23rd March anniversary

With one TV broadcast, everything changed. March 23 marks three years to the day from Boris Johnson’s now famous address to the nation telling us all to stay home.

On the third anniversary, managing director Helen Rudd reflects on three years of change, redirection and recovery – and looks forward to what the future has in store.

On Friday, March 20, we had a party in the office.

It was my birthday the next day, so we ordered pizza, we brought in cake and all Prominent children were invited in for a get-together.

But it was tinged with the unknown. We’d packed up our laptops and knew we would be saying goodbye, not knowing the next time we’d see each other in person. We didn’t know what was around the corner – other than that it was something big, something life changing, something we’d have to navigate and hope we’d come out on the other side OK.

As soon as Boris made his announcement, we lost clients overnight. They had no choice but to put their PR on hold while they battened down the hatches and fought the pandemic. It was nobody’s fault.

I was four months pregnant at the time and was faced with running a business remotely from my kitchen table. New procedures were put in place, we had to learn how to support our clients in new ways and figure out how to support the team through a pandemic with the looming thought of my maternity leave on the back of my mind.

I got some of it right and I definitely got some of it wrong.

But looking back now, with the benefit of hindsight, I couldn’t be prouder of how we all dealt with it.

Covid changed everything for everybody. It has sent us all off in different directions, down different paths we perhaps didn’t see coming just one or two months before.

It was a reminder that sometimes change is good. It helps you make way for things which in the end, turn out to be even better. It gives you a chance to re-evaluate, refocus and change direction.

Clients came back and new ones came on board. We gained some new team members.

When we were allowed back again, the office became a social hub and in true British spirit, we fought back, we rebuilt.

Three years on from that announcement, Prominent is thriving. We have a very tight-knit team who really do stick together. Teamwork is the very nucleus of us as a company. Our office is a hive of activity, laughter, banter, brainstorming and sharing of ideas and problems. Our recent client survey showed our clients are thrilled with their PR delivery and we are one month into the biggest client contract we’ve ever had.

Our team will welcome two more new faces next month – we are all hugely excited about both, for very different reasons, and our client portfolio keeps growing.

It couldn’t be more different from where we sat three years ago. We’re full of hope and happiness for the future. Our recent away day has given us the impetus to really develop and grow, and this time we’re all heading in the same direction.

The pandemic was awful, and it affected some in unimaginable ways. But it taught me a lot, about being a boss, a mother, a wife and a friend.

But overall, team Prominent have come out stronger. We’ve changed the way we do things and it’s a better, much happier place to be. We’re more resilient, versatile and less afraid of the unknown – and we know that if we work hard for each other, we’ll enjoy success for both us and for our clients.

Three years on from that fateful date, the experience has proved just how strong we can be when we are really tested. And that is the lesson we’ll be taking into 2023.

Picture by Pippa Fowels No. 10 Downing Street

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