Name: Eloise Cantello
Age: 24
Job title: Senior account executive
Company & location: Wild Card PR, London
Education: Nottingham Trent University, Media with Communications & Society
Why did you decide to go for a career in food? I’ve had a passion for food from a young age. And I don’t just mean eating it – I’m fascinated by innovative food products and cuisines and the different ways food is enjoyed in different cultures. My biggest hobby is cooking and I love consuming media content that is food and drink related. I studied communications at university, so working in food and drink comms is a natural fit that brings me so much satisfaction.
Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): Working with a range of established and startup brands in the fmcg space such as Ginsters, Yeo Valley Organic and ManiLife, we have a varied brand client base with completely different products, purpose and positioning to convey to the media. We’re a multi-service communications agency, so our team does everything from content creation and media relations, to influencer engagement and experiential events. My role sits more within the digital team, supporting with social media and influencer campaigns, as well as digital PR campaigns.
What does a typical day look like for you? It always starts with being aware of the news agenda for that day. We all read the newspapers and look at any trending topics on social media to ensure we’re on top of any key cultural moments and are aware of the dialogue when slotting our clients into the media landscape. From that point onwards, each day is very varied. On quieter days I can get my head down in planning social media calendars and creating visual content, or if we have a big news story to land, I’ll be talking to journalists and pitching our campaigns to media. As a creative agency, brainstorms are a key part of our planning strategy, so our week is often broken up with exciting creative sessions.
“There are so many layers to creating a social brand personality and appropriate tone of voice”
Tell us about how you went about applying for your job: I had always wanted to work on big brands in the fmcg space, so spent a lot of time researching the big players in this space, which is when I came across Wild Card. I was impressed by their client portfolio, which includes big brands like New York Bakery, Tilda and Tetley alongside ambitious startups like Nc’nean and Feragaia. It was this variety which drove me to apply. I sent my CV to the agency, trying to let my foodie personality shine through as much as possible, which led to the next stage. I then had to pitch a creative campaign idea to the team and answer a rigorous questioning process – I was super nervous and had major internet trouble (typical!), but after follow-up calls and emails the team felt they knew enough about me to offer me the job.
What’s the best part about working in the industry? For me it’s learning about the people and story behind the brands. We work with many founder-led companies and their passion is so strong. At Wild Card we only work with clients we really believe in and to be able to share their story with the world is something I take so much pride in. As a huge foodie, being one step ahead of all the latest food and drink trends is also a huge bonus.
And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think it would be the ‘one size fits all’ kind of approach a lot of people have to food and drink social media. Not one brand is the same and there are so many layers to creating a social brand personality and appropriate tone of voice, that using the same strategy for every brand isn’t going to work. Knowing and being a part of the brand is just as important as having the skills.
What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? My advice would be to make sure you keep on top of industry news and trends. For food and drink comms particularly, you need to be aware of the media landscape to make sure your content is landing, which applies to both social and traditional media. I’d also say you need to be passionate about the industry – don’t get into food and drink if you don’t know the difference between your buns and your bagels! If you show a prospective employer passion and knowledge this will give you a great chance of landing that dream job.
What’s your ultimate career dream? My career dream is to be the go-to comms person for everything food and drink! I don’t have a career ‘end goal’ as such, I just want to work on brilliant campaigns that foodies like myself can relate to – and which inspires them to try and buy my clients’ products.
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