#4PRQs for: David Fraser of Ready10

David Fraser, that I'm very fortunate to be featuring in #4PRQs (Four PR Questions), is a founder and MD of PR and SEO agency Ready10. Notwithstanding the fact that Ready10 has only launched in 2016, it has already been already praised by the industry on many occasions -- PRWeek listed the company among the agencies to watch in 2017. Ready10 team has also secured a solid third place in the Creative Shootout earlier this year and has been nominated for the New Agency of the Year at PRmoment Awards 2017. David spent 12 years in Frank PR, joining as the junior, working his way up to the boardroom role of deputy MD. Speaking of a boardroom -- he was also Lord Sugar's publicist.

MK: What was your way into the industry?

DF: I was a relative latecomer into PR in that it was my second career and I fell into it kind-of by accident. In 2004, I was working in the not-for-profit sector and I was applying for a PR job at the charity I was working at. As part of my interview preparation I asked Andrew Bloch (MD of Frank PR) if I could hang around their office for a few days to soak up some PR knowledge and I ended up taking two weeks off work to do that. At the end of the fortnight, Frank offered me a job but I was reluctant to take it as it meant a 50% salary drop and starting at the bottom. But I thought it over and decided to go for it - I worked my way up to deputy managing director and last year I left to set up my own company, Ready10 , so it turned out to be a good decision!

What is the biggest mistake junior people make and how can that be fixed?

I think there can be an issue where juniors are scared to ask for help – many people (mistakenly) think it’s a weakness to ask questions, seek clarity, ask for something to be repeated or to say “I don’t understand”. I totally get it: particularly in a new job, it can be terrifying…the pressure is on and you want to impress. But is it better to pause and ask for something to be explained one more time or to spend a long time on a misunderstood brief and then get it totally wrong? A good boss wouldn’t have a problem answering questions or going through something if it means that the job is going to get done properly. So be brave and if you don’t understand something, say so!

Be brave and if you don’t understand something, say so!

How can PR graduates take advantage of social and digital platforms in order to gain attention from agencies and other potential employers?

Our industry thrives on creativity, publicity and passion and social media provides the perfect way for those skills to come across directly to a potential employer. They are a shop window for someone’s skills and aptitude in a way that wasn’t available to previous generations and a fantastic way to get yourself seen. I would say if you make it unique, original, targeted, eye-catching and creative you are sure to get attention from a prospective employer.

Our industry thrives on creativity, publicity and passion and social media provides the perfect way for those skills to come across directly to a potential employer.

What is the most undiscovered area in the industry that could be used as a dissertation topic?

Since we launched last summer there has been huge interest in the PR-for-SEO work we are doing and we have been approached by some huge brands who want to know more. Towards the end of 2016 we were seeing a trend where clients were saying “Hang on a minute, having our SEO and PR functions totally disconnected makes no sense” and they were issuing more and more briefs that were looking for a joined-up solution. The way that the Google works and indexes information now is a gift to the PR industry in that it’s completely accountable. I think this is a relatively bare area in terms of thinking and research and I suspect offers lots of opportunity for an interesting dissertation topic.

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Make sure you follow David on Twitter. For Ready10's work see their website and follow them on Twitter.

Four PR Questions (or #4PRQs) is a weekly series on the blog. I am on the mission to help PR graduates (including myself) make right decisions about their future careers, by asking industry leaders for an advice.

Would you like to give me a feedback or feature in the series? Drop me a line to kl.marcel [at] gmail.com or tweet me @marcelkl. Thanks for stopping by, have a splendid day!