In support of desksides

I love a bougie brekkie, a civilised lunch, or after-office cocktails. Meeting PRs and building relationships in this way has been the nicest part of my job since the get-go. And let’s be honest, how else would Claridge’s/Chiltern Firehouse/Cecconi’s have featured – for free! – in my life recurrently? Despite these meetings occasionally feel like awkward first dates (ones ending with QVC-style show-and-tells), mostly, they are fabulous.

Are they fruitful, features-wise? Not always.

Hear me out: I sometimes sense that in-person meetings happen because of expectations from PR’s clients – no matter what their brand has going on. Or I leave with ideas that could have been shared via an email or a quick chat. When this is the case, I can get more out of a to-the-point deskside.

Always intentional, I find a short, strategic window of PR face time efficient and productive. Which, boringly, is where my priorities lie at this point in my career.

This includes virtual desksides, too, as near-inevitable tech glitches aside, often a Zoom packs in even more than an IRL meeting. For example, if I have the subject product samples in advance, I can try them in real time, while you can maximise the use of tech and share presentations/demos/behind-the-scenes footage (where relevant!). Plus, there’s no literal to-ing and fro-ing, and geography isn’t an inhibitor – which for many of us is a bonus in today’s workplace.

Of course, there’s always a time and place for in-person meets, and I rarely regret accepting these invites when I can. But I think simplicity can be smart, and for me, more sustainable.