Edelman Apprentice Scheme » Public Affairs

A Political Christmas

barneyevison — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:42:33 +0000

From JCPR, I was thrust into the world of Public Affairs. It seems that 5 weeks (the length of a single grad rotation) is exactly the amount of time needed to get to know people and settle in to a department, so every new rotation feels like a bit of wrench from what has become somewhat familiar! But change can only ever be good…

The PA group is the smallest of the main departments in terms of staff, although its client list seems to be one of the longest. I was exposed to a huge range of accounts, from Anglian Water to the British Virgin Islands, to Sainsbury’s and the Open University. For these accounts I carried out a range of tasks including monitoring governmental committee meetings and the media, compiling stakeholder lists, contacting stakeholders, carrying out desk research and preparing biographies of relevant MPs. I helped out at a couple of events, one of which took place in the Lord Mayor’s Parlour in Westminster City Hall.

Public affairs or lobbying, as it may more commonly be known, involves a huge amount of political intelligence. It seemed to me that the foundation for all the work the PA team does is up-to-date information about what is going on in Westminster – as well as in the parliaments of Berlin, Paris and Brussels. The team are a fount of political knowledge of who is doing what where. What’s interesting is how engaged each member of the team is personally – all are members of a political party and are usually active within them – and are thus stakeholders themselves (partisan politics are however confined to inter-pod repartee and all-group emails!)

I learnt more about politics in 5 weeks than in the last 5 years, and I enjoyed making sure I kept abreast of current affairs. The amount of IP coming ceaselessly from the PA team is remarkable – they produced several items while I was there, such as a report on the Autumn Statement , analysis of the London Mayoral Election and the EU treaty veto, the Edelman Capital Staffers Index and multiple breakdowns of parliamentary meetings, bills and reports (such as the Portas Review). The speed at which these documents are put together is impressive; there is so much going on that much of the skill lies in stripping back the irrelevant information from the essential.

In keeping with tradition, every member of the House of Lords celebrated the festive season by dressing up as Father Christmas

The penultimate week before Christmas was particularly fun-filled for me, as it covered both the all-group Christmas party and the PA trip to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. The Edelman Christmas Party 2011 kicked off at the office with an internal awards ceremony (The “Edelman Honours”) – which included such prestigious accolades as the messiest desk and the worst use of PR jargon (the extent of the latter’s incomprehensibility means I will never be able to repeat it) – then continued onto a night club in Covent Garden where we were treated to food, drinks and circus dancers. This was a great chance for us grads to be able to chat to all the people we’ve met throughout the office and it was lovely to see everyone relaxing in social context. We were greeted with bacon and sausage sandwiches for breakfast the next day, which made the run-up to Christmas all the sweeter. I was off for the PA team afternoon and dinner on the Friday and managed to time my leave nicely taking the final week off.

Pinch me…this cannot be real!

rosiemorris — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:02:07 +0000

Well it has most certainly been a year to remember. I feel like I’ve come a million miles since this time last year. It’s almost exactly a year ago that I applied to the Edelman Grad Scheme. The weeks seemed to pass in a flash between application form, interview, assessment centre and job offer…all alongside researching and writing my dissertation, which now feels like a very distant faded ~~nightmare~~ memory. And now here we are…half way through the programme already. How did that happen?!

From donning my best suit at 6am for a client event at Parliament to sipping on wine and nibbling canapés at our very own office, I feel like I’ve done it all since starting at Edelman. I’ve had a number of “pinch me” moments, but in between the glitz, the glam and the crazy running around, there has been a lot of hard work, a lot of lessons learned, huge amounts of fun and even a few fears conquered.

Working in PR, particularly on a grad scheme, is so exciting. You never quite know what the day is going to throw at you, and no two days are ever the same. With a diverse range of clients across the different teams, it’s hard to pin-point every single thing that I’ve learned or done since I started here. I can nonetheless assure you that it is a very long list that will continue to grow. It just remains for me to say thank you to the PA, Corporate & Financial and Tech teams for throwing me right into the deep end and making my first three months’ work so fulfilling.

Next stop…Digital!

Public Affairs – a peek into the private side of public decisions

chaanahcrichton — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:20:28 +0000

Our rotations seem to be spinning by at break-neck speed, and I have been terribly neglectful of my Graduate Blog – apologies!
Before starting my rotation in the PA department, public affairs had always seemed like a somewhat alien concept to me. However, I now feel that I have a much more comprehensive understanding of what happens in UK politics and how PA departments lobby for clients.
In a nutshell, these are the sorts of tasks that I was doing:

Monitoring for clients (any news stories mentioning the client or related to them)
Watching parliamentary enquiries / debates and writing reports for clients with an interest in that subject area
Hosting round table events
Creating stakeholder lists (to invite clients to events, to set up meetings etc.)
Conducting research into potential new clients

A few things that I learnt whilst in PA:

Insight and knowledge of how Parliament and Government operates is very important. Parliamentary researchers are important influencers. They help MPs make decisions and often have parliamentary ambitions themselves.
Numerous Peers have outrageously brilliant names!
When organising a meeting/event with an MP, the closer to Westminster the better!
DODs people is an INVALUABLE source of information!

The Public Affairs team at Edelman is one of the smallest within the London office, but they are an invaluable and respected cog in the workings of an all-encompassing PR agency. The clients are diverse, operating in sectors including energy, FMCG, retail, technology and property clients.
I had a great time during my rotation in Public Affairs, primarily due to my lovely colleagues, but also due to the knowledge that Iaccumulated during my five weeks there.

Party (Conference) Time!

rosiemorris — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 21:36:01 +0000

When I found out my first rotation of the graduate scheme was to be in Public Affairs, I was pleased (and slightly nervous) to know that I would be jumping straight in at the deep end. With limited political knowledge, I was apprehensive about starting in an area where I knew my prior experience (or lack thereof) would not be nearly enough carry me through. After two weeks, however, I can safely say that I am thoroughly enjoying Public Affairs, and I have been made to feel totally welcome in this department. What is more, I could not have arrived at a more exciting time.

The next three weeks will see the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives hold their annual Party Conferences. My first two weeks have been hectic to say the least, but I have always been a firm believer that the best way to learn is to throw yourself right into every task with as much energy as possible. And what better way to learn the ins and outs of the daily routine of the Public Affairs team than to be present during one of their busiest times of the year?! Thanks to the brilliant minds that surround me, I reckon my political knowledge has already increased tenfold. I am getting a real buzz of excitement working with people who are clearly so passionate about what they do, spending hours making sure that their clients have the best possible opportunities to meet with politicians and attend debates and speeches on subjects which are fundamentally linked to the interests of their business.

So far I have been lucky enough to work on accounts such as Starbucks and The Open University in the run up to the conferences. As an avid Starbucks fan, I was fascinated to learn about their Youth Action programme, which encourages young people across the country to participate in projects devised by other youngsters in their local community. Turns out that Starbucks are SO much more than just great (ethically sourced) coffee! Party Conference season is clearly an extremely important time for any business, offering a chance to discuss values and ideas with some of the most influential politicians around. And it’s up to the PA team to make sure that these opportunities are not missed.

As well as helping with all the preparation for Party Conference, I have had chances to hone my research and communication skills through media monitoring, political debate monitoring and stakeholder mapping. Some of the most exciting projects in which I’ve been involved are for clients working on planning applications: it’s so exciting to see different redevelopment plans taking shape. These projects could benefit many people in communities across the country. With each piece of work I complete, I can feel myself progressing and gaining an even better understanding of the importance of communication in the relationship between politics and business, and what it really means to work in Public Affairs.

I know that there is still so much more to learn, but I look forward to the challenges of each new day in this department. The next four weeks are going to prove invaluable. Thank you, PA team!

Fate

mary.mitchell — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:41:54 +0000

It seems weird to write this knowing I have now finished the graduate scheme…it feels like only yesterday that I started, dressed to impress in my finest shirt and skirt! Trying to look confident and assertive, when in fact covering up the nerves which were racing round inside me. I chose the graduate scheme because I wanted to explore all the different avenues PR has to offer, whether it be corporate & financial, healthcare, digital, technology, public affairs or consumer. There were many tricks to learn and accounts to be a part of. It’s an invaluable experience, one I would recommend to anyone who is even remotely interested in this sector. The graduate scheme completely overreached expectations allowing you to find your strengths and loves, but to also grant you the ability to use those skills picked up from previous rotations and further improve them, proving that the brilliant basics of PR are 100% transferable and essential.

When it came to crunch time a couple of weeks ago, I was swinging in roundabouts. One day thinking ‘yes definitely x department’, the next day ‘no that department’, the following day ‘but what about this department’ – you can imagine how this continued. I’m normally a pretty decisive person, but this was ridiculous! The factors I considered were a) client accounts b) future progression and c) the people. The thing with Edelman is that each department has exciting, big name clients. The other thing with Edelman is that each department considers your future and will help you in career decisions. The third thing with Edelman is that each department has amazing people…you can see my problem here! The people I must say are talented, dedicated, intelligent and truly welcoming. As a grad you are lucky enough to learn from some of the crème de la crème in the industry.

So what were the highlights of my eight months?

Working with some Digital pioneers in Spook. The world of communication is changing with the advancements in technology, and what better place to learn about the importance of social media than in our very own award winning Digital team. Try exciting campaigns such as Levi’s® Shape What’s To Come and Puma’s After Hours Athlete
Meeting Boris Johnson at an event I helped organise on behalf of Douglas&Gordon whilst working in Corp&Fin. Actually hilarious! A point to note about Corp&Fin is the variety in work – a dream for any graduate. From issues and crisis management, to CSR platforms, award ceremonies and of course the all important media liaison
My first ever red carpet event at the Xbox Halo: Reach launch, working with some consumer PR gurus to organise a celeb-tastic event and then watching the fantastic pieces of coverage appear
Pitching for new business whilst in the Public Affairs team. Understanding the insights which are essential in forming strategy, context and desired outcomes
Working in a global hub at Tech was priceless. I was lucky enough to be involved in brainstorming and then implementing campaign ideas both on a central and local level
Improving a weakness in Healthcare. I’ve never been a perfectionist and sometimes attention to detail can suffer. To work well in Healthcare you have to study the small print and this was the ideal opportunity to put my weakness to the test and sort it

Any conclusions? Yes….the graduate scheme is truly invaluable. The tools it equips you with, the friends you make and the interests you pick up can only but increase your employment prospects and that’s the whole point, right?

2 for 1 – Glimpse at Digital and Public Affairs

christina.swasey — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:35:56 +0000

A little late to leave the starting line on blogging about my experience here in the graduate rotation, but here it goes. I was fortunate enough to receive the opportunity to stay on at Edelman on the graduate scheme after a 3-month internship with the Healthcare team here in London. What can I say? Opportunities are opportunities and I took a leap fully knowing I’d have to leave my comfort zone and face the challenges ahead.

Digital Versus Public Affairs

Everyone keeps asking me which I prefer, Digital or Public Affairs? I don’t think I can give a straight answer to that because I honestly don’t have one. It’s like asking someone if they prefer their hands or their feet, which I can’t begin to rationalize. What is fair to say is that I felt like a fish out of water to begin with in both Digital and Public Affairs – but I think that actually heightened my experience. Overall, I was amazed at the range of projects I had the chance to work on. Certainly no shortage in that department. There was always plenty of research to collate – much of which would go directly to clients or be used in new business pitches. During my time is these teams I managed to help with online audits, social media content development, supporting events and even had the chance to attend a few client meetings and events. What makes both of these teams exciting groups to work with is that the different clients represent a whole spectrum of industries including education, energy, consumer brands, pharma companies, automakers and even a tourism board. And if I forgot to mention it before, people in both the teams were beyond amazing to work with.

Now to reel back to the work I had the pleasure of doing. Even though I was only in a given department for five weeks at a time, it was such a sweet treat to see what became of my hard work. Whilst in Digital, I managed to increase online blogger coverage for Levi’s Shape of What’s to Come (a community of inspiring women networking and sharing life experiences) live webcast with Shingai Shoniwa, the singer of the Noisettes, who also recorded an amazing track for the campaign. During my time in Public Affairs, I had the opportunity to reach out to a number of MPs and invite them to an educational campaign on alcohol awareness sponsored by Diegeo called ‘Smashed’. I must admit that both these tasks required a fair bit of diligence and really hinged on people’s interest. In the end, blogger coverage for Levi’s Shape of What’s to Come went great and there were a number of MPs interested in seeing the theatrical education programme firsthand! One Labour MP, Jonahthan Reynolds, appreciated ‘Smashed’ so much that he even shared his account of the programme’s ability to engage with young people concerning the use of alcohol. Both of these teams were incredibly unique but I think it’s fair to say that they are driven to continually reach out to public interest – that is PR after all!

Topping up on News

Besides being one step ahead of the curve, there is a real sense that people are very much on the same page. Digital for example, are on a need to know basis with all the latest trends in social media. While over in Public Affairs, there is continual play-by play coverage of Westminster’s surfacing agendas. News of the day is on constant flow. The folks from Digital are continually dipping into the likes of Mashable and TechCrunch for fresh inspiration, while over in Public affairs people keep a constant eye on topics and opinions unfolding on Parliament Live TV and checking the annals of They Work For You and Write To Them.

Lasting Impressions

What really stands out here at Edelman is seeing the wealth of resources that the company creates. This isn’t just a matter of exclusive speakers coming in here or there (which they most definitely do!), or the excellent training programmes and courses occurring year-round. People here are committed to setting a precedent and an agenda. It’s not just about being the best communicators possible, but making communications resonate by setting standards for being real and engaging. I’ve had the chance to help out with events like the Crystal Ball and the Trust Barometor that make this place feel as though it’s on the precipice of what comes next. Both of these events packed the room with heavy weight thinkers from the government, the media, and non-profit groups. Whether looking at Big Society in 2011 or understanding the impact of trust within global industries, Edelman as a company makes a habit of starting good conversations.

Jumping into a World of Politics: A Must for a Graduate

mary.mitchell — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:02:27 +0000

Coming to public affairs with very little experience in this field, I thought my background in PR would see me through, but it was certainly a jump right in at the deep end. They always say a challenge brings out the best in people, and I guess this is exactly what the graduate programme is all about.

Remember how at school and university you’re always advised to keep up with current affairs. To know which politician is in trouble, which company has caused a national disaster and who won X-factor (maybe the latter is just a consumer conversation, but important nonetheless). Well public affairs was in a way a bit like being back at university in a very good light. I found myself doing ‘extra reading’ inspired by the enormous database of knowledge of the colleagues around me. Their enthusiasm and dedication to the job is second to none which is of course obvious in their work. I’m hardly ever intimated, but at the start with all the serious faces, I must admit, I thought this might be tricky. However after roughly 54.23hours I felt at home thanks to a wonderful pod and two incredibly welcoming MDs.

The public affairs team at Edelman is hardworking, intelligent (of course) and actually hilarious. Out of all my rotations so far I don’t think I’ve laughed as much as I did here. Seriously. They work longer hours that’s for sure, but in a somewhat surprising way, it was a pleasure. I looked forward to the day ahead, what challenges it would bring and what jokes would spread.

So what did all these stimulating challenges encompass? Stakeholder maps, tick. Briefing papers, tick. Daily monitoring, tick. Monitoring of Parliamentary committee meetings, tick. According to the other teams, ‘all very sophisticated sounding tasks’ apparently! Public affairs boasts of big name clients such as Sainsburys, Starbucks, Network Rail, Microsoft and The Open University, all of which I was lucky enough to work on. The most exciting task to be involved in was pitching for new business. A great opportunity to understand all the behind the scenes work involved in generating new revenue.

Skills learnt during these few weeks are those that I will proudly and happily take away with me. Organisation, rhetoric, diplomacy and above all, attention to detail are imperative to any progression. So thank you PA team for sharing your incredible knowledge and talent with me. A ‘must-do’ five weeks for any graduate seeking to learn and improve.

To find out more, check out their website at http://www.edelman.co.uk/what-we-do/public-affairs and my blog at http://maryfizzy.blogspot.com/.

So…what next!?!

Abigail Pritchard — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:21:50 +0000

Well, I think this is going to be my final blog posting on the Grad Scheme at Edelman. The scheme is ending at the end of next week. I cannot believe the past 8 months has gone past so quickly.

So what now?!

Heather and Clare have both been offered positions in two of the departments at the company which is fantastic news. Unfortunately my two chosen departments do not have a position for a grad and so no job for me. However, PA (one of my two choices) have offered me an internship with them for three months.

Therefore I will be doing a similar role as I did through out the grad scheme but for three months. The most exciting part is that I will be going back to them two weeks before the general election. Things will be extremely exciting and it will be fantastic experience! As there wasn’t any possibility of a permanent position with them this is definitely the next best thing, I wouldn’t want to be in a department where I was suited to the work.

Even if I leave Edelman at the end of the internship I will have gotten a year’s fantastic experience with the company to take me into another position, hopefully. I have begun to think about what I would like to do after the internship.

At 24 (yes ok nearly 25 *shudder*) it’s time to begin to seriously think about where I want to focus my career and I think it will either be in Public Affairs or Sport. I am also doing a course in PR and Events which will give me further experience and skills in the industry. This together with a part time job and working at Edelman keep me extremely busy.

I’m with the Healthcare department for my final rotation and the team are really lovely – especially my pod and the two pods next to me but like Clare said the treats are vast and it is difficult to resist.

I have started cycling to and from work each day (two weeks in) and getting here for 8 and leaving a bit earlier (5 or a bit after) so that I have still worked 9 hours but the extra was at the beginning of the day. The routine is possible in the this department and due to the way my body works it is great because it gives me a break before going home to do uni work.I work better in the morning and the fresh air and lack of people on my commute puts me in a good, awake mood.

I have to say that the work at Healthcare has been extremely interesting but I prefer the type of work in PA as I am not the most scientifically minded. However it has been fantastic experience.

I have made some great friends here – especially the other interns and grads and I’m lucky enough to live near some of them. Hopefully we will keep in touch even if I do leave after the internship.

So at the moment the future is not certain – I will be looking around for positions whilst doing the internship and hopefully the next role I’m offered will be the perfect one!

The next blog I will be writing is one when I eventually manage to do a bit of travelling – but that wont be for a few years – but maybe I’ll be working on a few others in the meantime.

Overall the Graduate Scheme at Edelman has been fantastic. To have worked in each of the four departments for two months has enabled us to be immersed into teams and really get a taste of the type of work the company does. Since September Edelman have won wuite a few awards and also celebrated many pitch wins. This company if a fantastic place to be and I have received extremely positive feedback from its presence on my CV. I recommend this scheme to every potential PR!

I want to wish Maggie, Livi, Francesca, Erin, Charlotte, Louise, Natalie, Clare and Heather lots of luck with the rest of their time at the company (however long it will be), and thank everyone from all four departments and everyone whom I’ve worked with for all their support and help.

Signing off now..

2010 off to a flying start

Abigail Pritchard — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:48:04 +0000

It has been over a month since my last post, partly due to the festive period but also due to an extremely busy first 3 weeks in my new rotation. I am now in Public Affairs (PA) and really enjoying it!

I was very apprehensive going into this hardworking area of the office. I have very little political background – I only studied political history until GSCE level and a bit of political philosophy during my degree. I had become interested in UK politics during recent years as I got older and changes in government/bills began to affect my day to day life. As a country girl I was one of the many to march in Hyde Park about the hunting ban, and David Cameron is my home MP for Witney, so I was looking forward to learning more about this world.

I didn’t know what to expect in terms of work when I started three weeks ago. Clare was here before me and she told me about some of it and the clients’ accounts she worked on, but nothing prepared me. In my first week (first week of January) the buzz word was new business so I was doing lots of research into new ideas. I was also shown how to do some monitoring for press mentions about one of the clients and research for clients in the news.

PA deals with so many different aspects of client work that every day is different.

In the second week everything began to get very busy as I was asked to help with work for a new and really exciting client. I also asked if it would be possible to help on one of the new pitches and was able to do some research, so at least I can feel I helped, a bit!

With the General Election coming up there is work related to Parliament, with some work for Reed in Partnership where I was liasing with MP offices and writing biographies. David (the new intern) and I have also been asked to put together biographies to help the team in their preparation for the Election period. This is helping me to learn more and more about current UK politics and also about how the team works.

The team have been fantastic, when I came in Paul (my line manager) was on holiday and Lyndsey, Peter and Mark took care of me. When Paul came back he has helped me to get to work on some great clients and asked me who I would like to work on and if there is anything I feel I haven’t done yet.

Last night Spook challenged the office to a pub quiz – It was great fun as the PA team are competitive and we did manage to win! No hard feelings ‘eh Marcus – but we did beat you by a little bit. Plus anyone who says there were too many PA related questions – our best rounds were Literature and Food and Drink!! It was a really good opportunity to get to know more of the team who have made me feel very welcome.

I’ve got four and a half weeks left with this team during the grad scheme and then it will be on to Healthcare (my last rotation). The new grads have started now – there are three more girls to make up a pretty good group of us, together with the interns David and Olivia (who I have met). I was very pleased that Francesca joined the grad scheme after being an intern at Corporate with me, and I wish Francesca, Erin and Maggie loads of luck.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!!

Abigail Pritchard — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:37:57 +0000

Well it’s my last day before Christmas so I thought I should write a blog post before we all go off on holidays. The office is so empty as so many people have already left. Hopefully the snow and ice will hold off and I will get out off London tomorrow morning, and the country on boxing day. I cannot wait to go on holiday – the first one in 7 years, it has been way too long!

Last week the Corporate team had the Christmas lunch – I think I was possibly the only person who left their present at home and had to rush out and buy another one. It was a great afternoon as we all hid in a pub from the snow with plenty of..water, honest.

The lovely intern at Corporate also got onto the next intake of Grads for January so I want to extend my congratulations to her – she’s been great to work with and I wish her all the luck the world.

So far whilst working for Edelman I have been in two totally different departments but I have enjoyed the challenges of all of the work. We are now halfway through the Graduate Scheme and we have done two rotations. I have been at Corporate and Digital. These teams differ in clients and type of work – for example at Digital you very rarely pick up the phone to call a jounralist.

At Corporate I have now also had the chance to work on some sport clients which has been very enjoyable, and I hope to carry on working on this in the New Year.

So, off to PA next! It will be a learning experience for me who has not studied Politics before. I have been interested in it, but as David Cameron is my home MP it is from a less objective stand point.

I hope that everything is going well and that the teams are pleased with my work, especially as I feel I have learnt so much in the past 4 months.

I’ve now been in London for 7 months and it feels like years! Having come here in June to settle in before starting work I feel like I have gotten to know the city better (although there is so much I don’t know – the East, West and North for example!) I definitely think that I have made the right move, and although I miss home and the countryside, London is a great place to be.

I feel that within the Grad Scheme we are looked after and hopefully gaining the experience we need. I am still not sure what area of PR I would like to specialise in but I think that the next two rotations should help me to decide.

So I leave the office in 2009, when I come back it will be a new decade, possibly with a broken leg (I’ve never been skiing before!!). Have a great Christmas break everyone and a merry New Year’s!