At Grayling, it’s the breadth of experience across our teams that shapes the work we deliver.

This month, we’re spotlighting Sophie Bates from our Southampton office, whose career spans consumer campaigns, infrastructure legislation and everything in between.

In her Q&A, Sophie shares her journey so far, the moments she’s most proud of, and why that first piece of coverage still brings the biggest buzz.

Can you tell us a bit about your role and what a typical day looks like in the Southampton office?

My role in the Southampton team is slightly more varied than most regional team members, as currently I am supporting on two projects with some colleagues within the Planning and Infrastructure team. But day-to-day it consists of many cups of peppermint tea or early grey (depending on the vibe), team catch-ups, content creation, speaking to journalists and all important check-ins with clients.

In one sentence, how would you describe what you do at Grayling to someone outside the PR world?

As someone who’s friends all work in accountancy I find the simplest way of describing PR is that it’s all about communicating key messaging and changing a brand’s reputation. This is traditionally done through media but of course in the digital world we know it’s more diverse than this.

If someone’s heading to Southampton for the first time, what’s one spot they have to visit?

For two very different environments I would have to say first, E Bakehouse they sell fresh homemade buns, pastries and sandwiches – plus do amazing matcha or a pistachio bow. Or The Hanoi Bistro only a 5-minute walk from the office – the pork belly Bahn Bao’s are a must try!

What’s been one of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?

Tailoring my PR skills to fit the very different working environment of Planning and Infrastructure – safe to say going from consumer journalist engagement and thought leadership profiling to infrastructure legislation, MP and stakeholder relations is a tough frame-of-mind shift.

What part of a campaign do you secretly enjoy the most, even if no one else notices it happening?

For my Planning and Infrastructure projects it would have to be the project workbacks – I always find it really satisfying seeing how long projects plan out, this is probably why I am called team admin within my friendship group.

On a PR front it has to be the first piece of coverage, nothing beats the sheer buzz I get from coverage.

How do you see the communications landscape evolving in the South and what excites you about where it’s headed?

Like much of the media landscape I think we’ll see more staffing cuts due to budgets and shifting consumer behaviour changes – which will only make the true journalists relationships even more important.

Unfortunately, another change we’ll see across regional and national media is less and less truly independent news houses – I think the term independent news is flung around a lot now. But naturally this reduces the diversity of viewpoints, limits local coverage, and increases the potential for biased reporting – I would have to recommend a Stack Magazine subscription if you love independent journalism.

What’s a campaign or project you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of, and what made it memorable?

Simply because of the cultural relevancy it would have to be the Brimingham Commonwealth Games. I was about 2-years in and managed to score a seat on the media bus from Gretna Green the Preston (could not have been further from Southampton, if I tried), the whole 72-hours was just pure adrenaline and buzz which I loved.

We all have a few “industry buzzwords” we could live without… what’s yours?

Let’s circle back on that – need I say anymore.

What’s something your colleagues might not know about you but should?

I am the first person in my family to go to University and get a professional job – traditionally my family are dairy farmers.

What’s one professional habit or tool you swear by?

I honestly think a written to-do-list is the best, there’s nothing more satisfying than physically ticking something off your list.