What's it all about?

(l-r) Ameera, Natalie, Joanna, Charlotte, Magdalena, Shady, Zosia, Catherine, Emma: first year University College Falmouth BA (Hons) PR students 2009/10

What is the University College Falmouth London Study Visit?

The University College Falmouth Level 1 London Study Visit is a critical part of the first year for BA (Hons) Public Relations students. An energetic, immersive trip, it unlocks the doors to some of London's (and therefore the UK's, Europe's and the world's!) top public relations agencies and other organisations with a PR function.

The purpose is to provide students with a glimpse into the lives of PR practitioners and hear about their work, its challenges and the passion they have for the business. We also hear about work placement and internship opportunities.

As a result of the study visits in 2007 and 2008, University College Falmouth students have secured fantastic placements at top PR agencies including Halpern and Frank PR.

The visit also prepares students for a similar study visit to Amsterdam during their second year.

So what do we do in London?

We spend three days in the capital, visiting two locations each day. Upon arrival, we meet senior staff plus, often, new graduate level employees who've just started with each organisation.

This year (2009), our visits included:

• Halpern PR: to hear about lifestyle and luxury goods PR
• Cohn & Wolfe: to hear about healthcare PR
• The Camden Arts Centre: to hear about PR for the arts
• Frank PR: to hear about consumer PR and buzz marketing
• Diageo: to hear about PR for the alcohol industry
• Weber Shandwick: to hear about how social media is used for PR

And don't worry - there's always time in the schedule to catch a few hours sightseeing and shopping in London if you like.

What does industry think?

"The London study visit provides a priceless opportunity for students to interact with practitioners in the workplace. It's a testament to the quality of staff contacts within the industry that this visit is so well-run and successful."

Jo Patterson, Head of Consumer Public Relations, Lexis PR

Day 1: to London, Halpern and Cohn & Wolfe

Wednesday 28 October

Here we go again: one of the highlights of the first year for students on University College Falmouth's BA (Hons) Public Relations degree—and we start, as ever, awaiting a minibus outside Argos at a bracingly early 06.15 on a Wednesday morning.

To view study visit blogs for previous years, please visit:

London Study Visit 2007

London Study Visit 2008

Day 1: Arrival, the Generator Hostel and Halpern

Arrival at the Generator Hostel, not a nightclub

Wednesday 28 October

It's half-term so the 07.29 from Truro to London Paddington is packed - standing room only. Fortunately, with a little forward planning we've managed to secure seats for everyone so it's time for a little shut-eye before we arrive in London at 12.30hrs. After battling our way down to the Bakerloo Line, it's a hop, skip and jump to Russell Square where we pile in to the Generator Hostel. Sadly for any students wishing to glam up prior to our first appointment, we're unable to get into our rooms before 14.00hrs so we dump our bags and whizz down to South Kensington to visit London's most prestigious boutique PR agency, Halpern PR.

Located in the King's Road, Halpern's beautiful premises never fail to impress, and neither does their presentation. Covering some of the basics of PR such as reputation management, and offering insights into many of Halpern's high-end luxury clients, the whistle-stop visit ends with a quick tour of the stock room.

A veritable Aladdin's cave of delights, the basement area houses many of next season's fashion trends kept exclusively for use of the long lead glossy magazine fashion pages. Fortunately they permit us a quick snap, before we're off out, pounding the pavement again.

Charlotte's thoughts on Halpern:

Halpern PR has been running for 15 years and specialises in fashion, beauty, interiors, events management and celebrity PR. This was our first stop on the London Study Visit and after an exhausting journey everyone was exited and intrigued as we had little idea what to expect.

As we stepped into the offices, recognisable publications stood out from the walls: Vogue, GQ and various newspapers all screaming out celebrity status. First impressions are important and Halpern definitely delivered, with its glamorous surroundings and glamorous people.

We were shown into a plush conference room, modern with a posh feel. Before the presentation started, we briefly meet Jenny Halpern the agency founder. Jenny began her PR career working in-house for the designer Joseph for 3 years before setting up Halpern PR in 1993 at the age of 23. We meet other members of the mainly female team, one of whom, (agency health and beauty team director, Kate), gave a presentation on Halpern and the types of PR the agency is involved with. Their clients include Molton Brown and Miss Sixty.

Halpern gave a good definition of PR (acknowledging that there are many different definitions): “PR is a way of managing your reputation” and “The act of communicating what you are to the public.” They clearly explained coverage output statistics, short lead and long lead media and the differences between national, regional, broadcast, trade and online coverage.

Probably the most exiting aspect of visiting Halpern was the basement. Here they stock clothes, bags, shoes and a vast amount of sunglasses. These then get distributed to the celebrities who will wear the products to help promote the client. This is where Halpern helps clients make money and gain status, although the staff acknowledged that problems occasionally arise when the celebrities with the wrong profile call up asking for clothes to wear to events. You have to remember who your clients are and who the audiences are that will see or buy the products. Few clients at Halpern would be happy to see a Big Brother has been in their new clothing line!

Magdalena's thoughts on Halpern:

After an exhausting journey and no time to refresh ourselves, we went straight to Halpern PR. As soon as we walked in, the interior of the agency looked very exclusive and it felt like it had a special atmosphere. The walls were lined with pictures of campaigns which looked very impressive.

The agency has existed for nearly 16 years. It specializes in lifestyle, especially Fashion, Beauty,Interior and Consumer Brand PR. They have strong team of 50 people,mainly woman. One of them, Lucy, conducted a presentation about Halpern and its domains.

They have such an achievement to their client list and celebrities. The company,which describes itself as strategic, creative and connected, has worked for well-known brands like Molton Brown, Tiffany&Co and Sloggi. They are admired for professionalism, commitment and passion.

Halpern knows that budget is not the only way to cooperate with famous people. It is all about who they know. If you want to be a good,successful PR-person ,invest in a good mobile phone and save your contact details with journalists, celebrities and other partners!

Kate said exactly this, what I wanted to hear: “In PR work, there is no routine. You will be surprised because every day is different.” During the presentation we also discovered that it is not only a job in the office. You go for overseas trips with journalists, you have meetings, one day Los Angeles, the next New York. This is what excites the most! I am sure it will motivate us to study hard with such a promising perspectives for the future.

After the presentation we were taken to an underground world of the latest fashions, which is Halpern basement. It seemed like a paradise, particularly for the girls. All the shelves looked so glamorous with leather handbags,sunglasses,shoes and lingerie. We weren't allow to be there to long due to the secret nature of the new trends!

Halpern made a very positive impression in every respect. It helped us to understand more what Public Relations is about and opened our eyes for the future. Owing to this visit we realized if this is what we want or not. And if it is,they offered us the opportunity to apply for work placements during the holidays which will provide us with experiences and let us take a bite of the PR world.

UCF students in the Halpern stock room - lots of lovely stuff!

Day 1: Cohn & Wolfe, biscuits and beanbags

Stuart Mayell, Associate Media Director at Cohn & Wolfe

Wednesday 28 October

A quick stroll back through Kensington and we're back on the tube, jumping off again at Russell Square for our second and last visit of Day 1. At the other end of the PR spectrum from Halpern, we're off to see Cohn & Wolfe, one of the world's largest agencies with offices and affiliate agencies all around the globe. We're going to see Stuart Mayell, Associate Media Director, to hear about his role in healthcare public relations.

Cohn & Wolfe's impressive offices are located in Tavistock Square, close to the British Medical Association (and the Generator Hostel!). We're ushered into a minimalist space emboldened with bright pink glass walls and (much to everyone's delight) massive beanbags, biscuits and fizzy pop.

The affable yet authoritative Stuart takes us through the elements of healthcare PR with an informative presentation showing how a challenging subject area brings out the creative side of practitioners. Talk of international travel and the problems of working within a highly regulated environment dominate the session. After a brief Q&A session, that's it for the day and the students make their way back to the hostel for some much needed rest and reflection.

PR's next shining lights? The UCF party at Cohn & Wolfe

Natalie's thoughts on Cohn & Wolfe:

As we arrived in the sleek offices of Cohn & Wolfe, Stuart Mayell, media director, offered us drinks as we relaxed into the rocking chairs. He then proceeded to race in all directions, returning with soda and biscuits. Pleased that we were all refreshed, he commenced with his presentation.

Cohn & Wolfe spans the length of the globe and back again, with 107 whole or part owned companies. The company's ‘heritage lies in traditional media, branding and being creative.’

Mayell explained to us that the key to enduring client relationships is to continually produce good results. An obvious statement one would think, but the continuous process is the vital part of this equation.

Healthcare PR needs to indulge in strategic planning of media activity; also counseling clients on issues and crises, influencing publications, KOL (Key Opinion Leader) development and advisory boards.

One of the basic assignments of Cohn & Wolfe is to publicise medical research. I had the assumption that research was naturally appealing to journalists but in the dominion of the media the dominance of print space is awarded to the social and the elite. Unfortunately healthcare has neither, so how does Cohn & Wolfe gain its successful worldwide reputation?

As with all media, it is not necessarily what you know, although it helps, but rather who you know. For example, research on children with epilepsy through the simple use of the Atkins diet will be much more tempting if the press officer for Great Ormond Street Hospital had the brand name put to it.

Even celebrities are a difficult task for Healthcare PR: you cannot put any celebrity onto a case study. Even when you find a famous personality suffering from an illness or using a particular pharmacy medication you still need to discover the correct outlet to expose them to the right audience. Then there needs to be a case study of a 'regular' person so that the message is absorbed as something that affects everybody, not just an 'elite' condition.

Another mission of Healthcare PR, is to keep up to date with every health story in the media to make sure that they are not mis-quoted and medications/research statistics have been interpreted correctly, as these details can be matters of life and death.

Day 2: Camden Arts Centre (and market)

The exterior of the Camden Arts Centre

Thursday 29 October

If it's Thursday it must be a trip up North (London) to visit the pristine and tranquil environs of the Camden Arts Centre (that's the borough of Camden - it's actually located between Hampstead and Finchley Road tube stations).

On arrival, we're greeted by Andrew McGlynn, the Centre's Director of Fundraising and our host for the visit. Before our talk, we're given half an hour to enjoy Head-Wig, a brilliant exhibition curated by by Polish artist, Paulina Olowska.

Photographs by Cindy Sherman, an unscripted remake of E.T. and an amusing short video featuring a young woman at a rave with a watermelon shell on her head are the highlights.

Next, Andrew seats us in the resident artist's studio with his Head of Public Relations, Elisa Ruff. We hear a passionate presentation about PR for the arts focusing on the need for practitioners in this field to have a love for the subject and the ability to articulate the meaning and purpose of art in accessible terms.

Andrew and Elisa also discuss PR for the Camden Arts Centre's other functions: as an education centre and fulcrum for arts in the borough. We end with a discussion about how the Centre's name might affect public perceptions (is it a gallery or a more general arts centre) and offer some promotional ideas for the upcoming 20th anniversaries of the Centre's artist in residence programme and the Director's 20th year in charge.

Joanna's thoughts on Camden Arts Centre:

Camden Arts Centre was the first visit for Thursday. We were all very excited about this particular visit, because we had been discussing its 20^th anniversary and had undertaken research to come up with ideas.

When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised with the fascinating selection of books in the Centre’s bookshop, and fortunately we had some time to peruse the collection. The books covered a wide range of subjects: architecture, photography, children books and many more.

After a while we visited the current exhibition called Head-Wig, curated by the Polish artist, Paulina Olowska. She has brought together a number of works by international artists. Of all the artists in the exhibition, my favourite was the painting by Katharina Wulff, which illustrates two women, one of them sitting on a piano dressing the hair of the other.

Half an hour later we were greeted by the Centre’s Director of Fundraising, Andrew McGlynn. We walked to the Resident artist’s studio, where he introduced us the Head of Public Relations, Elisa Ruff. Firstly, they told us about the Centre, which has 65,000 visitors annually. Then Ms Ruff, explained her position in the organisation and how Public Relations for the arts really works. She highlighted the fact that the most crucial part for arts Public Relations is simply knowledge and she divided that in to two parts. Knowledge related with the history of arts and knowledge about the news. Her speech was meaningful and she also said that in the PR industry it is important to gain the confidence of your client.

Ending the visiting, we discussed the 20^th anniversary of the Centre. Some of the girls suggested some ideas they had. I was impressed when Andrew and Elisa asked to keep a board of ideas which Charlotte had produced.

My overall idea about it, was that the visit was beneficial and I might apply for placement during the summer period, because as Ms Ruff said, we have to do Public Relations in an area we are passionate about it, otherwise we will not succeed, and I am really interested and passionate about arts!

Day 2: Frank PR

(l - r) Catherine, the Munch Monster, Zosia, Joanna, Magdalena

Thursday 29 October

After a quick couple of hours free time in Camden, we're off to Frank PR. With its near-mythical status following reports of brilliant work placements from other UCF PR students, there's a real buzz about this visit and as ever, Frank doesn't disappoint.

Both the agency's trophy cupboard and its staff numbers have swelled since last year's study visit and there appears to be a new host in the reception area - an enormous Monster Munch character which attempts to topple onto one UCF student after another.

We're greeted by Andrew Bloch, Frank's friendly MD, and whisked into the spectacular office meeting room (think Amsterdam's Supper Club restaurant, but a bit smaller). Accompanied by some of Frank's latest graduate recruits, Andrew takes us through Frank's history and ethos, followed by brilliant case studies of award-winning work for Hovis, KitKat and GymBox to name but three.

Afterwards, it's off out into the Camden night with Andrew preparing to attend the Gramia Awards ("the grocery industry's Oscars" as he puts it). It's a worthwhile trip too as Frank collects awards for campaigns for Hovis, Honey Monster and best of all, PR Agency of the Year!

Not Frank, but Natalie

Emma's thoughts on Frank PR:

Walking into Frank PR, the first impressions on everyone’s faces were smiles. Straight away you could tell that it was nothing like some of the more daunting ‘business’ atmospheres we’d visited previously. With cuddly toys, hundreds of colourful awards on the walls and casual chatty people around the place, it presented itself as a extremely comfortable successful place to work.

Jon had briefed us before we went in about Frank, telling us a bit about what they specialise in and that we were going to meet the co-founder Andrew Bloch.

First we met Emily and the first thing she did was take a tea and coffee order from us, which was a definite plus, as we entered the meeting room we were all amazed to find that we were sitting on huge white sofas with chocolate and crisps in front of us. After meeting Andrew and seeing the offices I knew I was going to be totally engaged and focused on what the guy had to say.

“TALKABILITY” Was the first thing he said to us, this was his word, and he said it’s the most important thing to his company, “honest, open and no bullshit.” As Andrew was talking to us I was completely overwhelmed by his clients and his business, he talked us through a few case studies, and the procedures he goes through with each client to get them the best outcome. Everything he was saying was understandable and so interesting I was completely engaged. I think I learnt the most from Andrew at Frank PR, I was certainly the most focused and I got the best vibe. The thing I remembered the most was a quote from Andrew.

“Breath life into things that exist already, to keep them alive!”

Zosia's thoughts on Frank PR:

We arrived at Frank excited to meet the co-founder Andrew Bloch as Jon had given us a quick brief before we arrived telling us he was young, attractive and very, very successful.

We entered the office to be greeted by a young lady called Emily who seemed so happy to see us. She showed us to a seating area, the wall behind us was filled with impressive awards and famous faces and towering over us was a massive pink Monster Munch monster which seemed to have a mind of its own as we spent about ten minutes trying to stop him falling on top of us.

As we waited for Andrew to arrive we seemed to be in the real hub of Frank PR surrounded by about 75 people all working away at their desks creating genius ideas.
Andrew arrived and walked over to Jon quite casually as Jon joked asking if the Maserati sports car parked outside was his to which he laughed. I was surprised at how young and down to earth he seemed on first impressions.

He showed us through to a room that can only be described as ultra chic and modern. Everything in the room was completely white. There was a huge white table running up the middle covered in bowls of sweets and crisps which instantly got everyone’s attention.

Andrew started off by telling us that Frank PR had been going for 9 years, presenting us with a display of a mass of amazing clients they work with and have worked with for about 9 years.

He told us that the ethos within the company was to kick start conversations that get people talking about clients, brands, products and services. They have a saying called “Talkability” which is word of mouth that creates “the buzz that takes over and does your best marketing for you”.

We where then shown an array of ideas that have really worked such as Aleksander Orlov of Compare The Meerkat.com who has now become a star in his own right.

I left Frank PR full of enthusiasm for the industry and craving more.

Day 3: Drinking in Diageo

Friday 30 October

It's our final day on the Study Visit and we start with a bang - at the world's largest producer of alcoholic beverages, Diageo.

You might not know the name but you'll almost certainly be very familiar with some of their drinks brands: Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Baileys to name but a handful.

We're here to meet Rowan Pearman, Diageo's Head of Corporate Public Relations, together with Alicia Tetlow who leads the company's Brand Communications team. They take us through an energetic and highly varied presentation, discussing Diageo's approach both to corporate PR (i.e. PR for Diageo itself) and brand work (PR for the alcohol brands Diageo owns). It's an interesting mix which touches upon some really cutting edge tactics and also covers issues such as sustainability and corporate social responsibility. We finish with a lot of questions and some excellent answers!

Catherine's thoughts on Diageo:

It’s our penultimate stop in London visiting the world’s leading premium drinks business Diageo. (17th largest company in Britain to be exact!) I certainly felt curious concerning this company as in the previous days the majority of corporations felt extremely glamorous and exclusive. Whereas Diageo was an undoubtedly recognisable, global company including various international brands such as Baileys, Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and J &B to name a few!

As we entered the impressive building at Henrietta Place, London my curiosity began to grow. We were swiftly met by Rowan Pearman Head of Public Relations along with Alicia Tetlow who leads the company’s brand communicaton team.

As we arrived upstairs all of our eyes were drawn to the alcohol beverages surrounding the office, including a case full of Smirnoff. We entered a room which had a work-driven yet relaxed atmosphere, the wall was certainly striking covered with a Baileys advertisement including the recognizably seductive Baileys ‘lips’ image.

Both professionals were exceptionally friendly and I immediately began to enjoy the presentation they had kindly prepared. Diageo is driven by earning recognition, Rowan explained, and committed to helping Diageo become famous for great people, brands and performance. Corporate Relations has a crucial role in helping Diageo achieve these goals.

Diageo follow and build to achieve the 5 pillars which credit the company to be special and to have an outstanding commercial performance. These pillars are; innovation, brands, performance, people and finally responsible drinking.

Alicia explained one of the most testing and innovative challenges is to reach people concerning responsible drinking. One of their recent and successful campaigns included the whisky Johnnie Walker teaming with retired Formula One World Champion Mika Hakkinen. Supporting the champion is the youngest formula one world champion Lewis Hamilton. Both are drinking ambassadors and have spread the important message of responsible drinking whilst actively promoting the Johnnie Walker brand slogan of ‘keep walking.’

We were shown an array of campaigns they have achieved including recognising Sir Arthur Guinness’s 250th year anniversary of when the remarkable drink was founded.

Diageo was a visit which helped us absorb a great deal of explanation about Public Relations.

Shady's thoughts on Diageo:

Diageo by reputation is an extremely impressive organisation; initially I was intrigued by their obvious company publicity, displayed in large windows of the building, illustrating their products and promoting the agency’s name. The reception area is a grand marble, leather couch-lined entry for a company that clearly occupies not only one or two floors, but the entire property.

Whilst waiting for Rowan Pearman, the Head of Corporate PR at Diageo to collect our group, I perused the various publications available for appraisal on the coffee tables. When reading the ‘Summary Review 2009’ I realised that Diageo, regardless of the current financial climate, managed to greet the challenge by surpassing the sales figures from the previous year. This further increased my desire to learn about the company and what role PR plays in its international success.

I also read the Chairman’s statement, where he declared ‘strength through leadership’. This was truly evident in the boardroom, where our talk took place. This was the first agency to seat us in such a 'businesslike' space, product illustrations lined the walls and we were offered Diageo’s own brand spring water to sate our early morning thirst.

The presentation consisted of a detailed introduction into the role of PR at Diageo, what it means to promote a politically sensitive product to a global market and continue to appease intercontinental stakeholders whilst directing the modern, professional ethos of the company: to create and manage ‘activities that build positive brand perceptions and product understanding through key influencers and influences’.

Personally I enjoyed the expert knowledge displayed via visually stimulating flow charts and representations of the various stages in the method of their public relations; I also found the demonstrated difference between Corporate and Brand PR, especially interesting.

Overall I found the visit to Diageo educated us most about their PR process and the success of the company, exhibited worldwide with incredible figures in all continents. I was not only impressed by the case studies and clients the company held but by the efficiency of Rowan and Alicia (Head of Brand PR), who were both accommodating yet remained entirely professional, thereby demanding a certain respect for their extensive knowledge and evident success. I entertain the idea of one day working for such a commercially prosperous PR agency, meanwhile I will anticipate hopefully, an internship with the seriously admirable and lucrative Diageo.

Day 3: Weber Shandwick - advocacy and connections

Weber Shandwick's swanky foyer. They have their own tuck shop too (sadly, just out of shot)

Friday 30 October

It's here all too soon, our final destination for the 2009 London Study Visit, and what a way to end, at Weber Shandwick, the world's largest PR firm.

We make our way to their offices in the Gray's Inn Road, just a short distance from the ITN News buildings, where we're greeted by Director of the company's consumer PR practice, Rebecca Grant and her colleague, Account Manager Toan Ravenscroft. They lead us through into a smart meeting room complete with snazzy tea and coffee pots and launch straight in to a presentation which makes the links between the innumerable new social media platforms used by PR to communicate with increasingly well-targeted audiences.

It's an almost mind-bogglingly broad field and Rebecca and Toan do well to keep it in perspective, tossing in an amusing tale or two about life in PR for good measure. After eating all their biscuits, we leave, hoping some of Rebecca and Toan's enthusiasm will rub off on us.

Ameera's thoughts on Weber Shandwick:

Saving the best till last, Weber Shandwick - one of the largest PR companies in the world - certainly didn’t disappoint!

Weber Shandwick covers different areas such as financial communications, healthcare PR, consumer marketing, corporate, digital communications and social media.

The building itself had a very professional yet casual atmosphere and this coincided perfectly with our presenters, Rebecca and Toan who were clearly very skilled in PR and very friendly.

They were both very enthusiastic and eager to present to us, stating that they had been looking forward to this to meeting and speaking with us all week. We were each engaged and asked why we wanted to do PR and where we hoped to be in the future.

They then began a presentation into what they do, how they operate and the clients they represent. Well-known businesses and brands they work for include Harley Davidson, Singapore Airlines, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, MasterCard, Pernod Ricard wines and spirits and Microsoft.

We were then informed about an idea which they entitled ‘inline’, an analysis of the different communication channels that influence consumer opinions.

Having discovered that consumers rely more on online opinions and reviews before purchasing/using a service, whereas previously word of mouth was the greatest influence, a lot of emphasis was put on getting people talking about the product online as much as possible.

After a welcome break for tea and biscuits with some small talk, they then continued with their presentation and gave us some insight to what it’s like using celebrity endorsement and how vital it is to use the limited time efficiently. Toan gave us an example by telling us of his experience working with racing champion Lewis Hamilton.

Overall I was very impressed with how knowledgeable and successful Weber Shandwick is as a PR company. Where previously I was uncertain of which direction I wanted to go in PR, I can finally imagine myself working within a similar company, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to undergo an internship with Weber Shandwick.