effort to meet me at lunch time. Their offices are located just on Wardour Street in Soho, so easy to find and a lovely area to be in. The offices were very spacious and light and people were not madly busy which gave me a good feeling. Although I expected only a 5-10 minutes chat the meeting went on for a good half an hour. We sat down in a nice cozy meeting room and went through the details. When I left their offices I had a great feeling that the world of PR is not that impossible to get to as I thought - I had the first agency confirmed!
My next interview was lined up for 17.15 on the same day with Lansons whose office is literally just one-minute walk from my own offices. After waiting in reception for less than 5 minutes I was ushered into a nicely set-out meeting room and was joined by Helen herself, her colleague Lauren and Sophie Lilley, Director, who would represent the agency at the event. Although I had a clear idea of the content and the format of my event in my head I did not expect so much interest and so many questions at the same time:) For the first time, I felt that that my initial idea had a lot of potential and the increasing interest gave me more confidence and power. As we discussed the agenda and technicalities of the judging process I felt that my initial vision of the event concept was developing as we went along. Initially, I did not account for any breaks or for people to take longer time than allocated by the agenda, so it was extremely important that Sophie had pointed it out. Initially, I thought that the so-called awards ceremony would take place in the contest room but Helen and Sophie made a comment that it would make more sense to have the winners announced at the after-party which would kill two birds with one stone: it will give the judges more time to make a decision and those who are not going to be chosen won't get too upset holding a glass of champagne in their hands. When I left the building, I knew I had two fantastic agencies on board and could not wish for better.
The meeting at 08.45 on Tuesday 27 April with Antony Poppleton at Phoenix in Leatherhead, Surrey, was agreed literally at 4 o'clock on Monday afternoon, so I must admit I did appreciate his readiness to accommodate my diary. When I boarded a train at Clapham Junction I sent him a text that I was arriving at 08.05 and was sure I had enough time to walk to their offices which according to Google map were 15 minutes away from the train station. He rang me back straight away offering a lift which I was very happy to accept. He was waiting for me at the station when I arrived and we drove to their offices in no time at all starting our meeting more than half an hour before it was scheduled. Now then, one of the main surprises was waiting for me when I saw their office which happened to be a converted chapel combining the best of the terrific character of the past and modern technology. The main board room was set right at the altar!!! And the ceilings were of course covered in frescoes. Wow! What a view! Antony made me a cup of coffee and we had a friendly chat about the terms and expectations. Another great news was that he was looking for Spanish speakers and I knew that I had at least three registered for this event, so could not wait to break the news to them.
The interview with Jonny Stark at Three Monkeys was scheduled for 1PM on Friday 30 April. He was also going to introduce me to Ben Sewell, Senior Account Manager. He showed me their swanky new offices designed in the format of the main theme - jungle. The black sparkling floor at reception did indeed look impressive. It was the busiest office I had seen so far. My host was stopped by his colleagues at least three times as he was giving me a tour and people were having lunches right in front of their computers. Very briefly he introduced me to Ben and I was out in less than 15 minutes.
I have reiterated to both Phoenix and Three Monkeys that I was going to send their details to the student participants and it would be their choice to select the third agency for the event. As a result, the students had to choose between Lansons offering corporate, financial, international, consumer and public affairs PR, PHA Media focusing on sport and leisure, fashion and beauty, culture and innovation and celebrity PR, Phoenix who were keen to find Spanish speakers for their Barcelona-based client in construction and Three Monkeys who wanted to take on an intern for the Microsoft account team. In the end no matter how much I hated to say no to my fellow student Jonny Stark and despite their high ratings I had to inform Three Monkeys that they were out.
It is a difficult thing to do - to say no to someone who has put in so much effort in already but it had to be done.
Thank you everyone who has taken part in this event so far. I really appreciate your time and effort!
Firstly, I created a dedicated email address superinternwanted@gmail.com as I knew I'd have to look professional, then I came up with the text for my invitation which I kept as brief as possible pointing out the main benefits for the agencies.
I did not not even know where to start as I had never organised a professional event before, so I just turned to the CIPR member's directory to find contact details of top PROs. I was really excited about the event, so my expectations were way high. I had to send out about 50 emails to receive the first positive answer which was from Stuart Skinner, Senior Account Manager at PHA Media. The second enquiry came from Helen Proud, Director of HR at Lansons, and, since I only had 4 weeks left before the event and had to interview the agencies before I sent out my press release, I had to make use of personal contacts and emailed my fellow student from LondonMet Jonny Stark, Digital PR and Media Consultant at Three Monkeys, and Antony Poppleton, PR Director at Phoenix, who used to provide PR support to my current employer PRP Architects who both showed great interest in my event.
Now that I had four agencies interested in the competition I was the happiest event manager in the world! My first interview has been scheduled for 13.20 on Monday 26 April with Stuart Skinner from PHA Media. The main purpose for my visit was to see the environment in which the winner would be working and to meet the PRO in person. Stuart has been more than accommodating. As I work full time I am only available at lunch time or before or after working hours so I appreciated that Stuart made an effort to meet me at lunch time. Their offices are located just on Wardour Street in Soho, so easy to find and a lovely area to be in. The offices were very spacious and light and people were not madly busy which gave me a good feeling. Although I expected only a 5-10 minutes chat the meeting went on for a good half an hour. We sat down in a nice cozy meeting room and went through the details. When I left their offices I had a great feeling that the world of PR is not that impossible to get to as I thought - I had the first agency confirmed!
My next interview was lined up for 17.15 on the same day with Lansons whose office is literally just one-minute walk from my own offices. After waiting in reception for less than 5 minutes I was ushered into a nicely set-out meeting room and was joined by Helen herself, her colleague Lauren and Sophie Lilley, Director, who would represent the agency at the event. Although I had a clear idea of the content and the format of my event in my head I did not expect so much interest and so many questions at the same time:) For the first time, I felt that that my initial idea had a lot of potential and the increasing interest gave me more confidence and power. As we discussed the agenda and technicalities of the judging process I felt that my initial vision of the event concept was developing as we went along. Initially, I did not account for any breaks or for people to take longer time than allocated by the agenda, so it was extremely important that Sophie had pointed it out. Initially, I thought that the so-called awards ceremony would take place in the contest room but Helen and Sophie made a comment that it would make more sense to have the winners announced at the after-party which would kill two birds with one stone: it will give the judges more time to make a decision and those who are not going to be chosen won't get too upset holding a glass of champagne in their hands. When I left the building, I knew I had two fantastic agencies on board and could not wish for better.
The meeting at 08.45 on Tuesday 27 April with Antony Poppleton at Phoenix in Leatherhead, Surrey, was agreed literally at 4 o'clock on Monday afternoon, so I must admit I did appreciate his readiness to accommodate my diary. When I boarded a train at Clapham Junction I sent him a text that I was arriving at 08.05 and was sure I had enough time to walk to their offices which according to Google map were 15 minutes away from the train station. He rang me back straight away offering a lift which I was very happy to accept. He was waiting for me at the station when I arrived and we drove to their offices in no time at all starting our meeting more than half an hour before it was scheduled. Now then, one of the main surprises was waiting for me when I saw their office which happened to be a converted chapel combining the best of the terrific character of the past and modern technology. The main board room was set right at the altar!!! And the ceilings were of course covered in frescoes. Wow! What a view! Antony made me a cup of coffee and we had a friendly chat about the terms and expectations. Another great news was that he was looking for Spanish speakers and I knew that I had at least three registered for this event, so could not wait to break the news to them.The interview with Jonny Stark at Three Monkeys was scheduled for 1PM on Friday 30 April. He was also going to introduce me to Ben Sewell, Senior Account Manager. He showed me their swanky new offices designed in the format of the main theme - jungle. The black sparkling floor at reception did indeed look impressive. It was the busiest office I had seen so far. My host was stopped by his colleagues at least three times as he was giving me a tour and people were having lunches right in front of their computers. Very briefly he introduced me to Ben and I was out in less than 15 minutes.
I have reiterated to both Phoenix and Three Monkeys that I was going to send their details to the student participants and it would be their choice to select the third agency for the event. As a result, the students had to choose between Lansons offering corporate, financial, international, consumer and public affairs PR, PHA Media focusing on sport and leisure, fashion and beauty, culture and innovation and celebrity PR, Phoenix who were keen to find Spanish speakers for their Barcelona-based client in construction and Three Monkeys who wanted to take on an intern for the Microsoft account team. In the end no matter how much I hated to say no to my fellow student Jonny Stark and despite their high ratings I had to inform Three Monkeys that they were out.
It is a difficult thing to do - to say no to someone who has put in so much effort in already but it had to be done.
Thank you everyone who has taken part in this event so far. I really appreciate your time and effort!
Katya,
ReplyDeleteYour journey sounds impressive. It is like reading your diary and knowing all your thoughts and emotions throughout your journey.
That was very interesting to read and I hope to read more from you.
Can't wait to read about the event itself.
I wish you all luck and success on your interesting and captivating journey.