Watercooler Chats, With Olivia from Common Ground PR
Ever wondered what it really takes to become an expert? Malcolm Gladwell says it’s 10,000 hours, but we think it’s more about the small, overlooked moments that fill those hours.
In our latest series, Watercooler Chats, we peel back the curtain on office life with people who spend their days making the world a little more interesting. No fluff, just the real stories behind the titles.
Meet Olivia, the PR pro behind Common Ground PR, where connection is key, and getting your story told is an art form. She's here to make sure her clients get the limelight without the spotlight burning too bright, all while juggling everything from FMCG launches to cultural icons.
When she’s not putting clients in front of the right people, she’s navigating the world of media relations and occasionally ensuring no one is interrupted during an impromptu al fresco bathroom break. We caught up with Olivia for a chat around the watercooler.
PR is a bit of a mystery to most people, and my family is no exception. While my Mum knows I run a PR agency in Auckland, I think she sees me as a freelance journalist, but can’t understand why I'm never on the News or have my name in the paper.
Hosting a high-profile person on a media trip to a challenging location. The bathrooms were basic - think hole in the ground with a tin door. This person refused to use the bathrooms and instead made me stand next to them while they went on the ground outside the bathrooms, to make sure nobody could see…
"Under Pressure" by Queen & David Bowie. When you're putting people's lives, ideas and businesses in front of the media and the public, the stakes are high. There's a lot of pressure to get it right, because if you get it wrong, it can go so wrong.
We joke that in PR there is one job, and it is emails. While that's not true, there’s a lot of time in front of the laptop, but getting in touch with journalists is pretty exciting. Sharing and crafting our clients' stories in a way that resonates with a reporter and then seeing that story end up as an article is super satisfying.
Just how varied the job is. I can go from managing media interviews with international sports stars at Eden Park to a breakfast in Invercargill with oat farmers.
‘PR is managing an organisation’s communications to help build a positive reputation.’ This makes PR sound simple, but in reality, it's not just about communicating, it's about crafting the right messages at the right time to ensure they resonate with the right people.
