Role: Managing Director
Company: CMPR
Track Record: Cathy Martin runs CMPR, a public and media relations company which also organises and manages events for a wide range of clients from ABSOLUT vodka and Diet Coke to James Street South, wagamama, The OUTLET and small retailers like Blush Boutique.
TELL US ABOUT A TYPICAL DAY
07.00
I am woken by my daughter – usually by her giggles to be precise, as she’s generally a very happy little girl – and before going down for breakfast with her I will have a quick glance at my phone to check emails briefly in case anything has come in through the night or early in the morning in terms of news which might affect any projects we have ongoing.
07.30
With breakfast over, I set off for a 40minute power walk along the beach with the pram – weather permitting. Sometimes I put my headphones on and switch off with some music, and other days I dictate emails or ideas into the phone and the app cleverly types it up for me.
08.30
No two days are the same, but if I’m working at the office, then I set off around this time and will usually call en route to check in with the team, who all arrive at 08.30. They usually have the morning papers digested and ready for me by the time I come in.
09.15
I get an update from the team members on where they are on ongoing projects. If I’m not in the office, then this is done by email or over the phone.
I’m very hands on with all projects and want to be 100% informed of where we’re at with any client at any time. At the minute we’re all hands on deck for Belfast FASHIONWEEK, which happens twice a year and is one of my own flagship projects.
It’s a very busy time but the team enjoys it and it reaps rewards for participant retailers in terms of footfall and spend.
10.00
If I have meetings then they usually start around this time. A lot of clients come to us as we’re city centre based, but I do travel to see clients too and we work on an all-Ireland basis for some clients so I travel to Dublin a few times a month as well.
The meetings are usually to present new ideas or brainstorm and plan around creative concepts as well as keeping informed on what is happening with our customers.
13.00
The cliche of lunching PR’s is just that, a cliche I rarely get time to go out to lunch and will eat at my computer most days. However the beauty of being self-employed is that in July when we aren’t so busy, I can choose to have a long lunch out if I like. In summer I like to take the odd Friday afternoon off, so I make the most of it when it comes!
14.00
If the afternoon isn’t spent in meetings then it is usually spent on emails or on the phone. And most things that I discuss on the phone have to be confirmed in detail via email as well so there’s a lot of time spent typing in my day! A public relations role really is about the wider reputation of any brand or project and what we do can be vast or very specific, depending on the needs of the client.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not about spin, but it can be a little but about hype and building excitement if that is what is needed. My company also organises a lot of events, and this is something which I particularly enjoy. Again, meticulous attention to detail is required here as events can be expensive to run and budgets are increasingly tight.
17.30
My working day halts for a while at around 5pm at home when I take off the businesswoman mantel and slip into mummy mode to get Valentina’s dinner, playtime then bath and bedtime done. She goes to bed at around 7pm, when I will eat and then join my husband Julian on the sofa with my laptop.
I don’t watch TV except for current affairs or anything with David Attenborough, so I quietly tap away on my keyboard while Julian tunes into the TV. I can work away until the wee small hours on any given day, as I seem to happily get by on 5 hours’ sleep. I love the eerie quiet time when everyone else is in bed and I can get ideas clear in my head.
If we have an event then I stay on at the office or on site at the event instead of coming home. Events can also mean late finishes, but it doesn’t bother me at all as I love being at the heart of exciting projects.
It can be very time consuming running your own business – especially in events and PR – but the rewards are so satisfying that, for me, it is worth it. I love my industry and many of the people in it and would highly recommend it to any young jobseekers out there.