There are now just days to go until the first PHA/5W exchange scheme takes place, and with my flight over to NYC as part of ‘Team PHA’ imminent, the primary feeling I have is one of huge excitement!
It goes without saying that the opportunity to go and spend a week working in one of the top PR agencies in the US, is something I am incredibly grateful for, and something which still hasn’t properly sunk in that I’ve been selected for.
I’ve worked at The PHA Group for over eight years now and am fortunate to have been exposed to many different clients, types of campaigns, and areas of the industry during this time – with all of these experiences enabling me to constantly grow and evolve as a PR professional, and build a sense of confidence and familiarity within my role.
However, the chance to step outside the norm for a week and throw myself into a different agency environment, within an international territory, is something completely new to me.
How often, in professional life, do you get the chance to take a sneak peek into the world of a parallel business and soak up everything they have to offer, whilst also sharing all the knowledge you’ve amassed over your career to date? In my experience… not very often!
As an Account Director, my job is to constantly challenge my teams’ ways of thinking and push us all to deliver the best possible results for our clients. I’m hoping that spending time in the 5W offices will prove invaluable to me with regards to this – and open my eyes to completely new ways of working, fresh ideas, and different campaign tactics.
In turn, I’m hopeful that I can add some valuable insight for current/upcoming 5W projects and offer the team a British perspective…. perhaps with a light sprinkling of British humour, and some classically British words and phrases many of them may never have encountered previously.
Potential language barriers aside, there is so much for me and the rest of Team PHA to look forward to, and I know I speak on behalf of all four of us when I say that we absolutely cannot wait to get ‘over the pond’ and get acquainted with our 5W counterparts.
On a personal note, New York is a city that I’ve visited a couple of times previously but am so excited to return to. I’ve never been in springtime, so am looking forward to revisiting some of the key sights and exploring new places without being layered up to the max!
Finally, I’m looking forward to sharing this experience with the three other selected PHA-ers. There is such a supportive and friendly culture across the agency, so whilst in some businesses, the idea of spending nearly an entire week in the close company of colleagues might seem like a challenge, for us its not even a consideration! We’re all similarly minded and just want to get the most out of the trip as we possibly can… with plenty of NYC pizza thrown in along the way!
