Having just completed my Masters in English at Exeter, I returned home to the Midlands wondering which direction my career was heading in. I knew I needed practical experience and wanted to gain an insight into the PR industry. So to be intern at hopwood was an ideal opportunity. After all, I wasn’t quite sure what PR was – I knew it was outward facing and involved communications, but how did it interrelate with other industries? What was its relationship to journalism? How was it different to marketing? These were all questions that were to be answered in my time at hopwood.

Welcomed by the friendly team and abundance of tea, I was soon thrown in to writing press releases. Having to adapt my detailed, analytical style to informative, concise facts was challenging, but it was intriguing to learn that so much of journalist’s material is inspired and indeed written by those in PR! I enjoyed sitting in on meetings – though more of an observer than a contributor – and revelled in the fact that they called it “the board room”, very ‘The Apprentice’!

What I enjoyed most about hopwood was the diversity of their clients. One day I would be researching a women’s charity, the next writing for an MP or a leading corporate clothing company. I was immersed in business, politics, the public sector and not-for-profit organisations. Having always had an interest in the environment, I particularly responded to their property and urban regeneration clients and the projects which are transforming our towns, cities and landscape today. More

Daraca Lehane, a student from Leicester University joined us at hopwood public relations for four months’ work experience during the summer. Here is her story:

I decided to take up an opportunity to intern with Hopwood during the summer break after I finished my 2^nd year of university. I intended find out more about how the public relations industry works because, although we’d covered it at university, very little information was given about what goes on behind the scenes in the world of PR. Here’s what I learned while working here:

When I started back in early June this year, I had absolutely no expectations. It was the first time I had any work experience in dealing with the media so everything was very new to me. One of the first things I discovered was that PR plays a very significant role in the print media. From writing a press release, to sending it to various editors and then seeing it published; it made me realise that journalists and PR rely on each other for material and coverage. I was given the opportunity to write numerous press releases, which sometimes involved interviewing people! This was something I hadn’t done before and to see my work published in the press was very satisfying. More

Katherine Wood, 16, took a break out of her summer holiday after finishing her GCSEs and joined us for a week’s work experience at hopwood Public Relations. Here is her story.

If I had to sum up my week at Hopwood PR in four words, they would be “unexpected, enlightening, fascinating and welcoming”.

On my first day, I took part in a brainstorm for PR opportunities to support a campaign for teenagers with HIV.
After that, I sat in on a weekly planning meeting with the team. This was really interesting, and gave me a clear indication of just how many clients the firm has, as well as how busy they are!

After lunch, we went to BBC Radio Leicester to have a tour. We were shown around the offices and even the studios, with all their state-of-the-art technology. It was really interesting to hear how radio journalists and PR people work together.

The second day started with me being given a brief for my very own press release!  Next, we went on another tour, this time to a printing company that Hopwood sometimes uses for its clients. It was a completely new experience, as I had never seen any of the machinery before.

After lunch, Duncan, the managing director, spoke to me about PR writing and journalism. I got to know how to build a good relationship with journalists and what the best PR techniques are – it was really informative, and I will never read newspapers in the same way again!

On the third day, I started by doing an interview for my press release. Having gathered together all the information I needed, I put together a draft for Kirsty, Hopwood’s senior account executive for editing and approval. It will now be issued to the local media – my first real-life PR job complete! Next on my agenda was to write another press release.

After an early lunch, I sat in on a meeting with one of Hopwood’s clients, yet another new experience for me. It was quite strange to be sitting in a proper formal meeting, but I got a much better understanding of how PR is used, and even learnt a lot about the housing market!

Hardly any time at all was spent in the office on the fourth day. In the morning we went to Nottingham to visit BBC Nottingham and have a tour – needless to say I was excited!

Here we would find out about the relationship between PR and the BBC, and also learn about loads of different journalistic jobs, some of which I had never heard of before!

In the gallery, we saw everything that was being broadcast on the television (live) and, as our guide explained to us, time is seen very differently when working there, with some material being prepared just seconds before it goes live on air.

Next we went into the studio (which is much smaller than I imagined). Our guide explained to us how the news presenters do not just read the news, but have to write their own scripts, as well as doing other filming during the day.

Overall, the day was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which I’ll never forget. I learnt so much, both about PR, the BBC, and a whole new side of journalism.

Overall, I have really enjoyed my week at Hopwood, and have learnt a lot about what the PR industry encompasses. It has made me look at the media in a different light, and has shown me how important PR is within the news and local media. Hopefully, I will be able to get even more experience of PR in the future.

Katherine Wood

By Karen Bateman

It’s celebration time at hopwood as Leicester Regeneration Company wins a prestigious national award for its work on the urban renaissance of Leicester.

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