Ketchum UK’s Inclusion Council ‘spotlight series’ with Jack Colman

Ketchum UK’s Inclusion Council has launched a new monthly ‘spotlight series’, celebrating our brilliant people and their journey into the industry. We hope that the next generation of comms leaders, finance controllers, and creatives alike see Ketchum as a place to reach their full potential and be their authentic self. Read the first story from Jack Colman, Senior Account Manager, Corporate Reputation.

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Describe yourself in 5 words or less.

A Jack of all trades.

Describe your role within Ketchum in 10 words or less.

Corporate communications, focusing on media relations, crisis management, and copywriting.

How did you get into PR/comms?

My first dream was always to be a sports journalist. However, countless rejections for internships at local newspapers and a sobering summer of writing up transfer news articles for football websites ensured that I blew the whistle on that aspiration before I could even muddy my boots.

So, as the end of my degree (English, Spanish and Portuguese) came closer, I realised I quickly needed to get realistic and decide what career I would pursue. I picked my two non-negotiables for what I really wanted to be doing – copywriting and learning about the media – and from there the world of PR and communications quickly sold itself to me.

A few hundred Google searches, cover letters, and assessment centres later – never let rejection get you down (!) – and I was hitting the phones trying to secure a slot for World Play-Doh Day on national radio. Gary Lineker, eat your heart out.

What energises you most about your role?

Telling a story. Taking the fundamentals of a client – its products, its people, and its values – and building a narrative that truly connects with its target audience. It’s a priceless process.

What skill(s) do you think every person in comms/PR needs to nail?

Firstly, I’d say that anyone that is dedicated, proactive, and inquisitive by nature has a strong base layer to be successful in comms. Of course, being a strong communicator also helps!

More specifically, managing your instincts. We get a lot of gut feelings in this job – creative direction a strategy should follow, identifying media conversations our clients should be part of, whether a story will work for media or not etc. – and knowing when to follow them or not is an under-rated skill. It’s a trial and error process, but invaluable once you hit the sweet spot.

Were there any surprises when you joined the industry?

As someone that entered the PR industry completely cold – with no prior experience or training –  I was a little nervous I’d be dropped into the lion’s den when I turned up to my first agency.

However, it surprised me how much you can learn in a short period of time if you throw yourself into every opportunity you’re given. Naturally there are skills that require training and development – I really thought my writing was as good as it could get until I saw the industry standard in PR – but you can go a long way with the right attitude.

What’s been the hardest lesson to learn?

I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s been one lesson but learning how to work with the huge variety of people, personalities, and working styles – between colleagues and clients – and working out what makes them tick is a process that can take some time.

With that being said, it’s an experience that offers invaluable communication and relationship skills and can be deployed in everyday life. You’ll never feel stuck in the corner of a party or wedding ever again.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?

I’m a strong advocate for the ‘take every opportunity’ ethos – especially in the earlier years of your career. If you get your foot in the door, you never know where it can take you.

When I received an offer from my first agency, I only knew that I would be working on Arm – the leading technology provider of processor IP. Funnily enough this was not a field I had much expertise or, to be honest, interest in at the time, so it would have been easy to politely decline and keep looking elsewhere.

Time was of the essence, however, for me to find a job and so I took the plunge into tech PR and processor IP. Four years later and that decision has taken me on a journey that has included: three agencies, demoing a new Nerf gun at a toy fair, travelling to Chicago, Paris, and (wait for it) Cambridge, working on a vegan restaurant launch with Dougie from McFly,  becoming a journalist for Red Bull, and a wealth of new knowledge in the worlds of tech, food and drink, retail, payments, project management, and more.

The bottom line is that agency life will always throw up fun and interesting opportunities, but you have to have your foot in the door to make the most of them.

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

I’d reiterate that point again: get your foot in the door. Even if the role in a job advert doesn’t tick every box that you’re looking for – or includes work with clients/sectors that don’t jump off the page – it’s important to look at the bigger picture. Once you’re part of an agency, the world is your oyster and you’ll embark on a journey you could never have previously imagined.

Do your research. Not only is this important to demonstrate to potential employers that you have taken the time to get to know their clients, purpose, values etc., but it will also ensure that you do your due diligence in evaluating whether they are right for you.

Finally, keep in tune with current affairs. It sounds obvious, but the value of being able to reference talking points from the news agenda – and, to really impress, link it to their clients – is invaluable. Following Campaign and PRWeek on social media also throws up daily case studies of industry-leading work that can form reference points in an interview.

What can the sector do to encourage diversity?

We need to do a better job at bringing young people from all backgrounds into PR and showing that is a career path for the many and not the few. We need to be present in colleges, schools, and universities to show students what PR is, the unique value they can each bring, how to pursue a career in PR, and – above all – excite and energise them about a prospective career in our industry.

Ketchum is doing good work in this department through the Diversity & Inclusion Council but, to achieve systematic change, we all need to be doing more – myself included. It’s certainly something I’ll be looking to do more of over the next 12 months and beyond.

Highlight/most memorable moment at Ketchum so far…

Launching Samsung Work Wonders – their B2B platform – with an event that included a panel session with Steven Bartlett, a gallery of photography taken of the UK’s most unique small businesses (from llama tour guides to underground farmers), and a BBC camera crew. The buzz of seeing a campaign transform from ideas on a page into a full-blown activation is always hard to beat.

Meeting Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards at a launch event – and discussing our fantasy football teams – was also a life highlight, let alone a Ketchum one.

My favourite work perk is….

Aside from the free drinks and snacks on a Thursday afternoon – which is always a winner – the ability to work with nice, smart people on global brands is a benefit than can never be under-valued.

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

Somewhere between the gym and the pub, recording my fantasy football podcast with my housemates (FPL Groupchat on Spotify… I know, shameless plug).