Velvet PR.

As ‘The Summer of Sport’ draws to a close, what better time to recap the coverage we've secured for our clients. From the Olympics to the Euros, we've achieved significant and strategic exposure in key verticals such as marketing, creative, sports, business and FMCG. Across our client portfolio, we reached an audience of over 4.7M! Publications include: The Grocer, Performance Marketing World, Creative Bloq and Sportcal. If you’re curious about what Velvet PR can do for you, get in touch now. #PR #Marketing #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr #clevercomms #london #marketing #publicrelations

To conclude our ‘things I wish I knew’ series we have Jo Sensini. Now it’s your turn! Leave a comment to let us know one thing you wish you knew before starting your career. Without further ado… ** Staying relevant ** It’s less of a ‘what I wish I’d known’, but what I’m glad I know, now that I’ve built my career in PR. When I look around me at people of a similar age - older Gen Xers -  and more specifically those that don’t work in the creative industries, I find that they can be quite isolated from trends. Being in PR means having to immerse oneself in the now as well as the future - from the deeply significant to the deeply trivial. And that’s the joy of the discipline; you have to keep up with how the world is changing. If you don’t, at least in the part of the industry I work in, you simply aren’t credible, neither with colleagues nor with clients. And the conversations that take place with our clients can range from the highly strategic, e.g. how are boards responding to change, to the superficially frivolous, but fundamentally serious matter (for clients who specialise in that space) of how beauty products are being spoken about and shopped for on TikTok, by GenZ audiences. And there are other advantages that come with this daily task of keeping up, that’s central to being in PR. On the one hand I guess it makes for great dinner party conversations - “gosh, is there anything you don’t know something about” - and on the other, the role I hope it will play in building my cognitive reserve and serving as some kind of health insurance! If you’re naturally curious all of this will come pretty naturally. If you’re not, then you might have a bit of a hard time taking to the world of PR! #publicrelations #PR #communications #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr #clevercomms #london #marketing

For the final day of our ‘things I wish I knew’ series we have a double bill. First up is Bhavna Mistry! ** PR can provide just as much of a rush as journalism ** The thing about being a journalist is you become addicted to the rush - the deadlines, the scoops, the meetings, the calls, the being ‘always-on’ - and the sheer mental fizz of learning something new everyday. These aren't attributes that are generally associated with PR. So, when I walked into Velvet 14 years ago, that rush was what I worried I'd miss beyond bearing. I was totally wrong. This is my third 'career' and it's the most fulfilling. Great PR people are multiskilled polymaths, able to turn their hands to most things, learn on the go, and they have to be adaptable and resilient. That means they're creative and strategic all in one go - and most importantly, they know a plan is nothing without precise and effective execution. In PR, I'm strategic and purposeful about aligning my clients’ messaging with their brand goals. I am always on call for the 24-hour news cycle, supported by an amazing Velvet team.  I navigate challenging expectations from clients and journalists, but I get to align narratives with bottom-line objectives. I'm also able to be creative and adaptable with those narratives, balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders: our business, our people, our clients, and the journalists (and their readers) we work with. (Not to mention running a growing business in Velvet!) That juggle, across multiple clients and in multiple parts of the world, still gives me the 'rush' I crave and satisfies the mental hunger that made me a good journalist and editor. Of course there are lows - but for someone who's goal-driven, with an insatiable curiosity and a short attention span, PR brings the best of highs. #publicrelations #PR #communications #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr #clevercomms #london #marketing

Today's instalment of 'things I wish I knew' comes from Tom Ingoldby, Velvet's senior account director. Check our page again tomorrow for the next tip! * * That we’re all (kind of) making it up as we  go along * * I sort of fell into PR - it wasn’t part of my life plan. I did a Masters in Film, filmed a sitcom pilot as part of my dissertation and wanted to be a script writer. I was obviously going to write the new ‘Friends’. It was just a matter of when. So to fill some time during my post-uni summer, I got an internship at FRANK PR. The reason? My mate did it and said it was fun. So I thought, why not? And I loved it. Forget ‘Friends’, I was all about FRANK. A couple more internships followed and then I got a proper, big boy job at Chameleon.Turns out I loved b2b tech PR. And the rest, as they say, is history. The point is, none of this was part of the plan. The sitcom script still remains half-written, I’ve dipped my toes into FMCG PR and then back to tech, and now I’m part of the SLT at Velvet - where I believe I have found my home. All the time, learning as I go, working things out, making mistakes. A bit of bullshitting, a bit of false confidence, a bit of cheekiness but always a goal to get better, to progress and to learn.  And the more you progress, your lack of original lifeplan means less and less. My colleagues over the years have ranged from ex-Royal editors for tabloids, to former rock stars  who toured with Metallica,  and even someone who invented an odourless dog poo bag. But what did they all have in common? They never planned to be in PR. Did it matter? No - they were all great at their jobs which they learned on the go. I guess it takes all sorts to make a PR professional. #publicrelations #PR #communications #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr #clevercomms

Are you starting out in PR? If the answer is yes, you'll want to read this... Today's instalment of 'things I wish I knew' comes from Sarah Patterson, Velvet’s head of social media. Check our page again tomorrow for the next tip! * * Anticipate the need * * Joining Velvet was my first exposure to the corporate world - prior to that I worked a few casual jobs while at university. One of the biggest things I struggled with when making the transition to a proper professional career was the shift in mindset and expectations; moving from passive to proactive thinking. My whole academic journey conditioned me to do exactly as I was told, nothing more or nothing less. Don’t ask (too many) questions, finish your assignment and wait for the next one. While I’m a self-confessed teacher’s pet, this passive attitude doesn’t serve you well in the real world. Learning what comes next obviously comes with time but I wish I’d learnt sooner that work tasks don’t exist in isolation like they do in school. There’s always something else to be done; who is waiting on me to finish this task? Why do I have to do it in this specific way? What will they ask for next and how can I do my best now to make sure things run smoothly down the line. Almost seven years on, I’ve turned it into a game. What’s the next question going to be… can I answer it before it’s asked? Sounds silly but try it - you’ll be surprised at how much of a difference it can make, especially if you’re new to the corporate world. #publicrelations #PR #communications #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr #clevercomms Photo by Daniel Reche

Inspired by the lovely people on our LinkedIn feed (John McCarthy we’re looking at you!) the PR veterans of Velvet have been thinking about what we wish we’d known before getting into the PR industry. We’ll be posting one ‘thing we wish we knew’ per day this week so make sure you keep an eye out. To kick things off we have Andy Riley - Velvet’s director of culture & engagement. The power of ‘why’? The jury is out on whether there are more ‘yes men/women’ in politics or PR? And looking back, I wish I'd known it's okay not to fall into this trap - and to question anything that doesn’t make sense. I’m not talking about being a contrarian for the sake of it, our job as PR practitioners is to delight our clients after all. But that shouldn’t make people pleasing our default position. We are all human and sometimes - whisper it - our clients and our managers don’t get it right. Often they’re under pressure to make things happen due to internal politics, or whatever - but we won’t know unless we question the thinking. The best PR people don’t just deliver, they consult based on their knowledge of the media and the market landscape. That’s our job and we are paid to be the experts.    I appreciate challenging anything in the early stages of your career can feel daunting. But what’s the harm in showing you’re thinking about the bigger picture? I’d suggest it’s bad business to ignore sensible feedback, no matter where it comes from within the team. Granted I’ve been told variations of “just f***ing do it” a few times by middle managers over the years, but at least I tried! In retrospect, there are other occasions when I wish I’d had the gumption to speak up,  By capitulating and flogging a dead dog, or (over) promising on that interview with the FT “because the CEO is in the country”, we aren’t doing what’s best with our clients’ budget or our mental health. So, my advice to AEs now is don’t be afraid to ask ‘why’? It’s okay not to agree so long as you have a sensible rationale and - ideally - an alternative approach that will help your time (and the client's budget) go further. A positive outcome works for everyone, and if you get shut down out of hand then I’d suggest that tells you all you need to know about the culture of your agency. #publicrelations #PR #communications #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr #clevercomms

🌍 Let’s talk about coverage… At Velvet, our mission is to make our clients’ voices heard in their key markets around the world. From our base in London we help clients build their reputation and drive strategic growth on a global scale. Don’t just take our word for it, the editorial coverage we achieve speaks for itself; 🇬🇧 UK  🇺🇸 USA  🇲🇽 Mexico 🇨🇳 China 🇯🇵 Japan 🇹🇭 Thailand  🇮🇳 India 🇮🇩 Indonesia  🇪🇸 Spain 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇦🇺 Australia 🇦🇪 UAE 🌍 Continental Africa Looking to grow your business? Get in touch now and see how we can help. #GlobalPR #MediaCoverage #PR #PublicRelations #PRagency #digitalPR #velvetpr  #clevercomms

You have to feel for our first Velvet Academy cohort, our two teams Velour and Suede PR are barely two months into the programme and they’ve already had to deal with a client crisis. Nothing like being thrown in at the deep end… That said, they have no-one to blame but themselves. Velour and Suede wrote the fictional PR briefs for their fictional clients, respectively Beluga 4X and Arc Logic - and yes we know that’s an obscure video game reference Jamal Johnson! So, to round off the second module, we’ll be going back to the drawing board and building on what they now know. Notably, how agencies are run, what clients expect of us and why. and where PR sits within the broader marketing funnel. With this in mind, our teams are going to put their hand to developing PR strategies to get Beluga and Arc Logic back on the straight and narrow.   So, hopefully no more fantasy client crises… Even if there are, at least Module three will be focused on personal resilience! #PR #VelvetAcademy #Training #Lifelonglearning #Culture

Almost 7 years ago Sarah Patterson joined us as an intern fresh out of university. This week we are very pleased to share she’s been appointed as Velvet’s first ever Head of Social Media 📲  Sarah will head up the development and execution of social media strategy across our portfolio of clients and for us as an agency. Congratulations Sarah! #VelvetPR #clevercomms #peoplenews #agencynews #PR #digitalPR #socialmedia

Tom is not sold on the EU's digital twin of Earth... His fear? That while it may claim to be helping tackle the climate emergency, its sustainability credentials may not be up to scratch. Which is where Designit and Pardis Shafafi's 'Do No Harm' framework may have come in good use.