5 minutes with...

Please provide a brief introduction to yourself and Soapbox PR

My name is Tara Huwez, and I work as Account Executive at Soapbox PR. I take on a lot of the consumer influencer campaigns and press placements for our clients independently. It’s great that at Soapbox roles aren’t restricted, so there’s really room for growth and learning.

I graduated with a Bachelors in Business Management only last year! So it goes to show that anyone from any background can get into PR. With some hard work and several internships, I landed my first full-time PR job at Soapbox!

At Soapbox PR, our clients operate in the beauty, hair and health sectors. We carry out influencer campaigns, press placements, events and content development across our clients. So it’s really a 360 degree agency, something that’s becoming more prevalent in the PR industry, due to the digitisation of work and PR processes.

What’s your favourite part about working for Soapbox PR

One has to be press placements! It’s such a rewarding feeling seeing something published online, which you yourself arranged, researched and sourced for your client. Placements really make a difference, for your career achievements and your clients.

I also feel so lucky that we offer events worldwide for one of our Trade clients. It means attending and working at super cool events, travelling abroad and meeting international talent; a wonderful perk of working in PR!

What’s the most memorable campaign you’ve worked on

I think the most memorable is the ongoing influencer campaign I have carried through for our shampoo client. They began with no social media presence at all. With my independent sourcing and managing of influencer collaborations, the brand grew on socials and established a great presence among the beauty community. People were and still are talking about the brand’s products in a positive way for the first time. The results have been excellent, and it’s just fabulous when influencers truly love the products they're promoting online.

Tell us about any exciting plans Soapbox PR has for the rest of 2022

Ooo we have a very exciting and jam-packed week ahead in September, running several shows simultaneously in Paris! Me and the team will get to travel, attend and manage the stands for our Trade client, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles and at Theatre Des Folies Bergere! These are world-renowned events in the hairdressing community, where top-class hairdressers will perform and brands in the industry can have a presence.

What advice would you give someone starting their career in PR

A lot of PR is about staying relevant and staying on trend. So I would advise that you’re always staying alert and on top of the ball with relevant news in your chosen sector. Download any relevant news apps and be aware of what’s trending on social media. Knowledge in your industry will set you ahead of others and be of great value for your clients.

All of this is essentially market research and getting ahead of your competitors to create newsworthy content. So if these are things you’re already interested in, that’s an amazing start! PR has recently, and more frequently, merged into the digital sector of marketing. So a love for social media trends, content development and interaction in person as well as online, is something I would advise to have a good interest in.

The main essentials are to have creative flair, good writing ability and love for networking!

Tell us something fun that people don't know about you?

I’m originally Arab! I haven’t met many people with my ethnicity in PR. But it’s a great advantage to speak a different language or have an understanding of different cultural backgrounds. For work it can benefit in understanding different target markets and working at events worldwide!