Cobb PR is 20 years old this year and I’ve been here for 15 of those. That makes it my crystal anniversary. Although I’m still young-ish, I sometimes think of all the changes I’ve seen to my working processes during this time. And it makes me feel really old!
When I joined, Tim and Sue Cobb employed three people and we were based in Hyde Gardens. This was a time when faxing press releases was the norm and if there was a photo to accompany the release, we’d have to get the photos printed in a shop and post them out.
I don’t think I’d ever sent an email, yet now I send so many every day that I can’t imagine life without this method of communication. Although everything seems quicker and easier since the increasing use of computers, we all know how frustrating they can be when they’re not working or going slow.

I also think we sometimes forget to pick up the phone and talk to people. It’s so easy to ping an email and establish a dialogue that way. Although I wonder if busy journalists are grateful not to have to keep speaking to people as emailing is so much quicker and easier. But I like having a chat with clients – if you know me, you’ll know it’s sometimes hard to shut me up!
These days, I’m always posting client comments on social media sites, something which was pretty much unheard of back then, but is now an essential task.
I remember in the early days when a colleague was using her mobile phone in the office and it was really frowned upon. Now, it’s usual to take work calls on your mobile. My kids can’t believe that we didn’t have mobiles or computers and it only seems like a few short years ago to me. I can’t believe that the next 15 years will see such major changes, but I’m happy to be proved wrong.