Profiles
Read about some people who got here first.
Ali Campbell
Head of PR
Ali's spent much of her career in PR and comms across the industry. She joined us having headed up PR in EMEA for Siebel Systems for three years.
Microsoft's a very interesting company and a big player. From a PR perspective, there's always negative debate around the industry leader, and it's our challenge to put out the positive stories. The market's changing so fast that it's a good opportunity to evolve and maintain that market-leading position.
What we do here is put out relevant messages to journalists, analysts and influencers. Naturally there are multiple messages for multiple audiences. It's fast-moving and even slightly crazy, but you definitely get to change things.
As we co-ordinate the relevant stories we make sure they're consistent across the business, and that we also have a consistent approach to planning and executing each campaign - there are top-level messages and everything we do should map up.
Personally, I've only been here a matter of months so my particular tasks have involved planning, and, where we have gaps, recruiting.
One of the main attractions of Microsoft is the power of the brand. It's a great opportunity and a huge responsibility - there are preconceptions out there and we have to be careful with the tone and manner of our communications because of our position.
The new product launches are an example. There are key market watchers, and we're launching products that represent $billions in R&D investment. We have to make sure we're communicating business values in business vocabulary, and doing that appropriately. After all, we haven't had a launch this big in 11 years, when people were queuing around the block for Windows.
My ongoing task is to prove the value that an extended PR team can bring. My team is talented, bright and smart, and I need to make sure their work is recognised - there has to be a direct correlation between PR and the success of the business.
There's a great story to tell here. You also have to prepare to be surprised - I wasn't expecting some aspects of it, because I had my own misconceptions. And it's crucial that you bring - and keep - an external perspective, although that's not easy to achieve.
Gain respect, prove your value and you can be completely candid in your views. They'll be welcome.
