A Summer at Front Door

A summer at Front Door:

What’s it like doing work experience at a PR agency?

by Iwan Chadwick

I started working with Front Door in May as a job over the summer. It was a bit strange suddenly living the 9-5 life. A few weeks earlier I’d been rolling out of bed whenever I fancied; now I was discussing traffic after work like I’d spent twenty years on the commute.

There was also the small matter of my mam being there. Not exactly the standard summer, especially when one of my main motivations for getting a job was spending less time at home and away from my parents. Still, I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to see first-hand what mam has been spending the last decade talking about.

Work experience begins! On route to the office.

My first day, I came in not expecting to do much. Maybe I’d be handed some FOI responses to sort through or sent on coffee and tea runs for everyone else. Instead, I was tasked with producing drafts for client social media content. With an explanation from the team and an example to work from, my confidence held up right up until I had to write the first post. It’s surprisingly difficult to be creative on demand while trying not to look like you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. But, to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it.

At university, most of my writing consists of essays, reports, and trying desperately to hit a word count, but writing for social media was a completely different challenge. Trying to get a message across in just a few sentences while still making it sound interesting turned out to be a lot harder than it looks. It also made me appreciate the level of trust the FD team had placed in me from day one. The feedback was genuinely helpful and allowed me to improve while getting a better understanding of the standards Front Door sets for itself and its clients.

One thing I learned very quickly is that PR people seem capable of making a compelling story out of absolutely anything. Someone could mention a random news headline, a problem a friend was having, or a social media post seen over the weekend and, within minutes, the team would be discussing content ideas and possible angles. Meanwhile, I’d still be trying to work out who was involved, what had happened, and why everyone else seemed to understand it already.

I made the mistake of casually saying the weather was nice once. Ten minutes later, there was a discussion about heatwaves, failing fridges, and potential content opportunities for clients.

The other thing I learned is that you’re going to pick up a lot of incredibly random information. When is the best time to place sealant? Summer. How many catalytic converter thefts happen in South Yorkshire? Eight in the last two years. Where’s the next regional business awards and who’s going? Imprinted in my brain.

As it turns out, journalists and clients are surprisingly interested in these sorts of topics and learning how to make them engaging was a key part of the job. It’s amazing what people will read when you present it the right way.

What was just as surprising was that my ideas were actually taken seriously. One of my favourite moments came when I mentioned I was heading to Tafwyl, a Welsh language festival held in Cardiff, over the weekend. The festival ends at 10pm, so I suggested running a promotion in the nearby Croeso pubs for the inevitable stream of people looking for somewhere to go afterwards. And I may or may not have wanted a discount place to drink after with my student friends, who don’t have a Cardiff drinking budget.

To my amazement, the idea wasn’t immediately laughed out of the room. By the end of the day, there was already a promotional plan ready to go. It was strangely satisfying to see something I’d suggested becoming a reality, and even more satisfying to see the pub absolutely packed afterwards. Making that pint taste ten times better, so nice I HAD to have a few more.

Trying out the games at a VIP launch night for Brains Brewery

I soon settled into the day-to-day life at Front Door. Mornings often started with pulling together all the latest news stories into a round up, just in case there was something useful for a client. Then there were press releases that needed writing, the social media posts that I was slowly but surely getting the hang of, and the Welsh translations that forced me to dust off my treigladau and remember that spelling in Welsh is a lot harder when you’re no longer in school.

Before long, what felt completely unfamiliar on my first day had started to become part of the routine. The variety was probably my favourite part. Logging on and seeing what’s in my inbox, seeing what random information I would learn today.

Looking back at my summer, I expected to spend most of it making coffee runs and doing the time-consuming jobs that no one else wants to do. Instead, the team at Front Door threw me in at the deep end and helped me develop my writing skills and build confidence in what I can do. Admittedly, not everything I wrote was the most exciting topic in the world, but the challenge of turning it into something engaging often was.

More than anything, the placement gave me a completely different view of PR. I’d never realised how much planning, creativity and collaboration goes into the work that people usually only see the finished result of.

And perhaps most importantly, after spending a summer at Front Door, I can now confidently hold a conversation about sealant, catalytic converter thefts and heatwaves. I’m not sure how useful that will be at university, but at least I finally understand what my mam has been talking about for the past ten years.

Getting to know the managers of some of Cardiff’s best pubs along the way hasn’t been a bad bonus either. But all that other stuff too!