PR Pros: Andrea Nirsimloo Of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America On The 5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro

An Interview With Kristen Shea

Don’t be afraid to speak up! Ask questions, suggest ideas — a good idea can come from anyone at an agency no matter what the level, so if you feel inspired, go for it.

Have you seen the show Flack? Ever think of pursuing a real-life career in PR? What does it take to succeed in PR? What are the different forms of Public Relations? Do you have to have a college degree in PR? How can you create a highly lucrative career in PR? In this interview series, called “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” we are talking to successful publicists and Public Relations pros, who can share stories and insights from their experiences.

As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Andrea Nirsimloo.

Andrea is President and Partner at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America. She oversees the agency’s sports and gaming portfolio as well as corporate communications across categories. She is originally from the North east of England (a proud Geordie!) and is a fan of all sports but especially soccer, and an avid Newcastle United supporter. She is mom to Frankie (6) and Ralph (3) and lives in Chappaqua, NY.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Growing up, I always wanted to be a sports journalist. To that end, I did an English Literature degree and then studied Journalism. I could even write shorthand at 120 words per minute! However, when I started out with local reporting, I was devastated to find that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I had anticipated and I really missed being more creative. Plus the pay was terrible! I was fortunate to have a family friend who ran a PR recruitment company in London who I was connected with and she suggested I try a PR internship. I got a two week work experience offer from a really great agency in London and moved there. If it hadn’t worked out I’m not quite sure what my plan b was so fortunately I received an official job offer after that and have been in earned communications ever since!

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began at your company?

There have been so many! I think about the access I have had to sports events, behind-the-scenes moments, experiences and athletes working on campaigns for brands like Red Bull, Reebok, Oakley, TaylorMade, the US Olympic Committee — so many incredible experiences in locations globally. I think one of my highlights was working with Paris Saint-German striker Zlatan Ibrahimović, an absolute legend in the soccer world. Seeing how entertaining his media interviews were in person and then driving around NYC with him, hearing stories about his life — that was a bit of a ‘wow, i cannot believe this is my job’ moment.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

So when I first started in this industry we still have to create physical coverage books for our clients. As in we literally had to cut out the coverage and paste it into a book that would then be bound (I can just see young PR professionals reading this with disbelief) Well, the binding machine was not my friend. The amount of times I created a whole coverage book and then wrecked it in the binder — my gosh. Kids these days have no idea the things we used to have to do haha.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

We just started working with Axe (Unilever) which is a fascinating brand with an incredibly rich history especially when it pertains to marketing. There will be a lot of really exciting work coming from that brand this year and next that will really shift the way that people think and feel about Axe. Also, I love working with brands like WHOOP and NOBULL — young, ambitious brands that have so much to offer, and for which earned communications is an incredibly valuable tool. It’s incredibly rewarding to feel that you are truly part of the brand’s journey and can help shape and define its external positioning and perception, and genuinely impact business performance.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Empathetic — I often think that becoming a mother helped me to be a much more nurturing leader — which sounds cheesy, but being attuned to the needs of our staff as individuals is crucial — leadership is not a one size fits all approach. Understanding when a staff member is struggling, or in need of a new challenge, or ready for a promotion before they realize it themselves…having that foresight, is strong leadership in my opinion, and something I’m always striving towards.
2. Ambitious — I relocated from the UK to the US when I was an Account Director, and it was definitely a challenge at that stage in my career. At times I felt frustrated as I almost had to learn some of the basics again as the US is such a different media landscape. But I was ambitious and as such I worked extremely hard and completely immersed myself in the news and culture of the new working environment I found myself in. As leaders in this industry, you have to be ambitious because the second you get complacent and rest on your laurels, it’s moved on and you’re left behind. Ambition is what fuels you to be always seeking out the next trend, idea, brand and challenge.
3. Persuasive — when I was on my school debate team, my teacher informed me that I would make a great used car salesperson because of my convincing style of argument. While that doesn’t necessarily sound like a compliment (!) I use those skills all the time, whether I’m guiding or counseling a client, pitching a story to an editor, or simply during an internal meeting. Ultimately in PR we are selling, but instead of used cars, we sell ideas, stories, narratives and lifestyles.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. For the benefit of our readers, can you help articulate what the different forms of PR are?

PR, or earned communications, is a key channel within any marketing mix. Put simply, it is the craft of creating conversation around a brand, whether across traditional, digital or social media — without paying for the coverage (vs say an advertisement or paid social post)

You can break ‘PR’ down across verticals but I consider the most straightforward approach is to segment it into consumer and corporate communications — either focusing on storytelling to a consumer audience or to a business one. However, the lines between both are becoming increasingly blurred as consumers demand more from brands across all areas, and so oftentimes you are telling a corporate brand story to a consumer audience. The way you do so might be slightly different but it’s the same story.

Where should a young person considering a career in PR start their education? Should they get a degree in communications? A degree in journalism? Can you explain what you mean?

I am a strong believer in a candidate having a solid grounding in a mainstream degree subject, anything from English to Economics, and then only a more specialized degree if you want to do so. In my experience, hiring executives are looking at work experience more than whether you have a communications degree or not so it might be a better use of time to get out there and get internships under your belt. I will say that I don’t interview many candidates that have journalism experience or qualifications, and I do feel it’s a good course to provide a core understanding of what editors are looking for in a story. If you know how to write a good story, you can easily pitch that to a reporter and are much more likely to be successful in getting coverage for your brand. So any qualification that demonstrates strong writing skills goes a long way in my book.

You are known as a master networker. Can you share some tips on great networking?

Remember that this industry is small and maintain great relationships — you never know where people will end up or from whom you might need to call in a favor one day. Never burn bridges. And take every opportunity you get to attend events, join meetings and attend conferences to broaden your network , especially in the early stages of your career.

Lead generation is one of the most important aspects of any business. Can you share some of the strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?

Honestly, our new business leads all come organically — and (see above!) — are the result of the strength of our networks and relationships. We cultivate a great client relationship and then that person moves on to another brand and brings us in to support them in that new role. This has happened countless times especially over the past three or so years when there has been a great deal of movement on the client side. So, focus on doing really great work and building an incredible partnership with your clients — that’s the best strategy to employ.

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your opinion and experience, what are your “5 Things You Need To Create A Highly Successful Career As A Public Relations Pro” and why.

1. Read as much as you can. You can’t appreciate what stories will appeal to a publication if you don’t understand their content or their audience. Consume as much news and content as you can!
2. Check, check and check again. This industry is an incredibly fast-paced one, and mistakes happen. But sloppy work will drive clients (and your managers!) crazy so be sure to take time to review your work carefully — even if it’s something as simple as an email. If you don’t have time, get a colleague to check something. Attention to detail is so important and speaks volumes.
3. Soak up as much as you can. Especially at a junior level, you can learn so much from listening to your peers and senior members of staff — even just hearing how someone handles a phone conversation with a client or a challenging meeting scenario. Join meetings and brainstorms to hear from those you don’t regularly work with. Ensure that you are exposed to as many different people at your company , even if they are in a different discipline. Ask to sit in on a new business pitch — one of the most exciting parts of our jobs — but also something I found to be so motivating at the start of my career.
4. Don’t be afraid to speak up! Ask questions, suggest ideas — a good idea can come from anyone at an agency no matter what the level, so if you feel inspired, go for it.
5. Find yourself a mentor. I’ve been fortunate to have two fantastic leaders at each of the two agencies I have worked at — and I’m lucky enough that my current mentor, Steph Lund, is also a great friend. We have completely different management styles but I have learned so much from Steph, our CEO — and even at this stage in my career I know I still have a great deal I can learn from her.

Because of the role you play, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’d do something to help level the playing field for women in sports. I had some pretty rough experiences in the formative years of my career working across sports and gaming and would love to do more to ensure that doesn’t happen to other young women trying to forge a career in this industry.

This was really meaningful! Thank you so much for your time.