Name: Zak Hillard
Age: 19
Organisation Description: ADPR Ltd (Public Relations agency)
Date Started the PR Apprenticeship: 04/01/16 (finished 04/04/17)
What were you doing before your apprenticeship? I was studying my A Levels at Holyrood Academy Sixth Form – I completed my first year (AS Levels) and then accepted the apprenticeship and left college. I was also working part-time at Sainsbury’s!
What attracted you to the PR Apprenticeship? The opportunity to work closely with the media and the exciting clients that ADPR has, for example, Helly Hansen! The opportunity to ‘earn while you learn’ was also a very big pull for me, as I was desperate to make my own money and be able to do some really exciting and fun things outside of work too.
What was the highlight of your PR Apprenticeship? Attending an international press trip in San Remo, Italy, for our client, British motor yacht manufacturer, Fairline Yachts.
What do you feel your apprenticeship helped you achieve? I feel my apprenticeship has helped me to achieve a much higher level of personal confidence, both in and out of work. I am also able to recognise the development of my professional PR skills, such as organisation, communication, writing and timekeeping – all of which are crucial to being an effective PR team member.
Top 3 skills a PR Apprentice needs:
- Organisation
- Confidence
- Determination
I love PR because… No day is the same as the one before! Things are always changing and I am always interacting with new people on a day to day basis, keeping me on my toes and ensuring I am never bored at work.
CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT
Describe a campaign you were involved in and the activities you performed to bring it about:
The Fairline Yachts press trip I mentioned was certainly an exciting campaign to be involved in.
My involvement initially revolved around organising the trip with my colleague, Sophie, and ensuring all transport arrangements, accommodation, and itineraries for the duration of the trip were all in line for each journalist that was attending. We had journalists coming from Italy, France, Germany and Poland, just to mention a few, so ensuring flights and transfers etc. were all booked was a big task!
Once the trip was all organised, I was informed that I would actually be attending the press trip also, flying out to Nice airport only a few days later. Once in Italy, I was involved in accommodating the journalists and ensuring everything ran smoothly, co-ordinating timetables for each journalist to go out on the Fairline’s Targa 53 GT (the purpose of the press trip was to allow each journalist to try the boat first hand), and making sure everyone was well-fed, watered, and in high spirits!
The press trip resulted in some really great coverage, and the client was very happy with how it went – so it was an all-round success!