It’s been quite the five years; four different prime ministers, the loss of The Queen, Britain finishing second at Eurovision, a brand new King, two US presidents, the creation of TikTok and a certain virus that kept us all inside for a while…
I can’t quite believe all this has happened during my time at Oracle. Before I started putting pen to paper on this blog post, I had a quick google for the major key events that have happened in the past five years, and it’s funny how much you forget!
Fresh out of university, in 2018 I took my first steps into the world of PR and joined the team as an admin assistant. Fast forward five years to my current role as senior account manager, and I genuinely wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
A lot has changed in five years, not only in the property market itself with the end of the government-backed Help to Buy scheme and the numerous stamp duty holidays, but we’ve had exciting things happening internally too. Last year was a particular highlight for me, we had our big office move and did a number of large charity events, but my own personal highlight meant I wasn’t in the office for a while, as I had my little boy Arthur.
But what’s it like day-to-day in the Oracle office? It’s safe to say no two days are the same. Joining just a couple of weeks after graduating, I had limited knowledge of the property world. Over the past few years, my knowledge of this fast-paced industry has grown hugely alongside an ever-changing market, and with evolving government policies, new budgets and homebuying schemes galore, there’s always new things to learn and ideas to take to our clients. My daily tasks involve checking in with clients, continuing great relationships we’ve built with journalists by sending them exciting press-worthy ideas, writing award-winning entries, organising many events, feature and case study pitching – and even more pitching!
One of my favourite parts about this job is seeing what our clients do first-hand. Looking around the gorgeous show homes gives me serious interior design envy each time, and I come away with lots of new inspiration for my own home (much to my partner’s dismay!). It’s always nice to get our boots muddy to see the foundations of a development and watch it be built up from the ground. Visiting developments with journalists is always fun too, as it helps us strengthen our relationships and get to know them a bit more in person, rather than behind a screen.
Events have also been one of my favourite things to turn my hand to over the last five years, and there’s been a few. In the words of Andy Williams, Christmas is the most wonderful time of year, so the Christmas carol concert we organised in 2021 with X Factor alumni and postcode lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson, an 18ft Christmas tree and a gorgeous little school choir is definitely in my top three event highlights. Another favourite is a huge family fun day at a country park which was part of a client’s development where over 6,000 guests turned up.
Working in PR often comes with unexpected tasks to ensure things run smoothly for clients, and it’s those little things that go on behind the scenes which really make my job fun. Yes, influencer campaigns are great, but have you ever tried to cram 300 Easter Eggs into a Fiat 500 for an Easter Egg Hunt? Or unveiled a statue of an alligator alongside ex-prime minister Theresa May? How about designing gingerbread houses replicating real-life homes? It’s not all writing press releases…
Now I know everyone is so over talking about the dreaded C-word, but for half of my time at Oracle, our whole working style had to change to navigate the challenges of Covid and the never-ending lockdowns. Although it was tricky being apart and not able to bounce ideas off of one another in person, the challenges of that time really showed that we are one fantastic team, for which I’m lucky to be a part.
We all dealt with our own personal challenges during that time, whether it was navigating homeschooling or looking after family members, but it’s how we looked out for one another that I remember – sending each other small gift packages to make them smile, keeping morale up with Friday games on Zoom (Oracle’s own Generation Game was a particular favourite, thanks Joann!), and organising virtual celebrations including two hen dos.
It’s been a super busy but fantastic five years at Oracle – I wonder what we will have achieved after the next five?