From client brief to PR strategy: City partners with Cow to launch a hands-on PR module for students

City St George’s, University of London is partnering with creative communications agency Cow to deliver hands-on publication relations (PR) training to students.

Undergraduates on the media and communications programmes will learn how to go from client brief to PR strategy with the help of industry experts at Cow.

Cow – whose clients include Heineken and Nestlé – called the partnership a “win-win” because “let’s face it; the majority of the briefs that cross our door are targeting a younger demographic”.

For the many students at City St George’s who are the first in their families to go to university, this helps them meet with potential employers and learn about what career paths are open to them.

The partnership will manifest as a student employability-focused module. Cow will provide non-live client briefs, based on which students will develop a plan for a PR campaign.

Alongside City St George’s academics, creative leads from Cow will then attend students' presentations, to provide guidance and feedback on their work. Based on their assignments, students will be considered for paid summer internships at the agency.

Dr Raluca Moise, Senior Lecturer in Communication at City St George’s and Programme Director for the BSc Media, Communication and Sociology, said:

In our department, we are developing more experiences by which our students learn by doing.

The partnership offers undergraduate media and communication students the opportunity to connect with a specialised agency and to be considered for paid summer internships.

It is just one of the ways in which we introduce our students to London-based PR agencies and we are contributing to widening the representation of diverse communities in communications industries.

This partnership feels like a natural continuation of Cow’s desire to help shape the future of our industry.

With the launch of our Creative Pathway last year, we cleared a route for existing team members to develop specialised creative skills from early on in their careers, regardless of background or CV - by giving them the time, training and opportunity to progress into Creative roles.

So far, this has generated fantastic results and fresh perspective across the agency, so the next logical step is to engage with tomorrow’s talent early - the earlier the better!

The students at City St George’s may be currently learning about our field, but in many ways they’re much more native to it than we are. And let’s face it; the majority of the briefs that cross our door are targeting a younger demographic, so it’s a win-win in our eyes!

We’re really excited to see their takes on these briefs and the new, dynamic ways they’re approaching brands, creativity and communicating with an audience. The working sessions in particular are going to be brilliant fun.