No two days are the same in the thrilling, yet wonderful, world of financial PR. Some weeks are busier than others and, of course, earnings seasons (March, June, September, December) are the busiest times of the year with many of our clients reporting financial results. Below is an insight on how a day at Consilium looks like based on my experience.
7.00 am: The day starts bright and early at home; I check the overnight news headlines to understand how they can drive financial markets and flag any relevant pieces of news to my clients. I confirm with one of my listed clients, a London-listed healthtech company, that an important press release announcing their Full Year results has been issued before checking my emails and answering a few queries.
7.30 am: Time to scan what the wires have written about my client’s financial results and forward them a coverage wrap with all the articles, analyst notes and analysis. In the meantime, I am responding to a journalist from a large national publication who would like to arrange an interview with the CEO.
8.00 am: It’s time for the market to open! I check how all my listed clients are trading while having a quick breakfast (coffee and porridge). In the meantime, the journalist and the CEO have agreed on the time for an interview, and I ask one of our team to draft a short briefing note for the CEO.
8.30 am: I send an updated coverage wrap to my client, get ready to leave the house and head to our office in the heart of the City.
9.00 am: It’s a Thursday and I arrive in the office for the second time this week as we operate a flexible working policy. I grab another coffee and once again check my clients’ share price. Good news! The client that reported its financial results is trading higher than its opening share price! I contact a couple of journalists and flag the news.
9.30 am: Another press query has come in and a journalist has sent a set of questions regarding my clients’ financial results. I gather with the rest of the team and draft a series of answers.
9.30 am: I submit the answers for approval to the client and head into my first client call of the day. Top of the agenda: reviewing the key messages for a press release announcing a sizeable financing round.
10.00 am: Time to wrap up the meeting and head to the venue where my London-listed client is hosting a briefing for sell-side analysts. They have approved the answers that we have drafted so I send them to the journalist.
10.15 am: I am at the venue, helping a team of engineers and producers from the London Stock Exchange set up the room and the webcast for the event. Together with the rest of the client team, I make sure that the room is ready and that everything is in good order for the arrival of our guests.
11.00 am: The CEO, CFO, CSO and Head of Comms are at the venue for a quick rehearsal of the presentation and to go through the list of most likely questions that analysts might ask.
11.30 am: It’s time for the long-awaited interview. After a brief catch-up with the CEO, I join him on a Zoom interview with a national newspaper. At the end of the interview, I send the journalist a thank you note offering to provide more details if needed.
12.00 pm: It is time to greet the analysts who are attending the briefing in person.
12.45 pm: The event finished and I spend a few minutes to mingle with analysts and the client before heading back to the office.
1.00 pm: Before heading to lunch with a group of my wonderful colleagues, I quickly check how all my clients are trading. After the briefing with sell-side analysts, the client that reported its full-year results is still trading higher, so I decide to send a quick note to market reporters.
2.00 pm: I am back at my desk after lunch with my colleagues in the office kitchen. First item in my to-do list: review the latest version of the book with all the coverage of my client’s results that one of our junior members of staff has put together.
2.30 pm: Time for another client call which, this time, I am leading. It’s earnings season and we are reviewing the press release of a French-listed rare disease company which is going to report its interim results in a few days’ time and is looking to arrange a webcast.
3.15 pm: The meeting has finished and it’s time to scan the coverage of my client’ results. I am pleased to see that two market reporters have covered the positive share move.
4.00 pm: I am editing the agendas for tomorrow’s client meetings that our Account Executives have put together before heading for a short coffee break around the office.
4.30 pm: I am working on a Q&A with the rest of my team to help a client prepare for a big announcement taking place next week. I also explain to one of our new hires what a Q&A’s purpose is and why it is so important.
5.00 pm: Time to send a final coverage wrap to my client that posted its financial results today. I am pleased to see that many national publications have covered the news and that the key messages that we have developed with our clients have been mentioned.
5.30 pm: One of my listed clients might be signing a revenue-impacting strategic collaboration and contract overnight which will need to be announced before the market open tomorrow. We decide amongst the client team who is ‘on call’ tonight to hold the pen on the release and who will be on call early in the morning.
5.45 pm: I am reviewing my to-do list for tomorrow before heading home.
6.30 pm: What a long, great day it has been! I decompress by making one of my favourite dishes, risotto alla Milanese, for dinner while having a glass of white wine.
8.30 pm: Netflix time; I watch a few episodes of my latest true-crime obsession and read a few pages of a novel before heading to bed.
