I’m currently studying for a career in Marketing and recently spent some time with the team at brookscomm team to learn about what goes on at a busy PR and Marketing agency. Here’s my account:
Wednesday 27/08/2016
On arrival at brookscomm I was greeted by the team, they instantly made me feel welcome and comfortable amongst them. I was firstly taken for an introduction chat where Mandy gave me an overview on PR and the objectives of the business. This was very helpful as it meant I was able to get some background on the company I was working for. After Mandy had finished, Jo then took over and spoke in more detail about how the office is run, she also informed me of the tasks I would be carrying out.
Digital marketing
Mike was next to approach me, he specialises in digital marketing which is one of my personal interests. He took me through various slideshows on personas and how PR is properly used for B2B. I found this very informative and beneficial. Mike is a very good communicator and is able to give you the relevant information whilst making you think and analyse for yourself.
The other member of the team is Ali who I worked with later in the day.
My first task was to do some research into blood doping for one of the clients, this was very difficult due to the variances in this subject however I was helped by Mike who was able to direct me correctly.
Team work
A team meeting was then called, the whole team gathered to discuss the position of their clients and their objectives for the coming days. I sat in on this session, it gave me an insight into how a PR businesses makes decisions and handles its clients. This meeting was positive throughout and each member of the team looked for my input which made me feel comfortable and able to contribute where appropriate.
After lunch I went back to work with Mike on the new website design. I analysed the website and then did similar for competitors, this exercise allowed brookscomm to get a new opinion on its website and what may be beneficial to change or maintain.
I concluded the day by working with Ali. She walked me though the process of getting a press release published, she also outlined the benefits of doing this for both the brand involved and brookscomm. She involved me in the process which was fantastic as I was able to see the theory behind it then get involved in the practical element of the press release, this gave me the tools to write my own press release.
Thursday 28/07/16
My day started by drafting a press release on one of Brookscomm’s clients. I did some research into the product, made some notes, and looked at similar products and their press releases. This research allowed me to have an in depth knowledge of the product and then write a press release. This took me the whole of the morning to complete. After lunch I sat down with Chaz Brooks who gave me feedback on my work, He was able to point out what was done well and how I would improve next time. This was helpful because I was able to see which aspects of my work needed altering.
Using Social Media
My next task was to compose some specific tweets about the business re-branding. Mandy sat down with me and communicated what she wanted to see being tweeted. This was a relatively simple task for me as I am a keen user of Twitter and other social media. The only thing I struggled with on this task is using appropriate language to reach my target audience.
Summary
Overall my experience with brookscomm was brilliant, they offer a highly professional working environment whilst making all the staff welcome and comfortable. brookscomm is an open forum for new and existing ideas to be considered and implemented. Everyone that works for brookscomm is clearly very well trained and believe in what they are working for, this means their personal and business goals complement each other and become easily reached through hard work. I am very thankful to be given the opportunity to work for brookscomm and its staff, I believe I have learnt skills and techniques that will benefit me immediately and later in life.
I’d like to thank Mandy, Chaz and all the staff for welcoming me into their work environment and sharing their knowledge with me.
Best wishes,
Joe Ramsey