PRCA was delighted to present the South West rising star to Senior account Executive at ADPR, Kira Daly. In this blog post, she talks about life as an early career practitioner in the South West PR industry
Tell us a bit about your role.
I’m a Senior Account Executive at ADPR, a small communications consultancy nested in rural Somerset. In my role, I currently work with ten fantastic clients, from business-to-business to global market-leading consumer brands across the fashion, fitness, outdoor and marine industries.
I started my career in an apprenticeship role with ADPR three years ago, amongst the very beginning of the global pandemic. Since achieving a Distinction in the PRCA’s Level 4 Diploma, I worked as an Account Executive part-time whilst studying at University of Greenwich for a Public Relations and Communications degree – which excitingly I’ve just graduated from with 1st Class Honours!
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing the industry at the moment?
I believe the industry has recently overcome a big challenge: the outdated view that Public Relations has less value than its creative counterparts. Having navigated unchartered waters during Covid-19, communications were considered the cornerstone to a company’s survival – proving how invaluable the power of Public Relations really is!
A larger issue I believe we still face as an industry is the lack of gender equality, diversity and inclusion of our communications professionals. This is a challenge we all should be addressing across the sector – as a female-led industry, there is still a considerable pay gap as well as a lack of diverse, multicultural workforces in communications.
If you had to impart one piece of advice to young practitioners pursuing a career in PR in the South West, what would it be?
Throw yourself into as much experience and training as you can! I loved my apprenticeship with the PRCA – a programme I very strongly recommend to aspiring Public Relations professionals as it accelerated my journey as a young professional considerably. I’m very lucky to have gained such incredible experience from my consultancy, ADPR, from the moment I started as an apprentice at 19, throughout studying my degree in London, to returning to the South West as a Senior Account Executive at 22.