2023 has been a big year so far for Eden Public Relations, having celebrated several key account wins, countless pieces of coverage in national publications, many internal promotions, and 23 years as Nottingham’s longest standing female-founded PR agency. To grow the agency’s capacity further, we expanded our senior team with the addition of Junior PR Account Manager, Erin Softley.

As a specialist PR and marketing communications consultancy based in the Nottingham’s Lace Market, we’ve had an incredibly exciting year so far, promoting several junior team members and growing our offering as a leader in the digital PR sector in the Midlands. Furthermore, Erin’s appointment earlier this year was an opportunity for us to broaden our technical expertise and invest more time into the agency’s internal policies.

Erin’s background is STEM, having built a portfolio of PR expertise across a variety of B2B clients over technology, logistics and science. Erin is also a part-time medic in the Army Reserves, a role we felt equipped her well for taking the lead on certain managerial responsibilities.

Reflecting on her role six months in, Erin said: “On my first day at Eden, it became clear to me that the business was growing at a fast pace, having recently promoted some of its junior team members as well as onboarding new accounts. This was an exciting time for the business, and I hoped I could have a hand in helping to develop it further.

“Half a year has flown by, and I have settled well into my position on the senior team. I’ve delivered training on reactive PR tactics, had the opportunity to represent the agency at networking events and industry conferences, and have taken a lead on developing some of Eden’s internal programmes. This includes our agency strategy for winning awards as well as our HR policy for Mental Health at Work.”

Erin recently completed training with St John’s Ambulance to become one of our Mental Health Workplace First Responders (WFR). Alongside Eden Director Emily Winsor-Russell, who is also a WFR, the pair have created a policy providing an overall direction for mental health as well as helping to promote the wellbeing of the team.

Looking at the future for Eden PR, Erin discusses her ambitions for the agency, her clients and Midlands PR: “Ultimately, I’d like to see us enter and win more awards for our clients’ campaigns, many of which I believe have a noticeable impact on the wider community. It’ll also help us represent the Midlands within our own professional networks, which are often heavily saturated by PR firms based in the Southeast.

“Finally, the most important aspect of my job is helping to tell my clients’ stories. Therefore, I hope to build these brands further and continue my contributions to the creative campaigns for which Eden is well-known”.