A Day in the LIfe: Ian Roberts

Company: Zest PR Ltd. A Marketing, PR and Brand Consultancy agency.

Job title: Managing Director

What keeps you busy all day? Thinking ahead. Planning is the most important part of any marketing campaign so I need to ensure that I carve out as much time as possible in the day for strategic thinking, creativity and maximum communication with my clients.

What keeps you awake at night? Nothing, I sleep soundly.

Describe your working day: I usually get up at 6.30am and go to the gym. I then go to the office and have a staff meeting, followed by a one on one meeting with my PA. I have regular update meetings with my clients in the morning, and then usually lunch with a marketing contact or journalist. My afternoons usually involve strategically reviewing all my accounts, corresponding with all manner of contacts, and having new business meetings. I always find time to listen to new artists and spend most of my evenings at gigs or events. On a night off I’ll have a more civilised evening at Soho or Shoreditch House!
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What’s your busiest time of day? My days are always chaotic, so it’s very difficult to pinpoint an exact time. It also depends on what accounts and brands I’m working with, and at what point during a marketing campaign I’m at.

What brands/accounts have you worked on? What I love most about my job is the variety of accounts and brands I get to work with. I could be working with an opera company one day, a technology start-up the next, or representing a European music festival. Some of the brands I have worked with include Datz.com, the Benicassim Festival, Universal Music Group, The Hop Farm Festival, St Etienne, Louie Vega, The Mighty Boosh Festival, Vince Power Music Group, Kitty Daisy and Lewis, The Pigalle Club, Commonwealth Games, Aberdeen International Jazz Festival, and Warner Music Group to name a few.

Best day at work: I love the summer months due to the festival madness. My favourite days at work are festival weekends such as The Hop Farm Festival which took place last July.

Worst day at work: The first day back after a great festival or event, as I can never take a day off to recuperate.

Name one thing you’ve achieved that has made your bosses sit up and take
notice: I started Zest PR 8 years ago, and my first account was the Commonwealth Games. My passion and knowledge for the arts led to me beating a number of major international agencies to the job. I represented over 250 events, and worked night and day to achieve mainstream media coverage for them. The success of the PR and marketing campaign became a calling card for me, and a number of brands and artists associated with the Games approached me afterward for work. I also created the ‘Music Education Consortium’ which recruited celebrities to lobby the government for improved music education policy. A number of government initiatives were created as a result of this, which I am very proud of.

Ambitions: To open up a New York Office and increase the international profile of the company.

Advice to other rising stars: Always believe in your ideas and don’t be afraid to take risks. It always pays off!

Quote from the boss: I am the boss and I always tell my team that anything is possible.….