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Once upon a time…

Project Neon
jan 14
5 min read

There was a moment when I clearly realised that yes – this is it – I’ve got the dream job.

It was 6 am and I was sitting behind a camera in a TV studio in New Zealand, watching my client get interviewed by the morning show hosts. I was a PR consultant in a small agency in Auckland and I had worked hard for this moment. The story was great, the client answered the questions with ease and made the hosts laugh. Afterwards, she came to me saying “now that’s an opportunity money can’t buy”. And I couldn’t agree more.

That was eight years ago, and I’m happy to say I’m still in a role where storytelling is at the heart of what I do. My name is Cathrine and together with Claire I look after all PR activities for Project Neon’s clients, as well as content production and account management.  Because I have always had an impulsive ‘seize the day’/ ‘carpe diem’ mindset with an above average sense of adventure, my friends got used to hearing me say ‘let’s go and volunteer in Brazil!’ one day, and then the next: “actually, a yoga retreat in Spain is what we need!”  Agency life really addresses that adventure itch in every way. It lets me delve into different industries, companies and people’s stories and seeing the world from their perspective. No day is ever the same – and I love it! I strongly believe that storytelling is not only key to communication and marketing, but also sales, recruitment and effective management. It is a part of every business aspect and it’s something you need to get right if you want to inspire your employees, shareholders, customers, and partners to be a part of your journey.

Many struggle to differentiate PR from sponsored content like advertising. For me the main difference is the TV interview example above. We listed the benefits the company offered society and what made them stand out, found the story that resonated with the audience, got the media interested, and the resulting interview was engaging and free of paid sponsorship lingo. The enrolment to their services and product sales skyrocketed as a result – which was obviously a welcome bonus – but it was the fact that we now had a humanising story that defined the brand which was the real win. And because the story came to life during a conversation with a reliable source, their audiences related to it and trusted it. Trust is something advertising money can’t buy.

Creating a good story and getting a media hit for a client still gives me a high! It’s the best feeling. I am writing this after helping a client prep for an interview with Stavanger Aftenblad, and it really feels like a boomerang journey.  

I started my storytelling journey in Stavanger as the editor of my high school newspaper ‘Marken’s Grødem’. As it was a serendipity that I ended up at the editor’s desk, I want to take this opportunity to thank my media teacher who pushed me to take on the role and opened my eyes to my love for writing, and then encouraged me to pursue it as a career. It’s funny thinking of the thousands of people you meet throughout your life, and all it takes is one person to change the course of your life. I covered things like drug use among students and sport competitions. Not technically a job, and no Pulitzer prize stuff, but it still made me feel like a Kathy Couric in the making!

After several years of travelling, I started my communication degree at Curtin University in Australia, where I got to work on incredibly interesting and important issues like the stolen generations and Aboriginal rights. I also met a Kiwi there (who I ended up marrying and having three kids with) who made a convincing argument of why we needed to move to New Zealand.

I then spent another 8 years down under, working for a few different PR agencies in Auckland and doing a master’s in communication and sustainability. While the stories I worked on in Australia were mostly about people, in New Zealand the focus shifted to planet. I spent years exploring how to avoid greenwashing and best communicate sustainability initiatives.

I guess I should offer the answer to that question? Yes, it’s the dreaded ‘it depends’! But most of the time, if you stay honest and transparent, stick to the facts and focus on the benefits of your initiatives, you should be safe. However, the main thing is to do it for the right reasons. Sustainability can be good PR, but it should not be PR.

Being back in Norway, I not only get to connect with my own roots, but I get to connect people with planet stories in the form of innovative local entrepreneurs and energy companies. Many of them truly punch above their weight when it comes to sustainable solutions, and I’m excited to be a part of their journey.

Although this is THE END of this piece, it is only the beginning of my Project Neon story – and I can’t imagine a better team to write it with.

Cat

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