If you’ve ever wanted a job in luxury travel, wellness and gourmet, then look no further than Lysbeth Fox. Fox is the owner and managing director of Fox PR.
Offering market media relations combined with a holistic and creative approach that maximises press coverage, Fox PR promotes each aspect of their clients including food and beverage, spa and fitness, entertainment and activities as well as the management and brand publicity… With 20 years of experience in the luxury, lifestyle and travel sectors, Lysbeth Fox has created high-quality and innovative media campaigns for some of the best-known travel companies worldwide. Let’s find out how to steal her job!
Flattery about a project they’ve done that’s caught your eye would be a good way in.
Name: Lysbeth Fox
Job title: Owner and Managing Director
Company: Fox PR
What does your job role entail?
I am the owner and managing director of a luxury communications agency, which specialises in luxury travel, gourmet and wellbeing. In short, my role sees me leading a team to provide high quality and strategic media campaigns for our clients.
I started my own agency because I wanted to deliver quality media relations to clients and to inspire & empower my staff to create a business of which we were proud; I wanted them to feel excited at the thought of coming in to work every day.
Describe your working day or week?
I typically start off my day with exercise, then reading the papers and checking social /digital media channels in order to know the day’s news agenda and what’s trending.
Depending on the day, what’s next could be a breakfast meeting with a journalist where I pitch story angles to them, or a super smoothie with an editor in the world of wellness; I might be doing a ring round – which entails picking up the phone, yes picking up the phone and calling press contacts or emailing editors with new pitch ideas or perhaps crafting a press release or strategic PR campaign. Admin and responding to emails takes up a lot of the day; our clients have stakeholders to report to and so it’s important we are able to show the return of their investment from our PR efforts. We organise a lot of trips abroad with journalists and celebrities so that involves a fair amount of back and forth with editors and their own publicists. And at least once a week we have a creative brainstorm with the team, ensuring we are on brand and driving news stories. Update meetings or brand strategy updates is an integral part of our client work. An invite to a launch or glamorous event is frequently a lovely way to end a busy day.
Which key skills do you need to do your job?
Organisation skills are key, I feel, I turn up to work, throw all the balls in the air and then spend the rest of the day catching them! Selling is a key part of our role, as is the need to be creative and to write well. If you are lucky enough to have all these attributes you are on the way to make an excellent PR.
What made you decide to go for this job role?
I had worked in the PR industry for about 20 years when I decided to set up my own agency. My previous experience had seen me set up very successful agencies for others so I knew I was capable of running my own business. I’d actually registered the domain name about 10 years before, however, my clients kept on taking me on – which scuppered my entrepreneurial spirit.
The best part of your job?
The clients we represent are amazing and some of the best in their field, and our team is second to none – inspiring, creative, professional and extremely fun to be around. The daily challenge of running my own business is more rewarding than I could ever put down in words – even for a PR!
The worst part of your job?
There’s not a definitive finish line. The reality is, it never ends… we can always come up with another idea to get our clients in the press, you can always know another journalist, pitch another story, it’s endless, but that also means there is never a dull moment.
If I’m choosing a course to study, what type of course suits this job best?
There are PR courses, which will help you understand the industry and equip you with the right skills. However, I would also say a journalism course or writing course is the best avenue to go down for a job in the industry.
Does work experience really help you to get the dream job?
Yes, I would recommend to anyone thinking of going into PR to undertake some internships at a few agencies in different sectors or in-house in order to get a sense of what area they like and where to focus in their own career. You might find they don’t actually like working day-to-day on your hobby and better suited to a completely different area of expertise. Look at who’s representing the brands you like, or campaigns you think looks particularly interesting and innovative, and approach that agency to work with them. Flattery about a project they’ve done that’s caught your eye would be a good way in.
Give us a tip on how to steal your job.
It may be simple, but read the papers and online sites, listen and watch as much TV & radio as possible, and be active on social media. It is of paramount importance to learn how each medium and channel differs in style to help you tailor your pitches and releases for each client. Good luck!