Let us be honest, PR is no piece of cake. It requires a dedication unparalleled to any other field. One must be in absolute and utter love with their client to be able to make any publicity happen. Think about it, would you tell your friend to buy that gorgeous bag if you didn’t love it? Would the bag even come up in a conversation? We don’t think so. It is not just that one must constantly been on their toes. Literally, ANYTHING can happen at ANY given time of the day. A publicist must be prepared.
As a PR person for some time now, I have learned the way to juggle anything that comes my way. So here it is, a dairy of a PR rep. Today’s case study is December 12, 2014 – Friday.
8:30 AM
Wake up call begins at 7:30 and lasts till 8:30 at which point it is REALLY time to get up. Since time is of the essence, I usually have my clothes ready to go from the night before.
9:15 AM-6:00 PM
My day job requires me to be at office at 9:00 AM. Luckily, there is a buffer time of 15 minutes so I am not entirely late. Work begins now.
I am the PR & Communications Manager for Pakistan at my office and yesterday, we hosted a media luncheon in Lahore. So today, at the office, I am meant to follow-up with all the journalists that come to support me and thank them alongside an array of tasks including payments, securing spots online, tracking coverage and updating the global communications plan.
6:00 PM
Now the day REALLY starts! At first I intend to head home. I am already late and for some odd reason the traffic is insufferable today. But first! I must head over the MARIA B’s store to pick up an outfit that I must wear to the Bridal Coture Week Day 2 today. Her amazing collection from yesterday is to reach the outlet around 6:45. I reach the store but it seems that I am early! Eek. No, time to wait. Dreading the calamity of outfit that is to come. I rush home.
6:40 PM
I am home! Success. I take a quick shower and head out to Santé – The Salon [incidentally, right next to my house] to get my hair done. Usually, the parlor is a bit quiet and I end up getting royal treatment. Today, however, was a hoopla. It turns out, because of the Bridal Week [where I was headed] many models were getting dressed there for RJ Sumyrah’s show. Which meant there was an array of people who I knew there already and who were headed to the fashion week. There was Redah Misbah [owner of Sante], Mussarat Misbah [Owner Depilex], Shammal Qureshi [Toni & Guy], Rehan Bashir of House of Kamiar Rokni, Sumi [FM 91], Haiya Bokhari [one of my favorite stylists!], Sana Bhatti [an old classmate] among others!
7:15 PM
My hair is done and I really do like it, if I may say so myself. I go home AGAIN [perks of having a house in the dead center of Lahore]. Today, WAPDA has decided to switch off power for Lahore and all day there has been no electricity. This means the UPS is dead and since it is night time the solar panels are not working enough for me to run an iron.
Mind you, I am planning on wearing a black coatee with a white collared [sadly, wrinkled!!!] shirt. So, wardrobe malfunction must be fixed. I decide to let the coatee go and wear a blazer instead to hide the wrinkles. Someday really soon if I don’t give up, I will be known only by that blazer.
I throw on a pair of black pants, white shirt, black blazer and high heel boots. To complete the look I throw on a bottle green statement necklace.
7:45 PM
I am dolled up- yes. But I am LATE. I had to be there at 7. I am not usually tardy but today seemed to be an exception. Luckily, my colleague takes the reign and buys me some time.
8: 15 PM
I arrive at the venue and see Farina one of my favorite bloggers. She is the brains behind Pakistan Street Style. We meet up and head into the show [after some drama at the entrance-owing to our tardiness] Lucky for me, the show has JUST started.
8:45 PM
My client, Saira Rizwan, is set to showcase right after Teena by Hina Butt. I know that she has been working really hard on the collection for months so I am excited about what her collection, Shalimar, will bring. The show starts off with an exceptional video shot by Abdullah Harris featuring Sabeeka and showcasing some of Saira’s outfits on the model. I am taking pictures throughout the showcase to be used on social media later. Saira is asked to come out on the ramp and I couldn’t be prouder!
9:00 PM
I head backstage to congratulate Saira Rizwan. Me and my colleague take pictures of her backstage and introduce her to a few key people.
9:15 PM
We head to the red carpet with Saira Rizwan. This is where the PR part of the night starts. We ensure she gets her pictures taken with all the relevant photographers especially the official photographer with Dragonfly. We go talk to different television crew present at the event and score her some interviews with them. The red carpet lasts a full 40 minutes before it is done. The second act is yet to begin but since my client has already showcased I am not in the mood to prolong my day.
10:30 PM
Home – finally! I change quickly and check into my laptop. I have emails that need to be read and sent out before the day comes to a close.
11:30 PM
I am talking to a celebrity for a New Year’s piece I am doing for a publication. I am on the phone getting all the information that is needed and rectifying the outdated one.
12:00 AM
Phew!!! Seems like all is done. I exercise my nightly ritual of cleansing and applying COCOA Butter, brushing my teeth and all. I take my clothes out for the morning. Settle in my bed and read P.G Wodehouse’s Aunts Aren’t Gentlemen. My phone buzzes. It is another email. I respond to it immediately because that is what PR is all about. I notice the clock is striking 1 PM. It is indeed time to sleep so that I can begin my day again.
Title Image Courtesy: Faisal Farooqui & the Team at Dragonfly.
