In our latest edition of Pure People, we chat with the wonderful Molly Hyndman, Pure Public Relations’ Director of Health and Wellness.
Molly is a communications specialist with 15 years of experience spanning media relations, events and experiential, influencer and ambassador engagement, partnership amplification and issues management.
Molly has worked with some of Australia’s most notable organisations and brands, including the Movember Foundation, the Victorian Department of Health, World Vision Australia, Mazda, Sustainability Victoria, Transport Accident Commission (TAC), Department of Health and Ageing (Commonwealth), Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, amongst others.
Can you tell us a bit about your career journey and highlights so far?
I’ve had the pleasure of working for a mixture of agencies and in-house roles over the course of my career. It’s allowed me to work out where my passion areas are, and one of my career highlights was leading the PR and ambassador program for the Movember Foundation for three years. Turns out my passion is mental health and men’s health!
How has the PR industry changed throughout your career?
There are so many new ways for brands to tell their story now, it’s an exciting time! There will always be a place for authentic, real stories and PR can help organisations and individuals tell this story – whether that’s through media relations, social media, paid content, creative content or partnerships.
But it’s also so reassuring that media relations is still greatly valued, particularly in a time where the media coverage is harder to get with a decreased number of journalists and media outlets.
Tell us about one of your favourite memories while working in the industry.
Organising launch media for Movember in a time when the organisation relied primarily on PR exposure to generate fundraising. It involved MANY late nights plotting the perfect mix of activities across the country, having fallback plans and hoping that just one would come off!
It resulted in one of our events, a world record ‘shave down’ in Sydney with celebs where all major media attended (TV news crews, morning TV shows, radio, print and online). The perfect mixture of talent, timing and pure good luck on the day led to a campaign that generated $20M in fundraising in Australia alone for men’s health.
If ‘present you’ could give ‘past you’ one piece of career advice for when you first started in the industry, what would it be?
Most of the time, no one else knows what they’re doing anyway! Trust your gut and when you get it wrong, own your mistakes with authenticity.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about PR from those not in the industry?
That it’s easy and fluffy. PR people are the most creative, cleverest people I know – they can make the most mundane product or brand seem exciting and newsworthy.
What is one thing that surprised you – or continues to surprise you – about working in PR?
That I don’t get bored. The constant and changing nature of PR has kept me challenged and on my toes for (almost) 15 years.
How do you think the PR industry will change in the next decade or so?
Brands have so many great opportunities to tell their stories now. I think we will move into a space where we can create authentic, creative content for brands that sit across multiple platforms – from earned media to owned channels – and that we can measure the impact of.
For so long, we haven’t been able to measure the real value of PR, but with more integration online and analytics available to anyone, it’s exciting to discover how we can show PR’s value to clients in a real, tangible way.
How do you prioritise your wellbeing while working in the often crazy world of PR?
I try to get outdoors as much as possible – whether it’s for a 15-minute walk to the river or a morning surf, being active helps my mental health immensely! I also love a reformer pilates class.
What has been the most rewarding or exciting PR campaign you’ve worked on?
I ran a national PR campaign for a road safety client, which involved launching a short documentary with a Hollywood director. It was so multilayered and certainly the most challenging campaign I’ve worked on – so many things that could have gone wrong (and sometimes did!).
It generated thousands of media hits and reached more than 2 million people around Australia, all focused on showing how distracting your mobile phone is when you’re behind the wheel.
What is your favourite thing to do outside of work?
Hang out with my family – my husband, four-year-old son and cocker spaniel – down the beach, and sneak in a surf while they wait for me on the beach!
If you weren’t working in PR, what would you be doing?
Running yoga and surfing retreats for like-minded women.
Describe your perfect weekend for us.
Lots of time for connection with people in my life. Start with an ‘iceberging’ (aka no wetsuits allowed, even in Victoria’s freezing winter!) ocean dip with a group of like-minded local mums, followed by a beach morning with my family. A slow afternoon at home and an early BBQ dinner around the firepit with a cold glass of rosé – bliss!
In one word, how would you describe working at Pure?
Creative. I am constantly flexing my creativity muscle to get great coverage for our clients.
Get in touch with us today to find out more about how our team can help power your PR.
