On today’s blog we have a guest writer, Annabelle, who donned her PR hat and came to experience life with the Eat PR & Marketing team after recently finishing her A-levels:
Work experience week is usually one I dread… I’m usually scrambling to find a placement last minute and ending up in my local primary school playing tag with kids in the playground. However, this week of work experience couldn’t have been further from the usual yawn-fest week I encounter. From the first email, Eat PR has been nothing but enthusiastic, welcoming and helpful. I had seen a friend of mine previously do work experience with the business a few months before, took one look on Eat PR’s socials and website and decided this was the place I wanted to go. With an interest in how brands shape public perception and the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of PR, I was eager to get a hands-on experience in the world of PR.
Eat PR’s vibe seemed to be collaborative, fast paced and hard working which was amazing to watch as a student hoping to enter this industry. Throughout the week, I saw the ways in which Eat PR deliver a wide variety of different services, how they do it and the types of clients they represent.
Day one
After a hectic morning of dad running away with my car keys, bribing mum at 8am with a cup of tea to take me to Waitrose to meet Su in half an hour…the week started on a high. Su and I drove off to meet Middleton Foods for a photoshoot (of the food, not us, which I had to clarify to my mum when I got back home as she was imagining me and Su posing for photos with lovely carrot cake and muffins in hand). As far as first days go, it didn’t get much better than this… yummy food to try, lovely people to meet, watching the magic that goes on behind the camera to make the food look flawless. Middleton Foods are the UK’s leading manufacturer of foodservice pre-mixes. Being in the same place as the chefs and employees there was fascinating, I got to see how they took a dry mix of what looked like just flour and turn it into the most beautiful puddings. However, the most interesting part of my day was seeing how the photoshoot was altered to consider the target audience. For example, Middleton often supply to schools as they are school compliant. This means the photographer and food stylist had to make the food look like it could have just come out of a school oven and to ensure it looked achievable for a school kitchen to replicate.
Day two
Day two was along the same lines as the first day. I met Andrew and we headed down to Camberly to film some ‘how-to’ videos with Unox. Unox are a globally leading manufacturer of commercial ovens and throughout the day I learnt about who they supply, the different functions of their ovens and, one of the most interesting parts for me, their aim to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Once again, it was just so interesting seeing how the videos were filmed and how Eat PR helps to organise these types of shoots for the client and their role in the process. During day two, I also got the opportunity to quiz Andrew on his background in PR and his inspiration to start up his own business which was eye opening, I really enjoyed hearing about the different ways that you can start a career in PR as I find in school, often, it feels as though there is only one route into your future career. We are taught the typical, GCSEs, A-levels, Russell group university, internship route, which is often the go-to route for most. But I find it comforting to know that grades are only a part of the process, there are other ways to pursue your dream career without having to get top grades or go to the top university.
Day three
Day three… where do I begin? It started off with a very early morning…5am starts are tricky for a girl who loves her sleep! Luckily, I managed to hop in with Alex who kindly drove us to London. After parking up, we caught what might have been the busiest tube ever to The Goring. Yes, you heard right… I went to The Goring on my work experience!! I couldn’t believe it either. Once we got inside (after taking a few pictures to brag to my mum), we met Michael- who was possibly the most well-spoken person I had ever met (who also happened to be the managing director of The Goring) as he told us a little about his role in the hotel. We then made our way up to a suite to meet Adele Oxberry- the founder of Umbrella Training. Umbrella Training is a leading UK nationwide training and apprenticeship provider working across the hospitality sector. Adele and Michael were both being interviewed by Boutique Hotelier; this was particularly interesting for me as I am looking to pursue a career in journalism so seeing what happens behind an article and the sort of questions asked was fascinating. After soaking in the beautiful atmosphere, we finished off the day with tacos in Victoria on a beautiful, sunny day before heading back home for the day.
To finish…
I honestly couldn’t have asked Eat PR for a better week of work experience; I have woken up every single day of this week excited for the day at hand. There has not been one day that has been the same. I got to see the ins and outs of the industry, meet clients face to face, learn how to accommodate client’s requests and just observe how PR works. It has truly been the best week possible, from start to finish every single person at Eat PR has been approachable and gone above and beyond to try and give me the best experience. As for PR, I am in awe of the work these people do. They work so unbelievably hard to give the clients the best service possible and not forgetting the amazing campaigns they run… just genius! If you are a student, like me, looking at a career in journalism/PR/marketing, I cannot recommend Eat PR enough. As for now, I will go back to school next week and brag to all my friends about how good my work experience was and continue to work towards my goal in pursuing a career in PR/journalism/marketing and hopefully see Eat PR again in the future!
