A day in the life of USP’s Steven Brown

My Day

6.30am: Frustratingly awoken from slumber before the alarm goes off. The inability to get back to sleep allows for me to get on my phone and look at the day’s news, tweets and snapchats. After washing and dressing I pop my earphones in and listen to the early morning 5Live shows. My commute by bike begins through the picturesque Hampstead and Belsize Park onwards towards Camden.

8.45am: Arrive at work fixed up and looking sharp(ish). I always like to get in early, catch up with and reply to emails alongside talking to the team about last night’s series binge watch.

9.30am: If I’m not at a breakfast meeting or a seminar session with other professionals we gather as a team to brief the PR aspects of the day and also the production side of the company. Over the course of the morning we discuss what is going on in the office and who we have in to conduct various tasks. It’s a good opportunity to understand what everyone else is up to, paramount to a streamline business. 

Pre-lunch periods are spent resourcefully planning future campaigns, compiling previous broadcast reports and often sending emails you didn’t catch up on over the morning meetings. It is also a good opportunity to get in touch with our media contacts in order to sustain a relationship. 

12.30pm: A quick PR team trip to Camden Market ensues to fill our empty, culture-thirsty stomachs. Whisper it quietly but you get any meal for £5 there if you say you work locally. I struggle to consign myself back to the desk, so normally (weather provided) take a trek around Regents Canal to admire this intrinsic tourist hub.   

2.00pm: It’s back to work. The afternoon is spent drawing up prospective plans and brainstorms for clients. We try and ascertain the best angle on stories as a team alongside working out which talent would be best to promote a brand or campaign.

Once complete, we normally contact some PR connections, in order to justify one of those much-fabled and highly desirable expense-driven meals. It also comprises of annotating and editing several different versions of press releases and broadcast advisories.

3.00pm: Memory Lane. The half an hour of the day dedicated to listening to The Wireless, an over-50’s radio station which the company airs on behalf of Age UK, where we all try to guess the year of all the songs. 

Post 3.30pm: With any luck the production side of the company will have some exciting new device (Oculus Rift anyone?) for us to try out and be amazed by. It eats nicely into the day and creates an excitable vibe around the office. Afterwards, one lucky member of the PR team gets to conduct an interview with a member from a rock band for our Saturday football show.

5.30pm: It’s a good day and I leave the office on time, donned in my sports kit ready to saddle my bike and head to the gym. Once a week our team all go for a post-work  “debrief” at the local pubs around Camden (on Friday, cocktail bar – it’s two for £10). This is a great opportunity for us to relax and chat about the day’s events or what we will get up to for the night.