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Jo Tutchener has a CV that most PRs can only dream of. As the former communications manager at Estée Lauder, Jo started Beauty Seen PR and has worked with some of the most famous beauty brands. These include Ruby & Millie and Topshop Make Up to name a few.

With encouragement from her father, Jo chose to study fashion promotions at the University of Central Lancashire. In the London media scene, Jo took on work placements at none other than Diesel and Paul Smith’s press offices during her placement year.

In this detailed 7 Questions interview, Jo, who is originally from Shropshire, will let you know the inside look on breaking into beauty PR.

1) You have had such a heralded career as being part of Estée Lauder. Why did you decide to open your own PR shop?

I had started my career agency side and had always loved the buzz and creativity of a PR agency. I loved my time at Estée Lauder and wouldn’t change it for a second because it provided me with invaluable experience, a deep understanding of the beauty industry as a whole, a clear view of the value of water tight strategy and the importance of return on investment. Although my time in-house was very rewarding, I always knew I was an agency girl at heart. I thrive on the buzz and excitement of a busy agency environment but wanted to open my own agency to bring together my creativity, contacts and in-house corporate, strategic experience to launch a fresh, dynamic, boutique PR agency.

2) How did you get huge brand names as clients for your agency?

Having a good reputation and proven record helps, as does having a huge network, then it is all down to your pitch and the ideas you put forward to the brands and the rapport you have with them during the pitch process. Luckily we have a good reputation at Beauty Seen as we are very results driven, so are often recommended to brands looking for PR representation by the press, which is great. We are nearly three years old now and we still have not had to approach any brands for work as the phone still rings regularly with new business enquiries which makes me feel very blessed and thankful that I have such a great team.

3) What were one of your challenges in creating Beauty Seen PR?

The main challenge for me was the sheer workload and going back to basics. I had said goodbye to my large team at Estée Lauder and started Beauty Seen with just myself and an junior assistant which meant I had very little support. The day I opened the doors of the Beauty Seen office on 22 October 2007, we had three clients: Ruby & Millie, Cowshed and Paul Labrecque Luxury Hair Care and the contract with the BRIT Awards to create a spa backstage at their 2008 show. This was a lot of work from day one and meant as well as creating innovative strategies and campaigns for each brand I literally had to go back to placing every single piece of editorial myself too. It was quite a challenge working until midnight every evening and every weekend for the first year and a half! Three years on I have just appointed a business partner who starts in November, and have two account directors, two account managers, two account executives and two assistants so life is a lot more pleasurable now.

4) Many graduates have to do unpaid internships in PR to get ahead, but there is a movement towards interns rights at the moment. Are unpaid work placements still the way to get ahead in beauty PR?

This is something I feel really strongly about. If I had not undertaken my unpaid work placements I wouldn’t be where I am today, I always support work placements at Beauty Seen as I know how valuable this experience is. One of my account managers started with me as an intern at Beauty Seen when we opened, and one of my account directors started with me as an intern at a previous agency 10 years ago! It is essential in this business to make an impression and make contacts which can be done by joining as an intern. I think putting a stop to this will make getting on the PR ladder a lot harder for graduates which is a huge shame.

5) Do beauty and fashion PR differ at all, and if so, can you give us an insight into that?

I worked in fashion PR at the beginning of my career and I would say that one of the main differences I noticed between the two is the regularity of press events. Most high end fashion brands launch two collections per year: Spring/Summer (S/S) and Autumn/Winter (A/W) and press events tend to be held twice a year during London Fashion Week (February and September). In the beauty industry, many brands launch new collections/products regularly throughout the year, meaning some beauty brands hold press events once a month.

6) If you weren’t working in beauty PR or PR in itself, what would you be doing instead?

On a bad day I dream of selling coconuts on the beach of a tropical island far far away! But realistically I guess I would be doing something along the lines of creating and managing a spa, or working in the music industry. We already work with the BRIT Awards, MTV EMAs and MOBOs creating spas backstage to pamper the celebrities which is a great brand association and product placement opportunity for beauty brands. I love this aspect of my work and had considered the music industry before I decided to follow the PR route. I have no regrets though, since having my own agency has enabled me to incorporate all aspects of the industry that I love beauty, music, events, fashion and film to provide endless opportunities and ideas for my clients.

7) Beauty seems like quite a resilient market, especially during the recession. What types of things do you like to see on CVs for graduates who want to work in beauty PR?

I always look for experience, where they have completed work placements as this shows they already have an understanding of PR, which is more valuable than a PR degree to me as it is more real. I also love it when an applicant has shown initiative by starting their own blog or similar, or shows they are passionate about
the industry.

Photograph courtesy of Jo Tutchener.