Interview: Laura Sullivan, Director of Fido PR

Laura Sullivan is owner and Director of Fido PR, a multi-award-winning firm specialising in consultancy, PR and media relations for arts organisations, museums and heritage projects. Laura’s approach to PR is community-minded with a strong sense of history and an inherent curiosity for people and place. She’s a Mancunian and an incredible ambassador for the city through her collaborative projects, knowledge and warmth.

Could you tell me a bit more about how you came to be interested in PR?

At first, I thought my career would take me into journalism, having enjoyed work experience opportunities with my local newspaper, but, with PR, I found I could be part of the team that’s telling the story. I enjoy being on the inside track – crafting the story, the creativity and making the connection to audiences.

PR was a perfect fit for me as I have an innate curiosity – a need to dig deeper – and I’ve always enjoyed writing, telling stories and seeing them through.

Could you tell me a bit more about the set-up of Fido PR – had you worked for other PR firms before when you decided to set up?

I studied history at university so storytelling and uncovering the narrative is something that’s always fired me up. On a social occasion, I met a press officer, and it was the conversation that followed that led me to want to find out more about PR.

I’d been applying for roles as a TV runner as I’d been interested in the journalism and communications side but then found out about a Masters in PR at Manchester Metropolitan University. PR wasn’t nearly as widescale as it is now and at this time there were just two MA courses being offered across the country.

Because I’d done a Masters, it helped me to stand out and I went straight into employment as an account manager with Ptarmigan – an agency with its head office in Leeds that focused on sports sponsorship and financial services sectors.

In the early part of my career, I went from opening a football stadium to celebrity launches and doing quite traditional PR with lots of photo calls, creative campaigns, media coverage etc.

After that, I moved to Connectpoint (now rebranded as Amaze) and that’s where I met Nancy who co-founded Fido PR with me in 2002. Probably as most people experience, we were ready to explore things our way.

Over the years we’ve built a brilliant client base and fabulous relationships. From the beginning we’ve always done an element of pro bono work, incorporating community and collaboration in all we do. It’s best exemplified by our relationship with Victoria Baths. 

It was 2003 and BBC Restoration was on TV with Victoria Baths as one of the suggested restoration projects. We got on the phone to Gill Wright, a volunteer wanting to save Victoria Baths, who later became their Project Manager, to volunteer our own services. We felt like we could lend a hand and do our bit for this wonderful Manchester water palace. This then led to a bigger project when in 2015 we helped Gill form Historic Pools of Britain.

You have worked with many different cultural organisations – Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust, Pankhurst Trust, Royal Horticultural Society, Manchester City of Literature, Manchester Histories – could you tell me more about how this became your niche?

It’s always been there and just grown and grown. I like the deeper storytelling that comes with discovering the history of places along with the excitement of exhibitions and openings. And probably the highlight has been when we’ve worked on large-scale anniversaries.

Fido was a bigger organisation in our early years – working with larger brands and that involved a lot of the day-to-day management that comes with overseeing a team. As with any organisation we’ve evolved and, in many ways, it was when Nancy moved to Australia that Fido emerged in its current form. In reality, our team is always bigger as we have a collaborative approach and insert ourselves as part of the team in multiple organisations depending on the project. Again, that’s one of the things that I love.

I really enjoy being at the forefront of what we do at Fido PR – I certainly feel that you need the experience and skills to maximise the opportunities. For example, during the centenary of some women getting the vote, in 2018, there was so much to tell. At the start, the story was quite hidden - not everyone was aware that the birthplace of the suffragette movement was even in Manchester, at 60-62 Nelson Street, where Emmeline Pankhurst once lived. Hard to believe now, and a highlight moment was overseeing the unveiling of Emmeline’s statute - seeing everyone gathered in a moment of solidarity and remembrance in St Peter’s Square.  Now I’m trying to support the team in securing the future of the Pankhurst Museum – it’s hard to believe that such support is needed for what should be recognised as a national treasure.

It's such a magical part of PR, inviting people to discover the story with you, collaborating with curators in telling these important stories.

What is it about Manchester you love?

I love that Manchester is a radical city – past, present and hopefully future. It’s the birthplace of the suffragette movement, the trade union movement, and there are so many important moments in time and protest that have occurred here. You can feel that and that attracts people to the city. There’s a real difference to Manchester and I’m proud of that, as a Mancunian.

I wouldn’t want to be in any other city. If you’re a creative person - there’s endlessly something to discover: music, art, culture. Always something happening.

Could you tell me about a book, film or artwork you love?

‘Lessons in Chemistry’ by Bonnie Garmus – has recently grabbed my attention – though I know I’m late to the party! I picked it up in an airport bookshop and couldn’t put it down.   She paints pictures so vividly and immerses you straight into the story.

Set in the 1950’s and 1960’s – the heroine of the story, Elizabeth Zott is a trailblazer – a very matter-of-fact feminist, and she’s doing her thing, but society judges her for it. I love the clarity and comedy of it. PR writing is such a different discipline – I sometimes dream of writing fiction. It would be great to have time to dedicate to it.

You have a base at People’s History Museum – what do you love about working there?

We’ve been based at People’s History Museum for over 10 years now – and I love that it lives by its values – it’s welcoming, warm, and inclusive.

It raises people’s voices up and it’s a reminder of some of the things we take for granted – equality and people power – and that progress and change take time, but that we can all play our part. It’s about people standing collectively together and the difference that this can make.

The team is brilliant to work with, and the place always reassures me of what’s important. As a city we should be really proud we host the national museum of democracy.