Combining creativity with Stem to build truly unstoppable PR campaigns

This summer saw Miss England winner Jessica Gagen add some more initials to her glittering title by graduating from university with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. For those young minds looking to Jessica for career and role model inspiration, there’s much to digest. She has managed to combine her love of science with the colourful world of pageantry – a rare recipe for success! Using Jessica’s story as the conversation starter, I wanted to explore how the PR industry can combine creativity with Stem [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] to produce truly unstoppable campaigns for clients.

Most graduates will recoil at the memories of those stressful weeks leading up to final year exams. For most non-vocational degree students, we also faced the anxiety of life after graduation, where adulthood takes over and prospective employment is exceptionally competitive. This seemed particularly true for science graduates, who wanted to see their degrees put to good use but knew they didn’t want to stay in labs. 

I joined the PR industry as an entry-level account executive, fresh out of a four-year degree in human biology. On my first day in the job, one thing became clear about the industry and its consultants: we are storytellers, writing and creating campaigns that will have a lasting impact on the wider community. Here are some transferable skills, which equipped me well for agency life. 

1. Being a storyteller

As PRs, we use our knowledge of the wider world to reinforce our campaigns. We build brands that are disruptive, that showcase innovation, and which leave a lasting legacy. Scientists tell a similarly compelling story. While Stem subjects rely a lot more on interpreting results and pre-existing data, it’s fair to say that practitioners in both industries are required to be skilled at critical analysis and lateral thinking to achieve their goal of effectively communicating their message. 

2. Innovation depends on creative thought

When Charles Darwin first hypothesised evolution, he literally wrote an 860-something-page story of how humans are “descended from hairy, tailed quadrupeds, probably arboreal in its habits”. Since then, the world has come to accept and expand on the many layers of human evolution, proving that elegant expression of creative thought gives way to scientific advances.

PRs everywhere can take a leaf out of Darwin’s book (pun intended) by asking themselves the questions, ‘will this campaign give way to further innovation?’ and ‘does this campaign make a difference?’

3. Being able to break down the ‘nitty gritty’

Stem graduates can and do contribute a lot to PR by helping to create copy, which breaks down technical information and communicates it in a more digestible way for a wider audience. As the number of new technology companies continues to rise in the UK, according to data from Companies House, so will the likelihood of enquiries for PR services from these companies. A Stem graduate’s understanding of the technical world will equip the PR industry with the tools to deliver more innovative and excellent campaigns.

4. Being able to strike a balance

We mustn’t forget the creative humanities graduates who have made a home for us in PR, people who can write journalistically and help lift our clients’ campaigns off the page and onto regional, national and international stages of discussion. 

The world’s tech giants rely heavily on PR professionals for their grammatical genius and ability to turn a new product into a must-have for consumers. For example, Apple’s marketing team maintains a minimalist, sophisticated, yet emotive brand, which allows the company to hold the largest smartphone market share at 30.44 per cent. Its Instagram account posts images and videos taken on the iPhone from ‘real people’ across the world, showing its influence across a range of cultures and the brand’s passion for sharing diverse stories. To this end, it’s important the industry strikes that balance between creative and technical.

As Jessica Gagen now focusses her attention on inspiring the next generation of people in Stem, she might also be encouraging many with an interest in Stem subjects to think outside the box when it comes to their careers. The PR industry can help, with its variety of clients and specialisms, by encouraging the recruitment of talent from diverse academic backgrounds. 

Personally, the best part of my science degree was the storytelling; writing up my hard-earned evidence-based research in the hope it would one day be published. Given that the PR industry’s main quantifiable output is media coverage, it’s no surprise I felt well suited to the job.

Erin Softley is a junior account manager at Eden Public Relations.