Gemma Cooper, PR & Marketing Executive:

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Please give us a short introduction to you, how long you have been at Conscious Communications and your job role. 

I joined Conscious Communications as PR & Marketing Executive towards the end of 2021. Coming from another agency with experience in the food and travel industry, I’ve worked both abroad and in Cambridge. It has been great to be able to work in some innovative sectors that are completely new to me during my time at Conscious Communications so far! 

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Can you give us an overview of your first few months at the agency? 

It has been varied and busy, to say the least! My first few months have seen me securing coverage for clients, writing features and undertaking social media management. No two days are the same, and I love being able to work with such a large variety of clients. From education and drones to renewable energy, it has been a fascinating eye-opener when promoting inspirational individuals, organisations and their stories about what they are doing in their own industry.

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Is there a piece of work you are particularly proud of, or a reason why you enjoy the role?

What I like most about my role is the brilliant feeling when you secure a piece of coverage for a client – within my first few weeks with the team, I had secured a client mention on BBC radio news. One area of job satisfaction in particular is developing good relationships with the media and seeing the results later on. I’m also proud of having written articles on topics I would have never seen myself capable of writing about before!

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What inspires you most? 

Day to day, it is really inspiring to work with a group of such motivated and creative individuals who are always looking to go above and beyond to achieve the best results possible for each and every client. I am excited about what the future holds since the work at Conscious Communications is growing all the time, collaborating with different innovators both locally and around the world.

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What are some of your favourite visual public relations/advertising campaigns that other brands have created?

I have absolutely loved seeing some of the PR rivalry between competing brands this past year. My favourite has been between the two oat milk brands, Swedish giant Oatly and family-run Glebe Farm. Glebe Farm took a swipe at Oatly with this video, which depicted the co-owner running over a keyboard in a field – a motif that appeared in Oatly’s high-profile 2017 “Super Bowl halftime” advert. The video from Glebe Farm does well in translating the simplicity of its messaging: the focus is on the farming and the oats. The company has no time for brands with overblown egos.

Another personal favourite for me has to be Aldi’s #FreeCuthbert Twitter campaign. Whilst M&S got itself worked up in a lawsuit against Aldi for infringing copyright of its caterpillar cake, the witty tweets from Aldi in response got everyone online involved in the all-important discussion about which caterpillar really was the best. At the end of the day, it’s just cake, and we all love cake, don’t we?