Ketchum UK’s Inclusion Council ‘spotlight series’ with Hollie Honeyman

For the second iteration of the Ketchum UK Inclusion Council’s monthly ‘spotlight series’, we hear from Hollie Honeyman, Senior Account Executive, who shares her journey into the industry, and sheds some light on her role at Ketchum.

Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

Travel lover, painter, adrenaline junkie!

What does your typical day look like? 

I work across a mixture of UK and Global health & beauty accounts on the brand team at Ketchum meaning my day can be completely varied! But a typical day can range from liaising with the media, event planning, client comms, social channel and content management to global market management.

How did you get into PR/comms?

I sort of fell into the role. I left sixth form at 18 with 3 A Levels in Art, Physics and Mathematics with not really any clue on what I wanted to do in terms of my career. I thought the best way to gain experience would be to start off in an admin role and that’s exactly what I did. I started in a Brand Team Assistant role at Ketchum. After about a year, the Philips UK team were looking for junior support and offered me the role as Account Coordinator which I of course jumped at the opportunity for! Since then, I have worked across a range of clients on the brand team and have also worked my way up to Senior Account Executive.

Is a university degree a must-have to be successful in PR?

This is a definite no and I’m living proof of this! Although having a degree can give you a stepping stone, I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to landing a job in PR and definitely think there are different avenues you can take to get into the industry.

What energises you the most about your role?

Activating and managing events. Although the lead up to events can be stressful, I absolutely love event activation and I find it so rewarding.

What skills are you building right now?

My writing and presentation skills. I’m also working on building out my black book list of media contacts as this is key when trying to land media coverage.

What’s your go-to social channel and why?

Although I absolutely love TikTok and BeReal (and may be a tad too obsessed), Instagram has to be my go-to social channel as I love seeing what people are up to and also love sharing my travel content on there. I see my Instagram profile as more of a memory bank and often look back at it to remind me of all the fun travel adventures I’ve had!

Highlight/most memorable moment at Ketchum so far… 

This has to be last year at the Philips UK overnight stay event at the Rosewood Hotel in London where we found out famous rapper Drake was also staying over that night at the same hotel. During that evening, he walked passed myself and another colleague at the entrance and looked me directly in the eyes… a year later and I’m still not over that moment if I’m honest. This also made a great talking point with media at the dinner table!

What are your top 3 tips for getting into the industry?

1 – When applying for a job in the industry and ahead of an interview, make sure to do your research. You want to really impress the employer and make them aware that you know what you’re talking about.

2 – Say yes to everything you can to gain experience. Taking every opportunity you get given will really help you get your foot in the door.

3 – If you don’t have much experience in the industry, start off by applying for an admin role for a PR company. As previously explained, this was the first step I took to get into the industry and worked my way up from there!

What can the sector do to encourage diversity? 

DE&I should always be championed throughout the workplace. I think particularly for this industry, we should encourage diversity within our campaigns and planning, and ensure we consider factors like age, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, culture identification, physical qualities/abilities and socio-economic backgrounds when developing a campaign.

My favourite work perk is….

This has to be media meets. Who wouldn’t love taking journalists to try out new restaurants around London?!

When I’m not at my desk you’ll find me…

I absolutely love to travel and experience new cultures. I try to make the most out of my annual leave and book as many holidays as I can throughout the year! My goal is to eventually visit every continent and see all seven wonders of the world (both natural and new). If I’m not on holiday somewhere, you’ll find me at the gym or bouldering.