EAST VILLAGE’s latest recruit, Matilda, has recently joined the growing team as a Senior PR Account Executive. In this 60 Seconds With, Matilda sits down to share where her PR journey began and takes us through her experience of the industry to date.

• How did you get into PR?

It feels so odd to admit this, but the first time I heard the term PR was whilst watching the classic rom-com, Bridget Jones Diary, and since then the term always stayed in the back of my mind. It wasn’t until I was doing my A-Levels when I began to think about what I wanted to do at university, and inevitably PR came to my mind. After being accepted into Bournemouth University, during this time I had the opportunity to undergo a year of industry experience at a travel PR agency in Oxford, where I put my academic learning to the test.

After graduating during a global pandemic, I soon secured a role at a Worcestershire PR agency during Summer 2020. After rising through the PR ranks and overseeing several meaningful campaigns across the health and social care, technology, and hospitality sectors, I felt it was time for a new PR journey which has led me to become EV’s Senior PR Account Executive.

• Tell us a bit more about your role!

As a Senior PR Account Executive, no two days are the same. In a nutshell, my role largely consists of being the first port of call for all clients on day-to-day activities whilst proactively monitoring trends across the media, building strong relationships with journalists and securing outstanding opportunities for clients and for EAST VILLAGE.

• What is your favourite part of the job?

It sounds so insignificant, but I would say my favourite part of the job is being able to work as a team. Whilst I have the freedom to work on client activities independently, I know if there are any challenges I am facing, we face them together as a team. Also, nothing is better than securing a fantastic piece of coverage for a client that you have worked so hard to achieve.

• What’s your go-to coffee order?

In the summer, it has to be an iced caramel macchiato. If you know, you know. During the colder months, it would more than likely be a vanilla latte.

• Here’s a divisive question… dogs or cats?

Dogs all day long! Don’t get me wrong, I love cats but all my life I have grown up with dogs and I can’t imagine my life without one. Currently, I have a cocker spaniel called Alfie who is crazy, but I wouldn’t change him for the world.

• What are your top three marketing tools that you can’t live without?

Canva (My absolute favourite! Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design tool which can help prepare media kits, create social posts, posters, presentations and so much more.)

Gorkana / Cision (The holy grail for any PR professional but Gorkana is an integrated media planning, monitoring and analysis services which allows us to access rich media insights)

Trello (I love to be organised, so Trello is the perfect tool for that. In a nutshell, Trello is a project management tool which allows you to easily track the progress of different projects)

• What is one top tip that you give every client about PR?

One of my top tips I give every client is that they must know their USP. If they don’t know their USP, how is their intended target audience going to? Within this, I also like to ask clients what success means to them. Every client evaluates success differently so it helps me greatly to understand their vision and their KPIs so we can help them best in achieving that.

• What is your PR trend prediction for 2023 and beyond?

Looking ahead to 2023, I think that video-based content and even podcasts will continue to grow more than we can imagine. Video is already becoming such a key focus area for clients especially in social media marketing largely because of its creative and storytelling nature. I think we will definitely see TikTok, and live streaming content continue to boom in 2023!

• Who would your dream client be and why?

Dogs Trust or the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. I have such a personal connection with them both, but I would honestly say any animal charity would be my dream client. I think it would be incredible to be able to make a life changing difference for vulnerable animals which is beyond big business.

• Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to get into the industry?

Research up on it and even trial some free PR courses on websites like Udemy. If you are great at communicating, have a passion for writing and have buckets of creativity, then PR might just be for you.

PR isn’t for the faint-hearted meaning it is so important to work with an agency that aligns with your values. It is an exciting industry and because it is so fast paced, you must be passionate about the clients you are working for and the agency you are working with.