Anusha Jogi is the Managing Director of public relations and strategic communications agency JNPR. She has more than 19 years of experience in the communications industry and has generously agreed to provide us with a peek into her busy day. In the process, she also shares some insights around working in the communications industry, client service and the need to have a great team behind you.
Describe your job: What do you do?
I do everything: I’m everything to everyone from PA and office administrator, to new business development director and minister of staff and client happiness. I manage JNPR from top to bottom, making sure everyone loves the place they work at because happy people are more passionate about what they do and if you are more passionate about your job, you tend to make clients happy in the process. My job is to make sure that clients are serviced the way I would want to be serviced and for that, I need people that are as passionate about PR as I am.
Which level do you occupy within the business? Who do you report to?
I report to me ? and my board.
What are soft and hard skills you require to be effective in your role?
Being a self-driven person is probably something that has gotten me this far. Doing any job because you enjoy it and not because you are being paid for it also determines how successful you will be.
Hard skills like knowing how to write, understanding the media and client landscape, putting together strategic documents and reports as well as good time management, will probably get you through a day in the life of me. The hard part is managing different client and staff personalities, applying your mind to your work by looking at the potential ripple effect of everything we do and not just what’s directly in front of you, is probably something that requires true skills and years of experience.
Tell us what constitutes a typical working day for you?
I first start with a to-do list, then wading through a million emails (ok, maybe only about 200 mails), replying to client and staff requests. From there, I provide input on documents, strategies, content, and the like. Research on potential clients, attend client meetings where required, nag teams about deliverables and consistently adding value to clients, before getting to finance and office admin.
I try to fit in lunch every now and then…lol and speak to staff about anything really – from what they are having for lunch through to some of their client challenges. Making colleagues feel that they can always rely on me for advice and guidance is important. And making clients feel that I’m always available and looking out for their interest by sending them interesting industry trends and articles or just providing insights on some of their communications challenges also forms a big part of my day.
What are the best parts of your job?
Working with people that are just as passionate about what they do as I am, as it makes my job so much more easier. Making a real difference to our clients.
What are the least favourite parts of your job?
Clients that don’t see us as one of them, as this makes it difficult to be at our best and deliver our greatest work. Staff and clients that choose to move on, because I hate goodbyes.
How do you define and measure success? What KPIs do you use to do so?
Happy clients – No client is the same. Every client comes to us with a different objective: Some come to us to be in the news, others come to us to stay out of the news. Success is ultimately measured by a happy client and the objectives that your client wishes to achieve.
What are your favourite technologies and platforms that you use to make yourself more productive and get more done?
Dropbox, Google Drive, news apps and alerts that keeps me in the know. My smartphone as well as it allows me to work from anywhere.
How did you end up at your current company? Tell us about your journey to where you are today?
I started my career as an intern at an internationally recognized PR Agency. I joined at a time when my Account Manager had resigned. Nerve-wracking for me, as it was my first job and I now had to work directly with my director. But if I look back today, it was probably the best thing that ever happened, as I was thrown into the deep end and had to support my director through some demanding campaigns. I was given the opportunity to be exposed to the world of PR and learning from my leaders at the most senior level. I worked on some amazing global, corporate and government clients. A tough environment, along with a driven leader to guide me and determination to succeed all laid the foundation for my career. After five years, I moved onto a small agency, where I was exposed to everything. You see, in a small agency you are expected to do everything yourself, from putting together media lists, drafting press releases and opinion pieces, to developing strategic documents and new business development proposals. This is where I solidified my experience. I learnt a great deal and was able to apply my skills across many industries. It made me adaptable to almost anything any client could throw my way.
I joined JNPR in 2012, heading up the corporate team. Today, I am what makes JNPR tick from the inside and I could never do it without an amazing team next to me.
What PR campaigns stand out for you and what brands produce the best campaigns locally in your opinion?
The Sanlam R1 man has always been a favourite of mine. More recently, ABSA’s rebranding campaign, Netflorist, The Uber on Demands and the Alan Grey campaigns have also stood out.
