KENTWOMENINBUSINESS
KENT WOMEN IN BUSINESS :
AJ SHARP
FOUNDER OF SHARP , PR & CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS FOR AMBITIOUS FOOD , DRINK AND HOSPITALITY BRANDS
Entrepreneur , broadcaster , food judge and speaker , AJ Sharp is driven by a passion for great-tasting , sustainable food and drink . She founded Sharp , the award-winning food and drink PR agency in 2010 , managing the PR and communications for brands like Fever- Tree , Rocksalt Group , Seggiano , Guild of Fine Food , Great Taste and Produced in Kent .
International Women ’ s Day is a moment to reflect on the huge strides made by women in various industries . In the dynamic world of consumer PR and communications , a traditionally female-dominated sector , support for women hasn ’ t always been as robust as it should have been . It ’ s one of the many reasons AJ Sharp founded Sharp , a female-forward food and drink PR agency in Kent .
“ My experience of agency life in London was seriously tough , with insanely long hours , events nearly every night of the week , and an attitude of ‘ toughen up or leave ’ from senior management . I worked my socks off , never saw my friends , barely ever went on holidays and was promoted to director in under four years at the age of just 26 ; for most people this takes six to ten years .
“ I felt that agency owners were trying to make their teams follow traditional business structures and processes . Regardless of gender , the system didn ’ t allow for a different way of working . Anyone ’ s ability to use intuition or creativity was stymied as it didn ’ t fit the ‘ way we work ’. They never seemed to acknowledge how empathy and emotional intelligence are part of the skillset needed to create excellent brand messaging . There were hours of time wasted in pointless internal meetings , which frankly could have been cracked in five mins over a quick coffee . It was deeply frustrating .
“ Sharp was born of a desire to show how a PR agency could be different . I knew it existed as I ’ d seen it work at another agency . You don ’ t have to do things the way everyone else does , just because that ’ s how it ’ s always been , and we didn ’ t need to be in central London to be one of the best . The team can be both creative and resultsdriven , they can be extremely effective at their job and work flexibly around their lives , whether that ’ s attending an appointment or being there to collect the kids from school . These things are not mutually exclusive . We prioritise company-wide flexibility , for all our team members , regardless of gender .”
Recognising that a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn ’ t cut it and employing big brand thinking , Sharp creates bespoke PR opportunities for each client that communicate the right message at the right time to the right people . We collaborate with brands that align with the team ’ s core values , allow the agency to drive growth and awareness and crucially , deliver measurable results to clients . Clients choose Sharp because they consistently deliver extraordinary results .
Visit www . sharprelations . com to book a free strategy call .
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