Meet the PRCA Scotland team:
Get to know Thom Watt MPRCA, Co-Chair of the Scotland Committee
1. Tell us a little about your current role and career to date
I'm an Associate Partner at SPEY, an independent agency with offices in Speyside and in Leith. We do a lot of work with FMCG, and I lead all things digital, so if it's social media, websites or anything that's likely to sit online, then that tends to fall under my remit.
My career has taken me all over. After university, I was part of a Cambridge-based start-up business called Texperts, which was an incredible learning experience. We were the UK's first ever text answer service, well before the days of 3G and Google on your phone. We were eventually bought by 118118, which allowed me to work in the US and in the Philippines, and even on a Superbowl ad. I took a bit of a left-turn after that and wanted to do something different, and worked as a journalist for STV for five years. I then moved into agency world with Weber Shandwick, heading up their digital team in Scotland, and working with clients like Caledonian Sleeper and VELUX. I moved to head up all things digital with SPEY in 2021.
2. Is there any aspect of your job you particularly enjoy?
Working on the digital side of things, I really enjoy getting the numbers and being able to quantify what's happening. More generally, I think in agencies we often lose sight of the fact we get to work on all the best parts of a project - the organising and the execution of it.
3. And any aspect you don't enjoy?
Timesheets. A necessary evil, but an evil nonetheless. I'm not a natural multi-tasker, and I really like taking time to get the finer details on a subject, which isn't always possible for every piece of work.
4. What career advice would you give to your younger self?
Get stuck in. It's really easy to get daunted by the size of a task or the scope of what you're being asked. More than half the battle is just getting started and figuring it out as you go.
5. Why did you decide to join the PRCA Scotland/NextGen Committee?
Partly, I felt like I wanted to meet more professionals in the industry and work with them. I still felt like something of a newcomer to the PR world when I got involved. I was 15 years into my career, but only five of those had been strictly in comms, so it was great to hear from people outside my own job. There's also important work going on that I wanted to be more involved in, making sure the industry is progressive, inclusive and we're bringing on a talented new generation. It's good fun, and we've got a really great group on the committee.
6. If you didn’t work in PR, what would be your dream job?
I have always been a failing musician. I will always be a failing musician. That'd be the dream job!