A Day in the Life

Morning - By an Actual Account Coordinator
My day begins typically at 9:00 a.m. reading headlines in The Wall Street Journal. I'm looking for articles that relate to my clients, while trying to keep my finger on the pulse of recent industry news. People all around me are poring over the daily papers or scanning blogs and e-newsletters, while grabbing the day's first cup of coffee.

Back at my desk, I check email received during the night, and get some great news: one of our online clipping services has turned up some great press coverage on a client! I forward the clippings to the client and the team, and then pull hard copies of the publication from the magazine rack to preserve the original copies - important evidence of our hard work and achievements.

Later, at the weekly client conference call, my account team updates the client on all the week's activities. This is our time to shine, sharing accomplishments, keeping the client informed, and getting feedback on our PR plans for the future. After the call, it's my job to put all the information we've discussed into the status report. Once the report is drafted, I share it with the team leader who edits it with an eye for style and content. The report has been sent off to the client, and I meet with my account executive to review the editorial calendar. We work together to prioritize upcoming scheduled features and develop creative, unique pitches to editors and reporters. This afternoon, I'll hop on the phone and spend the rest of the day making calls to the press. During these calls, I'll either be following up on pitches that I've already sent or gathering information on upcoming articles.

Midday - By an Actual Account Executive
It's my turn to run the agency staff meeting this week - every week it's chaired by a different staff member. It's a great way to hone presentation skills before a friendly audience! The entire company gathers to hear account updates, hiring news, agency marketing projects, and operational announcements. The principal shares the latest on the new business front, and there's an "open mike" for anyone to ask questions. Account updates focus on accomplishments for the week, and the teams share any issues or challenges they're facing. One team's pitching efforts have resulted in coverage in BusinessWeek, and another team is gearing up for the national launch of a client's newest product.

The staff meeting ends after everyone answers the traditional "Question of the Week." The question I came up with was this: "If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be and why?" The answers run the gamut from "professional skier" to "novelist" to "president of my own PR agency."

After the meeting, I gather my thoughts for a story pitch in response to a feature I had heard earlier on the radio. I think one of our clients could offer a great commentary on this breaking news. I run the idea by my account manager for review; she likes the idea and recommends checking with our client for his "take" on the news. In a few minutes I have everything I need and I'm ready to hit the phones. I'll want to reach the daily reporters before lunchtime.

Following lunch, I'm off to a client conference call. We learn the client has moved up the timing of a major corporate merger. The acquisition that was scheduled for two months from now is now scheduled for next Monday. We have four days to develop a PR strategy, set client expectations for press coverage, prime the press and analyst communities, draft the announcement, obtain approval from both companies, prepare for interviews, and develop contingency plans - phew! Priorities are quickly reshuffled.

Back at my desk, I start drafting the press release on the acquisition while the account coordinator is fine-tuning a targeted list of press and analyst contacts. While the account manager reviews my draft release, I work with the account coordinator to select appropriate press from the list to target for an exclusive.

Despite the change in priorities, I have a meeting with an account coordinator to discuss upcoming editorial features. It's important that I make time for this. The team has several deadlines coming up for articles from which we don't want to be excluded. We divide up the list and talk about appropriate pitch topics.

Afternoon - By an Actual Account Manager
I meet over lunch with one of my team members for an informal goals review. He'll get direct but constructive input on his goals for the coming quarter, and we'll discuss the steps necessary for him to achieve those goals and continue to grow in his role.

The meeting gave me an idea to pass along to our principal. Everyone here has a role to play in agency performance, including new business, marketing, and professional development, and I've taken a particular interest in HR issues. I'll drop by to suggest training classes for my team to support their career paths.

Now it's time for a late afternoon agency-wide brainstorming session on proactive story ideas. Someone has brought cookies - yes!!! Getting other account teams involved is a great way for true cross-pollination of ideas. We're looking for new ways to communicate a complex technical subject. Great ideas can often come from unexpected sources, and today one of our newest team members has the one killer idea we can't wait to share with the client - a completely contrarian approach.

Today yields more great news: a reporter is interested in interviewing my client for an article she is writing! I immediately place a call to my client contact to see who is available to talk to the reporter. Once I nail down a time for the interview, I call the reporter back to confirm the time. This second call also gives me a chance to have a dialogue with the reporter to find out what types of questions and issues might come up during the interview. This will come in handy tomorrow when I put together background materials on the reporter to prepare the client for the meeting. But that's for another day - it's quitting time. I make sure I am caught up on all of my activities and check in with my teams one last time.

No one is encouraged to burn the midnight oil here. It's about being accountable and getting the job done, not working reckless hours. It's time go home now, to children, pets, hobbies, friends and family - and come back refreshed and rejuvenated for another day.