In our Headliners series of conversations, we get under the skin of PR and communications leaders around the world who have made PRovoke Media headlines recently, uncovering the risks they have taken in their career, the people, brands and work they admire, their advice for industry newbies, and their guilty pleasures.

In this week's Q&A, we speak toSteve Strickland, the co-founder of Talker Tailor Trouble Maker, who has joined UK agency Cirkle as its first chief creative officer. 

What’s the biggest career risk you’ve ever taken? How did it work out?

Co-founding my own creative company with my best friend is the biggest risk I’ve taken so far, and it took me a long time not to see it as a failure. Being part of a group of trouble-makers and turning up so unapologetically in our industry has created change I still see today, so it’s worked out just fine. I continually struggle with my place in PR and whether I will always be a working class guest at an upper class soiree, so to have run an award-winning business for seven years and been a starting point for so many game-changers in our industry today, is something I will never forget.

What's the biggest creative risk you've ever taken?

The summer ‘Chipwatch’ campaign for Deliveroo in 2022. Talker Tailor Trouble Maker created a song designed to protect people’s chips from greedy seagulls on the beach. You had to play the song from your phone to scare off the birds. It was filmed for ITV and the seagull just sat there listening to the song, loving life and chilling like the absolute chip-stealing villain it was. I spent far too much time convincing people that perhaps this particular seagull had hearing problems. An absolute summer highlight, and I wasn’t even on the beach. Our team did an incredible job, and it got crazy coverage – but I probably wouldn’t rush to work with seagulls again.

What do you think are the most important character traits for a great PR person?

I find it bizarre that we still interview people based on capability to do a job that we’re all nervous is disappearing, rather than their character and what difference they can bring. Creativity is always the answer to this question and that comes from difference. Creativity is the answer to every question. Being able to collaborate and create with people who have different lived experiences to me is an absolute gift. If you were to ask people about my character, especially my new colleagues, they might say, “directness” but I am still trying to work out whether that’s being said with a smile or shaking legs.

Which company or organization do you most admire in terms of PR, branding or reputation management?

Peppa Pig, but I will make no further comment because I never thought I’d get to a time in my life where I would be jealous of the life a cartoon pig has carved out for themselves.

Which individual, in any field, do you think exemplifies outstanding leadership or communication skills?

Adele. I love how she appears, dominates and then scarpers. She’s the singing equivalent of Stumptown Fil, the beaver at Oregon Zoo that shows up, predicts the weather, gets coverage in every single outlet and then sods off for a year. I feel the same about brands, I would much prefer to work with a company, product or service that wanted to turn up in a BIG way and then leave people alone for a bit, than try and be in our faces all the time. As much as I love a Snickers bar, I don’t need to know how it feels every day of the year.

What's the best campaign you've seen recently?

I am such a terrible awards judge because I just cannot separate work from the people. Did Kim Allain work on that? Five stars! Grayling’s new idea? Five stars! As our industry becomes more public facing, as creative conversations become as common as any other chat in the café or pub, we need to all be mindful that people struggle with separating art and artist. I was recently reminded of the CALM ‘Missed Birthdays’ suicide prevention campaign by Adam & Eve and Hope&Glory. I loved how ostentatious the execution of the stunt was, how glorious as a piece of photography it was, how colour-filled it was to look at, even though the story made you want to look away. And I really like the Hope&Glory team, so double bubble.

Is there an industry trend or discussion you think is over-rated or exaggerated or just plain stupid?

“You copied our idea” in isolation and without context is so lazy to me. I get that on many occasions, we put our heart and soul into the work we do but there are millions of us in this industry now, around the world so we should expect an idea to be copied. And honestly, let’s not lose our minds about someone copying a stunt on the Thames when we have so many bigger issues to attend to. Having said that, I am now of an age where I can say, with confidence, “this idea was done in 1986” so watch out bitches, Steve’s the hall monitor now.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone entering the PR industry today?

In the words of Queen Ramonda, “Show them who you are!” Don’t try and be a great PR person, be a great person who works in PR. People in our industry will teach each other the acronyms, the short-cuts, the partners we all use, but the worst outcome is the things that make us unique, exciting and challenging are wiped out and we all turn into PR copies of each other. We owe it to the creative industry we operate in to be surrounded by difference of opinion and culture, and that only happens if we protect our individuality.

What's your guilty pleasure when you need to unwind from the high pressure of PR?

Absolutely nothing that can be written down but if you’re in need of an unwind, my DMs are open.