Trailblazers and leaders: Hannah Easterby
Hannah Easterby | Head of Media and Communications | Sussex Police
How did you get into marketing/comms?
I studied Journalism and English Language at university and started my career on a local newspaper which covered Croydon, south London. It was a fantastic job; I loved every second and it undoubtedly was the role where I first developed many of the skills that have led me to progress to the position I’m in today. I moved from Journalism into Media and Communications because the skills required are interchangeable. I get to remain within the ‘world of news,’ but I shape the narrative, rather than just reacting to or reporting one that’s presented to me.
What is something that you do every day without fail?
Read the news. I start and end each day with a good scan of all major UK news sites, so I’ve got a good idea of the top stories that day. I often then follow this with some mindless scrolling on my socials - escaping the social media rabbit hole is very much still a work in progress for me!
What is the best piece of advice that you’ve received? And who gave it to you?
Trust your gut – I’ve come to realise if something doesn’t feel quite right, it’s because it usually isn’t. More recently, I saw the quote “You won’t get replaced by AI, but you will be replaced by someone who knows AI” which was both humbling and motivating. This has stuck with me in everything I do. I make a conscious effort to stay visible and let my work speak for itself.
What is a tool/hack that you would recommend to anyone starting out in PR/Comms/Marketing?
Always ask yourself why? Why are we doing this piece of comms or this campaign? Why will a journalist and/or our audience care?
What’s your greatest achievement to date?
Becoming one of the 12 percent of Black and minority ethnic magistrates nationally and being part of the one percent of volunteers in the role aged 30 or under. After spending hours sat in courtrooms as a reporter, the lack of diversity in the magistracy was stark, the bench was rarely reflective of the community it served, so I applied, passed the assessment, and was sworn in at the Old Bailey in 2018. I sat at Croydon Magistrates Court and Camberwell Green Magistrates Court until joining Sussex Police.
Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?
It’s not a specific campaign but I absolutely love Aldi’s social media content. Their social media team never miss a beat, their posts frequently make me laugh aloud and they always land so well with their audience. I’d love to sit in on their team meetings. I'm a wiser man now, I hope. Videos still get to me.
In three words, describe your approach to your role/work?
Honest. Collaborative. Resilient.
What’s a question every PR/marketing pro should ask themselves?
How does this fit with our audience’s current reality, and would this interest me if I weren’t working on it?
