Trailblazers and leaders: Chinedu Udezue
Chinedu Udeze | Senior Media Relations Manager, Global Healthcare and Public Service | Accenture
How did you get into marketing/comms?
I studied Advertising Management at university (the inspiration came from watching Eddie Murphy in Boomerang) but for my placement, I worked at a company called Saban Entertainment (I literally pulled out the Yellow Pages and looked for marketing companies around my area of London – that gives an idea of how long ago this was!).
It was the licensing and brand arm of Fox Kids TV and during my time there, I got friendly with the agency that was doing the PR for a lot of the properties and shows we owned. PR sounded interesting so I stayed in touch with them and once I graduated, I was fortunate enough to get my first job with them. They specialised in sports and entertainment, so my early years of PR were dominated by video games, VHS / DVD programmes, sports, and TV - which for a recently graduated 20-something-year-old was like a lottery win! From there I transitioned to FMCG PR, then consumer tech, b2b tech, and corporate PR and now I’m part of the Accenture global media team.
What is something that you do every day without fail?
Before I go to bed, I always try and think of something that I’ve learned or found out that day. My goal is always to end the day smarter than when I started it.
What is the best piece of advice that you’ve received? And who gave it to you?
One of my teachers used to say “Time spent worrying about a problem is time you could be spending solving it.” That’s always stuck with me.
What is a tool/hack that you would recommend to anyone starting out in PR/Comms/Marketing?
It sounds obvious, but consuming a wide variety of different media that presents different viewpoints has always been something I’ve found incredibly useful. Knowing who is saying what about certain topics and why is critical to being a good communicator and understanding the audiences you’re looking to target. And I mean proper articles and editorial pieces, not social media posts and headlines.
What’s your greatest achievement to date?
Getting a law changed by Westminster City Council about how public events/appearances are managed. I organised a PA by some wrestlers on Oxford Street at what used to be Virgin Megastore and we managed to pretty much shut down that entire bit of the West End! But on a more serious note, I think it’s the fact that I haven’t really compromised myself to get where I am. I made a conscious decision early on that I was going to be “me” and whatever happened as a result of that, I would deal with it. Touch wood, barring some hiccups, it’s worked out ok so far.
Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?
Nike’s Nothing Beats a Londoner campaign was always something I thought was great. The timing of it was good, as it came at a time when you were only hearing negative stories about the capital launching around half term pushing kids to get active during the break and use their time positively resonated as well. Plus, the online discussion it fuelled meant the campaign had real legs.
What’s the key skill you think a successful PR/comms/marketing pro requires?
The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and empathise.
In three words, describe your approach to your role/work?
Enthusiastic, positive, and resilience.
What’s a question every PR/marketing pro should ask themselves?
What am I / are we trying to actually accomplish here?
