In recent months, I’ve been given the opportunity to get involved in event management, event PR and to witness first-hand personality/celeb management in action.
It started with Rallyfest at the Royal Welsh Showground near Builth Wells in early June. Working with partners from local authority, motorsport, the Showground, volunteers organising the Severn Valley National Rally, I saw just how much work is involved in organising something like this and how many little things need to be remembered, for example, who is responsible for collecting the cones, who puts up security barriers, who pulls out the weeds where the crowd will stand?
Also, that day, we hosted the media launch and local government introduction to Wales Rally GB. Again, so many aspects involved in a successful day – not least, ensuring there are enough bacon sandwiches to go around!
In late June, I was involved in the Protected Mobility Display and Sustainment conference at Millbrook. This military event was my first experience of media sign-on, as well as the confidentiality requirements of a military event. It was interesting watching my colleague put together a press office in a box – badges, pens, paper, printer, ink cartridges, and so on. But, however much you pack, there will always be something that gets left behind – this time, scissors.
Finally, and most star-studded, I spent the last weekend volunteering in the media services team at the Santander British Grand Prix. This was an absolutely amazing opportunity to see first-hand how over 300 journalists and photographers from around the world come together for four days – and the hard work that is put in behind the scenes to make it happen.
Again, so many things I just hadn’t considered – from the camera manufacturers who set up shop in the photographers area to repair, clean and loan lenses for the weekend, to the sheer amount of security and bomb dogs, how vital it is to provide secure storage and free wi-fi, as well as the necessity for sound-proofing in the commentary boxes because of how many there are.
And, some particular highlights – a tour around the Team Lotus garage and being invited to watch pit stop practice, sitting in the media cafe watching the start of the GP out of the window, sitting in a commentary box to watch the middle part of the race and helping out with press conferences both indoor and out which put me within feet of the F1 celeb drivers – and the PR people who never left their sides! I was also privileged to be involved in conversations with Nigel Mansell, Murray Walker and David Coulthard (well, very briefly!).
All of these very different, but also very similar experiences, have given a fascinating insight into event and personality/celebrity PR. As mentioned over the weekend, my strenghts definitely lie more in research, analysis and writing – rather than direct action and problem-solving. But it was great venturing into this world and learning about all the components that come together to make a successful event.
Thoughts on PR and comms 