A day in whose life..?A while a go we published a post about a typical day in the life of a tech PR exec. It obviously banged the bell of truth for many people...comments flooded in, other blogs pointed to it gleefully. Hell, there was even a call to add TWL to the reading list of PR degree courses...
Well, there's another Day in the Life in town. Compare and contrast...
41 comments:
both equally entertaining. The difference is that one of them is a complete load of aspirational bollocks...
That is totally terrifying. Anyone who has ever worked in an office would able to see that's a load of shite.
"It’s a particularly chirpy journalist from the tech supplement of a broadsheet. He’s accepted my invitation to meet us on Friday night."
Really?! There is a chirpy one? Whoever could it be? I must know. And journo drinks on a Friday night, surely that's a big no-no...
That ITPR thing had me reaching for my shotgun 2 paras in. Christ almighty, is there anything we can do to stop PR agencies doing this kind of thing?!
Faaaack what a load of old sh*t! Three [count 'em] whole story opps in one day; dogsbodying about on some event; and the breathless aspiration that stellar coverage will be created by yet another p*ss-poor self-serving awards ceremony! Give me strength.
Without wanting to reignite the fight last time about 'going regional' being a good career move (because I'll admit that about five per cent of regional PR jobs are worthwhile but only for the soon-to-be-sent-to-the-glue-factory) I pity anyone enthused to apply for a job there based on that tosh!
Think I need to go and lie down in a darkened room.
I wish I could get so enthused about a trade show.
Although I once went for an interview somewhere where they had TNT - Thursday Night Training. "We all get together, throw some problems in, and see what comes out!" That's the type of place to go if you get enthused by a trade show (and ITPR I guess...)
that makes me want to gouge my eyes out and underlines everything i hate about PR companies. I worked there once, it was depressing.
Stunning! Would be funny if they weren't so serious...although this is the same agency that regularly emails our clients with crap ambulance-chasing ideas so shouldn't really come as a surprise. Also, they've done surprisingly well to be diving into a pool at 7.30am and then walking into the office at 8am (with "free" coffee in hand - can only imagine how they are expected to repay the boss for that one)
Maybe I read it wrong but it appears to me to be the work of genius. Read it out loud in the voice of the human equivalent of a Labrador, (think Tim nice but Dim meets Bertrum Wooster) ready to lick the face of the person willing to employ them and roll over and have their tummy scratched.
Suddenly it reads like a Fry and Laurie sketch. Surely the number of times the word ‘great’ appears should be a signal that this wasn’t meant to be taken literally, I mean forchristsakes in this office emails whizz, pitching is fun (especially when journalists ‘love it!’) and being in for 8am is (you guessed it) great!
Bravo ITPR, I haven’t laughed like that for a while – belly laughs with hot, salty tears of shame.
Inspirational boss…Knocking off at 5.30….Must be Lewis!
But they obviously work really hard as the day doesnt end until 15.25pm - a 27 and a half hour day now that is commitment to the cause - ee it reminds me when I were a lad you'd work 27 hours a day.....
And they fuck off home at 5.35pm. Yeah right. Bet they ain't lashed to their Crackberry neither.
>Wow. It’s 5.35pm, another day has flown by. Time to go home<
Except I can't go home...as the door doesn't have a handle on it, and anyway my jacket does up at the back so I couldn't get my hands free to open the door anyway...
I want to work there! Who's betting that the boundless optimism is a side-effect of the 'heavy weekend'....?
This is more comedy than TWL - which takes some doing TWL! I reckon a few more of them and they're gona steal all your readers.
What a load of bollox. Being enticed into the office before 8am by free coffee followed by being able to leave at 5.35 - my arse!
Could they be done for trade descriptions? They need infiltrating and suing! ;)
Let's hope no-one is fooled into thinking this is a good agency to work for! Hell, this is the agency where you get a bollocking for being even 1 minute late, never mind you have a two-hour commute just to get there, but also expects their staff to work long beyond 5.35pm. Dream agency my ass and don't even get me started on the management!
That is possibly the funniest thing I've ever read... maybe it's meant as a sickly twisted double ironic statement of sorts...
And they fuck off home at 5.35pm.
Sometimes they do, but it's grrrrreat.
Genius the way they wait 24 or 48 hours to respond to a piece in the weekend nationals!
5.30: and it’s with wink and thumbs up from boss that I’m out of that temple of enchantment for another day. Vic’ station now, train arrives, 5.45pm sharp, look for seat - got one,
Turns out it’s next to a client of mine who shoves over to let me park my arse – great!
We chat about common place things:
managing trade photo shoots,
stray cats and how to get rid of them. The kind of stuff what makes us who we are.
Wow Kingston already? Crazy...
Night all.
Ha ha ha...genius.
6.30pm - Strolling out of Kingstom station on a beautiful summer's evening, just a two munite stroll home where hubby will have dinner in the oven and the kids in bed
6.33pm - Brad Pitt lookalike in a Maserati gives me the eye. After a quick chat find out he owns a penthouse apartment round the corner and is after a no-strings bit of hanky-panky for the next 17 minutes. Best sex I've ever had.
6.55pm - Arrive home, hubby's opened a '62 Chateau Palmer and prepared a perfect steak frites. Get that down and then get down. Best sex I've ever had...again! Sets me up nicely for a great night's sleep and I'll be fresh as a daisy for another fulfilling day at ITPR.
Apologies for my spelling in the last comment. I'm a bit pissed.
I know! It's only 7.04!
Judging by the cynicism displayed in many of the previous comments, I suspect that many of your anonymous correspondents are having serious problems with their time management.
I suggest a half-day training session in the middle of a ridiculously busy week to remedy that.
**Judging by the cynicism displayed in many of the previous comments, I suspect that many of your anonymous correspondents are having serious problems with their time management.
I suggest a half-day training session in the middle of a ridiculously busy week to remedy that**
Judging by your comment, 'anonymous' you've lost your sense of humour! I know, why don't you publish your email addy...you know, the one @itpr.co.uk, and we'll all take you up on that offer of a half day training session!!!!
;)
Presumably this terribly honest "Day In The Life" piece refers to a real employee - they are helpfully listed here:
http://www.itpr.co.uk/
our_company/our_company.html
My money is on Laura:
"Being the Queen of Balderdash and an Articulate champion I realised very early on that my communication skills are my strong point. When my A Level English teacher encouraged me to read English at University after being impressed by an argument I put forward for a bus ticket being literature, events dominoed and in turn ingited my interest in PR."
Then again, the other bios seem to contradict the "Day In The Life" piece. Surely shome mishtake?
"Public Relations is a tough industry sometimes with long hours and requiring equal measures of patience and perseverance and the occasional flash of inspired creativity.
Like rugby, PR can often be painful and may require thick skin… but can ultimately be very satisfying and that’s why I do it."
Or did he mean to say, like rugby, PR can make you feel as though you are lying with your face down in a muddy puddle while a group of 20 stone thugs attempt to crush your ribcage?
>>they've done surprisingly well to be diving into a pool at 7.30am and then walking into the office at 8am<<
indeed they have. Any way of finding out how this is done..???
Anonymous 11.50 - Maybe ITPRs offices are in the local leisure centre, so their employees simply dive in, swim a length, then climb out and walk into the office?
Let me propose my own version of every day events at itpr: Arrive at Chertsey train station - most dire town in the whole of the world - around 8.55 due to late train. Arrive at the office (aka the morgue) five minutes late and receive the silent treatment from most of your colleagues but still get the trusty old wink from someone high-up. Watch said person as he perves at your tits as you rush to your desk. Photocopy, cut things out, get told where to go by angry journalist after failing to sell truly fascinating article on perils of not having email sorting system. Read emails - oops, itpr has lost another client. Phone rings, take message, oops forgot to take first name of person calling. Manager calls me in for serious chat about my dreadful misdemeanour. Is crime to end all crimes, apparently. A kazillion hours later the day finally ends in a boredom/anger induced zombie-trance. Go for work drinks. Certain person plies you with alcohol and dribbles at you - innocently suggests threesome. Mmmmm maybe not. Arrive home after horrendous train journey. Briefly contemplate throwing yourself onto Surbiton rail tracks but decide that quitting your job would be more productive use of your time.
"I set about pitching a new opinion article we've just completed for my new client. I decide to target a number of key publications in various ‘vertical’ sectors including banking, health and leisure. I’m glad we don’t just talk to techies."
Uhm, sure the mags will be well happy to find out that the same article has been pitched and will potentially appear in a number of mags. Nothing like tailoring an article for the readership.
On the itpr website, Will says:
"At times the job feels like you’re marching through quicksand, and at others like you have been swept up in a tornado, but it's all worth it when the coverage materialises."
I can't help but thinking that he's referring to the agency rather than the profession. Not sure the coverage is worth it either...
You're not suggesting the management at itpr is sleazy are you? Are you a young brunette with big boobs by any chance?
"1.15pm - I call around some key press contacts to drum up interest for my client ahead of the trade show. Great!, I've confirmed three appointments with journalists"
Umm - if you can get 3 at 1.15, imagine what you'd have got at 11am?!
This is hysterical.
PS - Wouldn't it be great to call the office at 6.00pm (be daring) and see if anyone answers?
9:55am - turn up at work. Everybody's staring at me from behind their desks. They're gossiping about what they think I had to do to secure my promotion.
fk me - ITPR is getting a right good kicking here. Surely somebody must be on their side..??
no..??
"Judging by your comment, 'anonymous' you've lost your sense of humour! I know, why don't you publish your email addy...you know, the one @itpr.co.uk, and we'll all take you up on that offer of a half day training session!!!!"
pr_spod: Re read the post and then apologise. Do you not see some irony in there? Don't be so quick to pull the trigger
TWL - maybe you should email ITPR and ask them what the fuck they thought they were doing putting this load of garbage up?
TAFKAFiggis (who has once again locked themselves out of his blogger account....sigh - I should get a job at ITPR)
Oops.....unreserved apologies...*hangs head in shame*.
Red-faced Spoddy
In ITPR’s defence, I would actually say that the while the Day in the Life of is clearly chunderingly bouncy, it is actually not too inaccurate as to what happens in Chertsey Towers.
People do get excited to go to trade shows, even if they are dull as sh*t, as it means you are not being watched like a hawk by managers or the boss (see anonymous 2.49pm for evidence of said perving)
I remember a not dissimilar interview pitch from itpr, based on how they were going to be in the top 10 of the PR Weak tech agency list by, oooh, around about now I think. I think they've actually got less accounts and staff now than then...
Be fair, folks; aren't you impressed with the level of empowerment? I've worked with some cracking AEs during the last 15 years, but would never have let any of them draft a Times letter.
I've also known some right dipsticks, though, and find it all too easy to believe that this superstar needed a diary check before realising, on Monday afternoon, that Wednesday would mean a trade show.
Come clean, guys, it's all meant to be ironic, isn't it? Please???
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