Marketingmag.com.au chats to Catriona Pollard – founder and director of CP Communications. If you would like to see a certain marketer profiled, please email your suggestion to Kate Kendall, online editor, on [email protected].

What do you do?

Founder and director of CP Communications, which provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that achieve positive media coverage, increased brand awareness and improved sales results.

What was your first job?

Gymnastics was my world growing up, so I worked as a gymnastics teacher with the tiny tots at my gymnastic club. I just couldn’t work at ‘Macca’s’ like my friends: I was always destined to be a vegetarian.

What did you study?

I did a Bachelor of Playing Pool and Drinking Cider (didn’t like beer and couldn’t afford champers back then!) – also known as a BA, and then I did a Graduate Diploma in Professional Communication majoring in Public Relations.

Describe a typical day?

My day usually starts calmly with a meditation session and a decaf coffee. I check emails and do some work and tweeting before I head into the office.

Once in the office my team and I talk about what we have on for the day over a pot of tea and then we get into developing media angles, blogging, pitching, writing and speaking with journalists. More often than not I have a networking function on or Im catching up with an associate for coffee. I spend the day emailing and chatting with clients and meeting last minute, “Oh I forgot to tell you about this deadline”, issues.

I leave the office around 5pm to miss the traffic and head to the gym or go for a run.

If I don’t have a function on, or am catching up with friends, I will be on the couch watching TV with my ‘couch laptop’ doing some work, tweeting and reading online articles and blogs.

What is on the agenda for the next year?

We have big plans for growing CP Communications and extending our online PR offering. We get such a buzz from seeing our clients get coverage and seeing their businesses grow from the power of PR.

What brand do you love the most? Dislike the most? Why?

Is Acai Berry a brand? Seriously, if I see that one more time I may scream. I am also not a huge fan of brands that dumb down women (and men) such as Lynx. I am really impressed with ‘Best Job In The World’ campaign for Tourism Queensland – it really typifies where PR is going and that it isn’t just about getting columns per inch anymore.

What do you believe has been the most significant moment in the history of marketing?

I have been reading about the ‘Obama for America’ political campaign using niche social networks and mobile media platforms. It harnessed technological innovations to expand the audience base for the Obama campaign and attracted nearly two million supporters on MySpace, about 6.5 million supporters on Facebook, and 1.7 million supporters on Twitter. Amazing!

Where can people find you?

• Website: www.cpcommunications.com.au
• Blog: www.publicrelationssydney.com.au
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/catrionapollard
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/catrionapollard