Behind the scenes at Golley Slater – Evie Painter learns more than just a few new skills on a week placement with our PR team.

Jumping straight in

Gaining hands-on experience with the team at Golley Slater has been a hugely rewarding experience. From day one I felt welcomed and included by their supportive and approachable team, and I’ve come away with so much.

A real highlight was jumping straight into a photoshoot with Public Health Wales. It was great to see how they created lo-fi content in both English and Welsh – on that note I even had a Welsh lesson. I picked up a few phrases, (though not quite fluent yet!) and it was a nice touch that helped me feel connected to the culture. Cardiff also really showed off during my time there – sunshine every day and a lovely atmosphere. One day we had an M&S team lunch in the Cardiff castle grounds, that added even more charm to the whole experience.

Learnt so much

The team at Golley Slater were incredibly lovely and more than happy to chat. Everyone was super open in sharing what they do and more than happy to help. It was interesting to see how all the different departments, from PR and production to strategy and design, work together to bring a campaign to life. I was able to witness this on a WeCare Wales campaign, where I saw behind the scenes of a campaign that mixed print and digital media to create a powerful message.

Hands-on experience

I was also given the opportunity to get stuck in with hands-on tasks: I curated a targeted influencer list for campaign outreach, contributed to content for the social channels, and sat in on a range of media meetings. It was so nice that the team gave me creative freedom and trusted me to come up with my own ideas and run with them. It was great test of my creativity in a real-world setting, and at the same time I was getting guidance from professionals with years of experience in the field.

Finishing with a bang

My time here was rounded off perfectly with the ‘last-Friday of the month’ meeting – a fun team-wide session where everybody shared their highlights. There was also a light-hearted presentation to reflect upon wins and moments from across the office and it was a bonus to get a mention myself! We caught the last of the April sun with some Aperol’s in hand and I waved goodbye to the team!