UK PR & Communications Manager > FMCG

Employer: First Drinks Brands (owned by William Grant & Sons)

Tenure: 2007 – 2009

Job Description: Proactive management & development of internal and external PR and Communications initiatives.

• Ensuring effective communication of brand issues & activities to all key stakeholders.
• Directing internal and external communications at senior level.
• Supporting directors and managers with PR requirements including pitching, writing briefs, selecting agencies, PR programme advice, client/agency appraisals, budgets and evaluation.
• Delivering company media training.
• Ensuring efficient and effective synergies with company owners and partners.
• Producing and maintaining an up-to-date central record of key brand and company information.
• Working with directors, pricing & planning management and leadership teams to identify preferred means of company communication cascade.
• Planning and delivering conferences and events.
• Managing & monitoring usage of company website and digital image library.
• Advising on, managing and organising company submissions to trade competitions.
• Providing brand best practice advice.
• Coordination and communication of activities for nominated company charity.

Skills: Team Leadership. Internal Communications. Strategic thinking and delivery. Market research. Competitor analysis. Presenting. Employer branding. Culture defining. Event planning and delivery. Editorial. Script writing. Project Management. Fundraising. POS. Video.

Highlights:

• Coordinated sponsorship deals for GQ Awards and Glamour Awards for two years. Attended events to ensure branding was optimised and liaised with A list celebrities.
• Modernised the company logo and company materials to create visual connection with new parent company William Grant and Sons – Designed logo, brand guidelines, rebranded website and offices (with an agency), coordinated and delivered a drinks industry press launch. Wrote and produced Corporate DVD.
• Promoted into parent company; William Grant and Sons.

Employment > Pre-2007

Title: PR, Marketing and Business Development Consultant.

Client:  T2L – International Greyhound Racing Newspaper.

Tenure: Feb 07 – June 07   

Job Description: Setup and launch of new weekly international greyhound racing newspaper: 

Interviewing, appointing and managing editorial and design team. Sourcing, acquiring and designing the newspaper website. Installing and maintaining company email accounts. Copywriting and sub-editing newspaper content and press releases. Creating, maintaining and increasing databases. Procuring, implementing and developing national and international marketing opportunities, including events. Acquiring and managing sponsorship campaigns. Securing and undertaking a Live Sky Sports interview, successfully promoting the newspaper and website.

Title: Midlands PR & Marketing Manager.

Employer: GRA, Greyhound Racing Association.

Tenure: July 06 – Feb 07

Job Description: Direct and promote new image of Greyhound racing – troubleshooting previous misconceptions and negative images: Copywriting, creating and implementing national & local television, press advertising / articles and website content. Developing press opportunities for national and local media as well as in-house public relations. Working alongside celebrities and charities to improve and promote the Association’s image. Producing and delivering the marketing and PR for 6 of the UK’s most established stadiums that annually received over 1 million visitors and an income of over £30M.

Title: PR, Marketing and Business Development Consultant.

Tenure: Jan 06 – July 06

Clients: O₂   and NW telecom

Brief: Marketing and Development of B2B service: Identifying niche market opportunities worth £0.2m per year. Advising on, procuring and maximising market positioning, customer segmentation, sales channel planning and outside agency management. Creating internal and external communications strategy and securing policy objectives.

Clients: Aura

Brief: Initial development and marketing of a start-up B2C Company: Market research. Formulating and integrating customer acquisition, segmentation and retention initiatives. Branding, pricing, product launch and management. Investment case written and presented to financial investors.

Title: Brand Marketing / PR Executive.

Employer: Emerging Business, Luminar Leisure

Tenure: Oct 04 – Dec 05

Job Description: Promotion obtained after increasing sales by 40% at previous work placement: Managing and monitoring the marketing, branding and PR of 20 bars / restaurants throughout the UK. Identifying and implementing brand extension opportunities with suppliers such as Budweiser, Bacardi and Redbull. Motivating and ensuring successful brand direction with marketing team colleagues and managing directors. Working with budgets of £0.1m. Implementing 3^rd party and team initiatives. Building strong internal and external relationships.

Title: Marketing / PR Manager.

Employer: the’ Bar Cafe, Luminar Leisure, The Cornerhouse, Nottingham

Tenure: Oct 03 – Oct 04

Job Description: Introducing innovative marketing strategies for a Nottingham city centre lounge bar and restaurant: Maintaining current client base. Expanding client directory in accordance with company criteria. Liaising with local and national businesses for effective advertisement and endorsement. Event organising.

Title: Editor PA. PR & Communications Assistant.

Employer: Harpers & Queen Magazine, Esquire Magazine, London.

Tenure: Mar 03 – July 03

Job Description – Editor PA: Covering for Editorial PA as first point of call representing Harpers & Queen Editor Lucy Yeomans – Position secured during work experience: Organising meetings and social engagements throughout Britain and abroad. Daily receiving of and responding to PR releases, personal correspondence, business and general enquiries. Working confidentially with A list celebrities.

Job Description – PR & Communications Assistant: Accredited Personal Assistant to Restaurant critic Jennifer Sharp in the renowned Moet & Chandon Annual British Restaurant Guide – Position secured during work experience: Drafting promotional editorials for both monthly publications, dispatched to British and New York media. Composing fashion articles. Assisting the editorial department in research for journalist’s articles. Effectively liaising with company departments, members of press & public figures.

Title: Housing & Council Tax Benefit Officer.

Employer: Nottingham City Council Treasury

Tenure: Oct 02 – Mar 03

Job Description: Working face to face with adults who often have special needs, disabilities and come from deprived backgrounds to target and manage their personal problems with housing and council tax governmental funding: Utilising, translating and inputting three governmental computer programmes to grant financial aid to claimants. Complying with governmental regulations regarding financial and personal aid for the underprivileged. Working under extreme pressure in an ethnically and socially diverse environment that is occasionally volatile.

Title: Researcher.

Employer: Ricochet Channel 4 Films, London.

Tenure: University summer holidays, 2000

Title: Researcher & Office Manager.

Employer: Siguy BBC Films, London.

Tenure: University summer holidays, 1999