First steps forward

Hello and welcome to my little space on the World Wide Web – allow me to introduce myself: my name is Anais, I am 20 years old and I started my journey as a PR apprentice here at Templemere about a month ago. Now let me introduce Templemere – Templemere is a boutique PR consultancy specialising in travel retail, food and drink, and retail. There are four of us here in the office at Dorking; me, managing director Clare, business management and account executive Daisy, and senior account manager Alesha. Now that we are all introduced, I can tell you a bit about what I’ve been up to during my first month here at Templemere and what it is like to be an apprentice – I hope you enjoy!

Although I have only been working at Templemere for a month, and am yet to begin the assessment side to my apprenticeship, which is run and monitored by the PRCA, I can say I am thoroughly enjoying myself. I am given the freedom and confidence to work alone on tasks given to me, but have constant reassurance and support from everyone in the office. Being able to learn and earn at the same time is so beneficial and, in my opinion, the best way for me gain experience. I already feel a valued member of the team (I don’t mean to blow my own trumpet but I was a big part of choosing this year’s Christmas card!) and can’t wait to come out of this apprenticeship with a Level 4 Diploma in Public Relations, three new good friends and my foot in the door of the industry I have wanted to be in since starting college!

It’s been a hectic month to say the least. In between attending the PRCA National Conference and keeping track of press coverage for our clients, I was extremely fortunate to be whisked off to the south of France with some of the team for the final two days of the TFWA World Exhibition & Conference in Cannes at the beginning of October.

This year was our first year working as the TFWA press office. Clare, Daisy and Alesha did a great job of managing the press office for the week, writing and reviewing press releases, preparing press packs, setting up press conferences and ensuring the exhibiting brands and press had everything they needed. I got the easy job – having a good look around the exhibition to learn more about TFWA’s members, and attending the incredible closing Le Premium Evening, where I had great fun with some of the industry’s key journalists.

Stay tuned to find out what we’re up to here at Templemere!

It has been an exciting past two weeks here at Templemere and I have only just managed to squeeze in time to breathe and write this post! However, I must admit, I did manage to find a few spare moments to make Daisy’s run up to her birthday weekend a little tastier, by baking and bringing some cupcakes into the office – take a look at them on our Twitter @TemplemerePR!

My journey with the PRCA as an apprentice here at Templemere officially kicked off last week as I began my first piece of assessment work, writing a couple of essays to evidence my understanding of the PR world and how important written communications is – a nice ease in to the workload ahead. Although putting together all of the appropriate information and trying not to waffle on was a tricky task, I am learning more and more every day about this industry and can’t wait to put my gained knowledge into practice.

Early last week I took part in a webinar hosted by the charming Adrian Wheeler, offering apprentices and students like me advice on how to put together a successful pitch to win new business. He advised us on all aspects, from the structure of your ideal pitch to my favourite topic, what to wear! This was a really well thought out webinar, and I intend to take the notes from Adrian with me throughout my career – thank you PRCA!

I have been lucky enough to put some of my learning into practice already. Templemere has just picked up a new client (hoorah!) and I have been on the front line with researching and putting together reports for and about the client, so we can work together to deliver and meet all of their needs and requests. My first ever (real) press release is also in the pipeline of being issued – very exciting!

It has been a very fast-paced few weeks for us here, with major developments taking place - find out next time! ☺

I’ve been a social butterfly these past two weeks, in and out of the office meeting with some really nice people!

Last week I was invited to lunch with my assessor and another PR apprentice here in Dorking. We met at a local restaurant, and were instantly chatting. It was great for me to share my experiences, compare my role as an apprentice at Templemere. It was also good to hear about what other apprentices are up to and find out what kind of things I have to look forward to. Sandra, my assessor, then came back to the office with me and met with everyone and we cracked on with signing off and uploading my first couple of pieces of evidence for my qualification. It was very satisfying seeing my completion percentage go from 0% to 11% in a matter of moments!

Earlier this week, Clare, Alesha and I went to meet with one of our newest clients for a coffee to discuss what we’ve been up to, review our campaign strategies and a chance to get to know each other a bit better. It was nice to put a face to a name, and see the client talk about work that I contributed to– another confidence booster. Can I also add the Costa Christmas range is delicious – definitely try the Lindt hot chocolate if you get a chance.

It’s back into the office now, and good job because it is freezing – Christmas is coming, but not before my next blog post!

It’s an exciting time for us as an agency, with a number of developments and expansions taking place – and I’m not just talking about the arrival of my smart new desk. I’ve been fortunate enough over the past few weeks to be really involved with the recruitment process as Clare, Alesha, Daisy and I try to find our fifth Spice Girl or Guy – it has been a running joke that each one of us matches a Spice Girl (I’m Baby Spice, obviously, but I’m not allowed to say who Sporty, Posh and Scary are) and we’ve been looking for a new account manager to be our Ginger.

Whilst on the search for our number five, we met with so many great candidates, all with a real enthusiasm and passion for working in PR. Each individual we interviewed was so different, making it really hard to compare candidates. I was taken aback by the variety of backgrounds and skills people had to offer, and what they had achieved in their careers. Seeing where people started on the PR ladder and what they’ve been able to accomplish gave me a glimpse into the future. It’s so exciting and motivating to know that there is so much I have to look forward to on this journey with Templemere. It has really opened my eyes to the kinds of achievements I could have under my belt in a year or two’s time. The first one, I hope, is my first ever press release picking up coverage. I use the term ‘mine’ quite loosely, but there are definitely a few sentences in there which I wrote myself with no further amendments!

It has been quite a challenging, but nonetheless rewarding, few weeks as we came to a unanimous decision on our new member of the team. And now we have at least two things to look forward to – next week’s Templemere Christmas party and the arrival of our new Spice Girl.

At the end of another busy and successful year, we have a lot to celebrate this Christmas at Templemere. There was no better way to round off the year in style than on the 24th floor of Tower 42 for our Christmas dinner at City Social.

We certainly got more than just an incredible meal as we took our seats. The view of London’s skyline at night was truly extraordinary as we sat with The Gherkin, Cheesegrater and The Shard twinkling beside us during our meal from renowned chef Jason Atherton (and lots of champagne!).

For me, it was great to be a part of London nightlife. To be in a place with such a great atmosphere, celebrating a great year with great people was really, well…great!

Season’s greetings from all of us here at Templemere PR – we look forward to what 2017 has to bring and wish you the best end to the year.

With the festive period over, it’s back to the office and straight to work for us at Templemere. We hope everyone had a lovely break.

It has been a particularly special start to the year as we welcomed our new account manager Zoe to the team and not to worry, you will have the opportunity to really get to know her in the next blog post. Although we’ve only been back a week, it has already been rewarding as my second press release has been covered in some key travel retail press and I know this is only the beginning. Not to mention, I’m nearly halfway through my apprenticeship (already?!).

With so much to look forward to this year, I can’t wait to take you all on this journey with me and wish you and your family all the best for 2017!

I wanted to use this blog post to introduce you to our newest Account Manager, Zoe. Zoe joined us for our first day back in the office on January 3rd – it seems like just yesterday!

Zoe has been working in PR on and off for about 14 years, including running the Green Party press office, taking time out to travel and study in New York (lucky!). She says that PR is her ‘siren’ that always calls her back, bringing her to us here at Templemere.

Zoe says she considered the role we were looking to fill to be different from any straightforward PR role she had come across. Being a boutique agency, Zoe felt like Templemere offered the perfect environment for her to really make the role her own, as everyone gets a chance to shine and every member of the team is valued. Zoe loves our professional but fun dynamic, and our interesting client base gives her the opportunity to work on all different kinds of things every day.

The past few weeks have been spent getting Zoe up to speed with our wide variety of clients, and showing her what Templemere does and how we do it. We love having Zoe here at Templemere. Being a politics enthusiast, keen writer and wine lover (enjoying the beautiful view we have of the Denbies Vineyard from our office), Zoe has fit right in. And extra brownie points for her 2017 Christmas Party suggestion – a trip to Las Vegas! I’m looking forward working with Zoe looking after our clients and helping grow our client base together.

My interactive learning kicked off last week as I took part in my first webinars of 2017.

Claire Walker, founder and CEO of Firefly Communications and one of Britain’s top 100 most influential business women, led an extremely insightful webinar on ethics in PR. I got to understand the difference between morals and ethics (something commonly mixed up) and learnt about the PRCA, CIPR and PRSA codes and Professional Practices Committees. The webinar was jam-packed, with around 70 participants including me taking part. My favourite part of the webinar was when Claire put us all in a difficult position, asking us a series of questions from ‘is it considered a bribe if a fellow PRCA member representing a bicycle manufacturer gives an expensive bicycle to a journalist to influence a favourable review’ to ‘can you guarantee a client coverage if you are targeting blanket coverage for a particular blockbuster story’ which challenged us to make the ethically and morally correct decision. She gave us such a range of realistic scenarios, that if I found myself in a similar position, I think I’d know the best thing to do (hopefully I don’t ever have to decide!).

My second webinar to end the week was led by the UK’s leading PR and marketing trainer, Steve Dunne. In Steve’s webinar, I learnt all about crisis in a digital world. We were talking through how to prepare a client or brand for an online crisis and the best tactics to fight an online attack, among other things. He also showed us some examples of online attacks, like KitKat’s online backlash branding them ‘orangutan killers’ and how companies like Habitat UK and Price Hound dealt with their digital crises.

Having been a part of many different audiences, I can’t imagine keeping people entertained being very easy. Being able to keep everyone engaged when they aren’t even in the same environment as you, and you’re simply connected with some headphones, must be even more challenging. Steve, Claire and all the other trainers of the PRCA do such an excellent job, and I am convinced that I wouldn’t know half the things I know now without their teachings. So once again, thank you PRCA for incredible learning resources and thank you Templemere for taking me as your apprentice.

Time to save a date for your diary now; on Saturday 22nd April we would love for you to join us at the stunning East India Club in St James’s Square, London. Templemere’s own, Daisy, and her partner Adam are throwing their Butterfly Ball to raise money and awareness for the Salou Foundation. Tickets are priced at £135 each (or £130 if you can get together a whole table of ten!) and include a champagne reception, three course dinner accompanied by wine, live music and even a touch of magic from award-winning Gold Star Magic Circle magician Etienne Pradier. There will be a great charity raffle and silent auction with incredible prizes, including a weekend at the fabulous Montague Arms Hotel in Beaulieu.

We’d love for you to join us for this fun-filled night. For more information and tickets, please visit the Salou Foundation website at www.saloufoundation.org/events/butterflyball2017 or get in touch with Daisy at daisy@templemerepr.co.uk . I best find a new dress!

At Templemere PR we are proud to support the Salou Foundation and help to make a difference to the lives of people living with cystic fibrosis.

At the Salou Foundation, donators have the opportunity to choose the projects they fund. These range from paying for bedroom furniture for the adult cystic fibrosis ward at King’s College Hospital to providing patients with Amazon Kindle eBook and audio book vouchers.

Welcome back to my blog! I must first start off with an apology to my avid fans (I know there are a couple of you!). It has been a very busy and exciting time for us at Templemere Towers as we’ve gained more than just some exciting new business.

I spent a couple of days at the beginning of March (it seems like many moons ago now) at the PRCA HQ to take part in two face to face courses with trainers Trevor Morris and Steve Dunne. I am a big fan of both their work and webinar sessions so it was a real starstruck moment for me to be able to spend the day with them learning and expanding my skills.

Steve took us through a masterclass on selling into the media, telling us to transform our mindsets into thinking that actually we aren’t PR people, we are dealers in a game of poker and we have many ‘chips’ to offer the media. We went through techniques, the types of stories journalists are interested in and what is a big ‘no no’ for a journalist. Steve finished his session off with a very intense roleplay, where every one of us had to ‘call a journalist’ and sell in a story and campaign that we had put together in our groups earlier in the day.

Trevor Morris’ session was all about introducing us to PR. We covered the ins and outs and the dos and don’ts of working in PR. We also had a mini-masterclass on selling into the media, where like in Steve’s session, we had a company and a campaign to sell to a chosen journalist. I learnt to take a different perspective on a story, and change the targeted audience to maximise results and give the journalist what they want.

Since then it has been pretty busy at Templemere Towers in the run up to TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition & Conference, and with Alesha heading off on her maternity leave (good luck!). We also welcomed Account Executive Sophie to the team - stay tuned for more news about Sophie.

I hope everyone had a lovely long weekend and is enjoying the spring sunshine. Until next time – which won’t be as long!