PR, public relations: the way companies and individuals communicate with the public and media. So far, so logical.
But what happens when the message you must communicate is about nothing: or more precisely, ensuring nothing goes to waste that can be recycled or re-used.
It’s time to meet Claire Munro.
Claire is the PR Manager at Zero Waste Scotland, the Stirling-based resource efficiency body funded by the Scottish Government to deliver its Zero Waste Plan, including stimulating levels of recycling and re-use, litter strategy, resource efficiency support to business, and encouraging progress towards some stretching national and international targets.
“It’s an exciting, thought-provoking and very broad remit,” says Claire. “I lead the PR team, plan and manage our diverse range of projects, liaise with the relevant Scottish Government teams and other stakeholders, and provide advice on media relations and corporate communications issues.
“With such a varied business and set of objectives, you won’t be surprised to hear me say there’s no such thing as a typical working day!”
In fact, Claire’s role requires her to utilise all types of PR – B2B and consumer, local and national, broadcast and traditional.
“I’m mainly office-based and a typical day may involve talking to my team; attending planning meetings with other departments; briefing the Chief Executive; taking calls with key contacts; meeting with our digital or marketing teams to take forward joint projects; doing a bit of social media management; turning out a range of written materials from briefings to press releases; and the inevitable emails.”
It turns out the business of nothing is very much something to cheer about.
“There’s also a lot of laughs in our office,” says Claire, “which gets us all through some hectic schedules and big projects.”
Becoming PR Manager was a journey for Claire, who started out in journalism but after a couple of years decided it wasn’t for her, so moved into PR for an environmental charity, WWF Scotland.
With many writers reinventing themselves as PR Executives, Communications Officers and even Digital Marketing Executives, it’s a pattern she sees reflected across the board.
“That was nearly 10 years ago (would you believe!),” she says, “and since then it looks like it’s been one-way traffic from journalism into PR. That means the PR industry has the pick of a lot of talent, and PR as a discipline is increasingly important to organisations of all stripes, for very good business and strategic reasons.
“I would expect to see the PR industry in Scotland, both agencies and in-house teams, continuing to grow. However, we depend on a healthy and varied Scottish media for us all to thrive, and I hope this continues to be the case.”
For Claire there’s no secret formula for success in the PR business, but she emphasises that being enthusiastic, working hard, and learning from colleagues will stand you in good stead anywhere.
“The key thing in my career has been showing a bit of initiative – that makes you stand out,” she says. “One of the great things about PR is the skills are transferable and there are opportunities open in lots of places, so you can always try working somewhere different if you want to progress or add to your skillset.
“News writing is a particular skill that makes your press releases and pitches stand out from the crowd. You need analytical skills to get to the key points quickly and coherently, whether for a pitch, or verbally briefing senior staff.
“A good, broad-based knowledge of fundamental issues and trends – politics, the economy, shopping and lifestyle habits; popular culture and so on is irreplaceable as you have to understand what’s happening in society to be able to create stories that will interest the media. In my role, management skills are also important.
“All of this is pretty transferable, certainly among other communications disciplines.”
Claire’s top tips for PR beginners
- Find a relevant professional qualification, and hone your writing skills – good writing, once learned, can be adapted for different platforms.
- Try to find a sector that interests you – you’re going to be living and breathing it, so you have to be, at the very least, interested in what you’re there to promote.
- Get networking – no easy skill if it doesn’t come naturally.
- Learn how to sell yourself, how to talk about what you bring to the table, and think of examples from different areas of your life that demonstrate key skills.
- Keep up-to-date with news, with professional and technological developments, with people.
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