Trailblazers and leaders: Tarita Mullings
Tarita Mullings | Director | The Story
How did you get into Marketing & Comms?
I was a temp receptionist at tech PR agency in Hammersmith. It was a young and energetic company, with all sorts going on every day. At the time I didn’t really know much about what PR was, or what I could do in tech, but they invited me to join the grad scheme and from there I was able to work across tech brands that have now become household names. Tech was a great space to start for me, because it was really fun, lots to learn, and the journalists were super cool. As it was just before the avalanche of Facebook and Insta, we were all just going for it! It was a real eye-opener to the world of marketing and how brands behave.
What is something that you do every day without fail?
It’s got to be scrolling through the socials. I’ve definitely had to find balance as you can get lost in there, so ideally before any scrolling does happen I’ll spend 30 mins in the morning doing something non-phone related, knowing that I’ll be glued to it all day.
What is the best piece of advice that you’ve received? And who gave it to you?
“It’s PR not ER.” We need this printed on t-shirts and notebooks. I can see the merch now! This is something one of my first ADs said to our little grad group in the midst of a coverage report crisis, and at the time was quite annoying to hear, but as the years have passed it’s just made more and more sense. Perspective is everything and thankfully I’m still not responsible for saving any lives.
What is a tool/hack that you would recommend to anyone starting out in PR/Comms/Marketing?
Coverage book – that was a game changer and we’re encouraging more of our clients to use it.
What’s your greatest achievement to date?
Developing real connections with folks, through cool projects that are stored in my life memory bank forever. This industry opened up the world for me and has given me the chance to travel, learn and grow as a person, beyond getting the work done.
I’m super proud of the relationships I have made from traveling the world together, to attending weddings, or our unwavering commitment to eating and drinking the best we can find together, it runs deep.
Is there a particular comms campaign that you’ve seen in your career that you didn’t work on but wish you had?
I’ve always been fascinated with the huge campaigns that surround the fashion weeks, from the fashion houses, dressing the Frow, to the brands that are jumping on with fringe events or activations, I would love to get behind the scenes just once to see it all come together. However, I don’t think I could work in that industry now, it’s a very different vibe to what I’m used to.
What’s the key skill you think a successful PR/comms/marketing pro requires?
Active listening. You need to be an active listener because you will hear from lots of different people in a day and a lot is said. You must be able to listen carefully, reflect and then decide on the level of response required. Some things are more serious than others, but you have to enter every conversation with that commitment to listening and hearing someone out, before jumping into anything, and most importantly cut through the BS.
In three words, describe your approach to your role/work?
Is it on fire? Ok that’s four words, but because prioritisation is key, I tend to use an urgent versus important method to determine where the focus needs to be in that moment. Things can’t be on fire every day and as I said before we work in PR not ER. So take a breath and try to focus on what you can do that will make the most impact. Tomorrow is another day.
What’s a question every PR/marketing pro should ask themselves?
Are you having fun? If you’re not then why not? What can you change to make sure you’re enjoying what you’re doing. Let’s be honest, it might not always be the client work, but the people you surround yourself with and the environment you’re in can make a difference, so do what you can to be with the people you can learn from and ultimately have some fun with.
