My Life in PR – This Much I Know, is an interview series that talks to PR professionals about their career journey and what they’ve learned along the way. From the innovation that they wish they had invented, to their favourite books and mentors who have left a lasting impact. This series covers more than just career advice and takes a look at the person behind the title. Adrian Brady is the Chairman at Eulogy, a full service communications and PR agency. Adrian was appointed as Chairman in 2018, but he has been with the agency for over 25 years. Adrian began his career in the tourism industry and subsequently moved to London in 1993, where he worked in database marketing. He began his PR agency career working across consumer and business brands including Royal Mail and Whitbread before launching Eulogy in 1996. Eulogy works with a wide range of clients, from Panasonic and Hilton to Headspace and Jack Daniel’s.
Name the one work tool that you couldn’t live without
Probably Microsoft Teams, post-pandemic. Something we all feed into but can now help us with an efficient & effective working style.
What communications innovation do you wish you had come up with?
The smartphone. Only because I remember the original Nokias!
What is the best book you have read in the past year?
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Those of us who grew up in the 80's will have heard of or seen a lot of what the book touches on within our own friendship and family groups.
Why did you decide to follow a career in PR?
PR seemed a powerful discipline, and exciting too. From a marketing perspective it appeared, even to a novice such as myself, that PR could both help build brands and drive sales very effectively. It also clearly helped brands be known by consumers who often simply immersed themselves with clever creative output in a way they didn't with more intrusive forms of marketing.
What do you know now that you wish you knew at the start of your career?
It's the same answer as a key lesson I learned when Eulogy launched 25 years ago: Don't be afraid to talk with the most senior people you can access. The good ones will always want to hear your ideas and learn from you too.
What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting out in their career in PR?
Be open to experiencing different disciplines within PR itself. It will help you understand and identify your strengths. Which may not necessarily be what you think they are at the outset.
What are the three biggest lessons that you have learned throughout your career?
- Be decent to people.
- Your most junior contact today could be your biggest client or your best media contact in a few years.
- Always make yourself available.
Name three principles that you hold dear when it comes to your PR work
- Make sure you can write well.
- Be creative and surround yourself with others who are too.
- Nurture relationships.
If you could make one lasting change in the PR industry, what would it be?
Make our industry more confident about the positive change that communications delivers.
What are your top three media relations tips?
- Identify why a story works for a specific contact.
- Understand the specific editorial pressures at each title.
- Always try to give additional material beyond your own remit to help a journalist sell the story to their own team.
What do you love most about working in PR?
The buzz for clients and agency teams when a campaign comes to life.
Who in the media do you most admire and why?
Lis Field, my close colleague and our CEO. She's talented and straight talking. A great combo.
Who was your first boss in a media related job and what did you learn from them?
My first boss was in hospitality, not media. But he made a massive impact on myself and many other young people. In the 80's, Damien Brennan opened a great nouvelle cuisine restaurant called Reveries in Rosses Point. An absolutely crazy concept for its time, when you look back. The lessons Damien taught me about customer service, creativity and how to treat people at work inspired my college studies and have stuck with me throughout my career.More about AdrianLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-brady-05a6391/
About MediaHQ
Designed for PR and Communications teams, MediaHQ is the all-in-one media contacts database and press release distribution software with the mission to connect your story with your audience.
It was founded by entrepreneur Jack Murray in 2009. Our cutting-edge software is the best, fastest and most accurate way to find the right journalists, build media and pitch lists in seconds, send press releases and get results.
The comprehensive MediaHQ database lists the details of every journalist, and media outlet in the UK and Ireland and is full of time-saving features.
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