I’ve been reflecting on what’s changed, what hasn’t, what’s better and what’s not. But mostly I’ve been taking a trip down memory lane to when working in ‘PR and Advertising’ in Bristol as a naïve 20-something (with a much smaller waist) was a whole lot of fun!

Ok so the agencies of Unsworth Sugden and later Leedex PR weren’t as flash and glamourous as the big budget set ups in London where all took their names from the initials of their many founders. But we had some good clients and, set in a second storey rather drab office close to Bristol Bridge, here’s what I remember:

1. Mobile phones were an oxymoron. Ours was a huge heavy contraption on a black box which would be plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter and on heading out to client meetings we would boast loudly across the office “we’re taking the mobile”.
2. PMT wasn’t a hormonal issue! Also called bromides, a PMT was the coated art paper the designers and artworkers used to set out the print for ads and brochures. I can see them all so clearly, huddled over huge white drawing tables, scalpels in hand but woe betide us should we ask for a copy tweak or a change in layout!
3. Account Directors wore mostly men and wore bad suits. Not Don Draper style sexy 60s suits, shiny grey ones with wide lapels. There were women of course who I aspired to be like, confident and who wore skirt suits with shoulder pads and big statement earrings that screamed I’m no push over.
4. Chunky and clunky word processors (they were capable of only that) were not on everyone’s desk, mostly just the secretaries and account execs who would be given hand-written notes from those more senior to type up. My how administratively independent and free we all are now, no matter our rank.
5. I can still hear the fax machine! Oh that noise, whirring, churning, chuntering then letting out a drawn out, rather painful squeal! Whatever the sound, it was distinctive and entirely unique and many an hour would be spent feeding press releases through in the hope that they would end up ‘on the other side’.
6. Prit Stick, the post and photo labs. A fax to a news room would coincide with a beautifully prepared press release delivered by hand or sent by post. It was the only way editors could receive a high res print from which to make their own newspaper or magazine-worthy version. Prints would be duly collected from the photo labs and stuck on to a release, neatly captioned on the reverse. It was a time consuming but necessary process.
7. A good press photographer mattered. Not so much today as it’s so easy to take our own shots, even with our phones, if we know what we’re doing. But these specialist photographers certainly made a difference back then and post-shoot we’d trawl through contact sheets looking for the perfect image to send out with a story.
8. Glue was important. Just as it played a pivotal role in the presentation of press releases so it was key when it came to proving our worth and we really didn’t know how successful a campaign had been until proof of coverage arrived in the post. Press cuttings (aka clippings) would spill out onto our desks and it was a case of hastily spraying them and pasting them on to paper in readiness for a client meeting.
9. Client lunches were fun. It was quite ok to build on client relationships by taking them out for a very boozy lunch, usually on a Friday and to not return to the office. And when not watching my boss attempt to write a cheque out to the restaurant four times, and later winding up in a casino with the MD of a fitted bedroom company (still not quite sure how that happened), Friday evenings were a time for staff drinks in the boardroom followed by the pub or cricket in the corridor.

Looking back, I really have no clue how we got anything done at all! It seemed cumbersome and slow and required a huge amount of man and woman power which must have cost agencies a fortune.

Comms, PR and marketing services as an industry is so instantaneous and immediate now, and we’ve so much more autonomy over what we write and where our PR stories can be read. No longer are we dependent purely on achieving column inches in a newspaper or magazine or being listened to or seen on radio and TV. With so many channels open to us indeed as this blog shows, we can comment and share and repost and be our own publishers.

If there’s a conclusion to be drawn, whilst it was a very different culture and environment (there were no pool tables or cool bean bag chill out areas and working from home simply wasn’t an option), it was collaborative, buzzy and we made our own fun.

And, just like today, no matter the speed and the oceans of resources which are so instantly available to us, it’s still all about the client, their needs, how we add value and the relationships we build. And if you’ve been in the game as long as I have, some of these mutually respectful connections can last a working lifetime.