Josie Ballin
PR & Marketing ManagerAre you a graduate? If so, what did you study?
BA Hons Design Studies at Nottingham Trent University and MA Design Studies at Central St Martins.
Brief description of what you do.
Cockpit Arts is a social enterprise and the UK’s only creative business incubator for designer-makers. We house 165 designer-makers at our studios and provide them with a range of services to help them increase their profits while they develop creatively. My role involves promoting the organisation including our services, events and success stories. This involves working closely with our designer-makers and team on devising high-profile PR campaigns and events that keep talent at Cockpit Arts in the spotlight.
What is a standard day for you?
There is no such thing as a standard day at Cockpit Arts and that’s the way I like it. One day I could be with a photographer shooting new work for a campaign, another showing around journalists from Japan or setting up a project for the London Design Festival. Alternatively I could be greeting visitors to our Open Studios, writing copy for the website, updating a database, tweeting our latest news or discussing new initiatives with designer-makers. In-between all of these varied activities there is always a great deal of strategic planning with my colleagues and evaluation to test how well we have done. Not to mention hundreds of emails to respond to.
What skills have you come to rely on most in your position?
My role is all about grabbing people’s attention and delivering information in a way that gets a positive response. The ability to understand an audience, see a story, a keen visual eye and an endless enthusiasm for my subject area are probably the strengths I rely on most and I have worked hard to get my copy writing punchy.
If you had to pick one positive and one negative aspect of your job what would they be?
As a positive – the variety and creativity involved in PR and Marketing keeps my role exciting and fresh. I am a complete design fanatic and being situated at the heart of Cockpit Arts, seeing the development of some of the UK’s most talented designer-makers is an inspiration to me.
As a negative – sometimes finding a design solution to a problem that pleases 165 exceptionally creative businesses, each with their own distinct aesthetic is a huge challenge.
How did you get into your role?
Arriving at Cockpit Arts felt like coming home to me. All of my varied experiences in the creative industry seemed to come together in a way that made perfect sense. My PR & Marketing career initially started off in fashion. I had carried out a number of internships whilst studying for my degree and wrote my dissertation about Agent Provocateur. I was lucky enough to meet with the directors, who consequently offered me a press officer role. Since then I have worked for a number of design companies spanning interiors to graphic design as well as creative organisations such as D&AD and Iniva. Before arriving at Cockpit I had chalked up nearly 9 years of experience and had also completed a part time MA.
Do you do any type of networking? If so, what?
Meeting interesting new people is one of the joys of working in PR. The word networking can bring to mind awkward exchanges or business cards being thrust into unwilling hands. Personally I find that if you create the right sort of events/are out and about in the right places and are friendly/willing to make introductions for other people, then you naturally start to make great connections. I try to avoid bombarding people with any ‘hard sell’ when we first meet. Instead I enjoy finding out more about them and make sure I take their details. That way, if I follow up the next day with an idea it is often of genuine interest to them and thus a connection is made.
Is there any advice that you would give students looking to get into your field?
Take advantage of you status as a student and use your projects as an opportunity to meet and impress people in the industry. I think this worked well in my case, because I had thoroughly researched the companies I met with and came to them with potentially useful facts to discuss. If you arrive expecting them to write your research for you, I think you can safely assume that they won’t be calling you back. Internships are also a great way to get to grips with the ins and outs of a PR & Marketing role, to meet the right people and to test out different fields. It can be competitive to get good placements but a friendly disposition, bags of enthusiasm, creative spark and a willingness to go the extra mile will get you far.
Is there anything else you think we should know?
In press there is no such thing as ‘off the record’ and not all PR people say ‘sweetie darling’.
