allô Communications by Tazeen Jafri

If you think PR is tough, try doing PR for yourself. 🫣 It’s a whole different ballgame. I’ve faced countless challenges over the years, but nothing compares to promoting my own ventures. Not even the time I was 8 months pregnant, running events in Abu Dhabi with a 4-hour round-trip commute and 12 hours on my feet! For clients, it’s simple — connect with media, build relationships, and it flows naturally. But for yourself? It’s a constant push to prioritize your own brand and make time for it amidst everything else. So here I am, doing what I do best: staying disciplined, organized, and using every trick in my PR toolkit to get it done. PR’ing yourself is no easy feat, but it’s worth it. Want more real talk about the PR world? Let’s chat. 💬 - Tazeen 💜

Creating space for fresh inspiration and new perspectives is essential for staying creative and motivated. Sometimes, the best ideas come when you allow yourself to pause and breathe. Remember, stepping away doesn’t slow you down — it sets you up for an even stronger comeback. 💜

🌟 Client Testimonial 🌟 Thank you, Ananda Shakespeare, for your trust and recognition! We look forward to more opportunities to work together and continue making a difference in the PR industry.

#GHOSTING: A Professional Nightmare There’s nothing worse than being ghosted in a professional setting. To me, it screams one thing: a lack of respect for the other person’s time and effort. Originally a term from the dating world, ghosting has unfortunately made its way into the workplace. And let’s be clear — I’m not talking about emergencies or life happening (I get it, I’m human too!). When I say ghosting, I mean no response after 3-4 follow-ups over a reasonable period of time. Responding to someone who reaches out should be the bare minimum. It’s what we’re taught as kids, and was once a staple of professional etiquette, and honestly, just basic decency. Now, I’m not talking about ghosting by HR, recruiters, media or potential clients— something we’re all ongoing victims of (I once followed up on a job application for six months and a potential client for about a year), but I’m talking about service providers I’ve hired or want to hire — ghosting me on: 💬 Quotes 📑 Proposals 📈 Project Updates This isn’t just frustrating — it wastes time, lowers my trust in their professionalism, and sets low expectations for their #workethic and reliability. It also reflects poorly on their entire industry, including #freelancers, #remoteworkers, and businesses operating on social media. Ghosting isn’t just bad manners — it’s bad business. So, what about you? Have you had any spooky ghosting encounters in your professional life? Share your experiences — and how you handled them — in the comments below. Let’s talk about it! - Tazeen 💜

💡 Tips for Aspiring PR Professionals to Thrive in #AgencyLife Before Signing Off for the Day: 📝 Create a Priority List – The real work begins the day before! Identify realistic priorities (no more than 5) to avoid falling into the urgency trap. When You Start Your Day: 1️⃣ Tackle Writing Tasks First – Writing requires focus, so get it done while your mind is fresh. 2️⃣ Skim Through Emails – Scan subject lines to stay aware of incoming tasks without getting bogged down. 3️⃣ Avoid Early Morning Meetings – Save the first hour or two for productive, focused work. If meetings are necessary, aim to keep them under 10 minutes. Key Points to Keep in Mind: ✋🏼 Not Everything is Urgent – The urgency trap is real. Learn to differentiate between what’s urgent and what’s important. 🙏🏼 Manage Your Managers – Don’t hesitate to ask for realistic deadlines. Share your priorities and request support in reprioritizing if new tasks arise. 🤝🏼 Support with Reprioritization – When asked for urgent support, understand it’s usually because the task needs quick attention. Offer help by reassessing what’s critical. 🚦 Learn to Push Back – Educate clients or coworkers on realistic expectations, but choose your battles wisely. For example, don’t let a Friday 4:58 PM request derail your team unnecessarily. ✨ Pro Tip: Pick balance over burnout. PR thrives on teamwork, communication, and clear priorities — so advocate for yourself and your team! Have other tips that have worked for you? Drop them in the comments! Let’s learn from each other. 🙌🏼 - Tazeen 💜

Here’s how trust plays out in our day-to-day: - Managers trust us to deliver results, meet deadlines, and uphold the agency’s reputation. - Team members rely on us for guidance, support, and problem-solving during challenges or crises. - Clients depend on us to represent their brands effectively, craft compelling pitches, and sustain momentum with fresh, innovative ideas. - Editors count on us for accurate information, timely responses, and sometimes exclusive insights — all under tight deadlines. But trust isn’t one-sided — it’s a two-way street: - We trust managers to acknowledge our contributions, provide direction when needed, and foster a supportive environment. - We trust teammates to step up during crunch times, have our backs in emergencies, and respect personal time. - We trust clients to meet editors’ deadlines, approve campaigns promptly, pay fairly, and value our expertise by returning to us for guidance. - We trust editors to keep us informed about industry trends, special features, or opportunities that align with our clients’ goals. Building and maintaining these layers of trust is no small feat — it requires hard work, mutual respect, understanding, and consistency. How do you nurture trust in your professional relationships?

PR Myth #2 'PR is only for big corporations' Absolutely not! 🙅🏻♀️ While PR benefits organizations of all sizes, it’s the startups, nonprofits, and individuals who need it the most. Here’s why: Big corporations pour hefty budgets into PR and marketing to ensure their brands dominate and stand out in the crowded market, often leaving smaller businesses struggling to break through the noise. That’s exactly where PR comes in as a game-changer for the ‘little guys’. PR helps organizations of any size to: ✅ Shape public perceptions ✅ Build credibility and trust ✅ Achieve key goals P.S. PR is an investment, not a luxury. It’s something that should be factored into your startup or nonprofit’s capital from day one. Don’t wait until you ‘make it’ to prioritize your voice — start telling your story now!

Whether you're launching a new product, responding to a crisis, or simply sharing your journey, storytelling is the heart of effective communication. Let’s tell stories that resonate and redefine the PR game together.

🌟 Client Testimonial 🌟 We are grateful for the kind words and trust from our incredible clients. 💜 Thank you, Malvika Kapur, for your support and for being part of this amazing journey.

2024: The Year I Learned That Playing by the Rules is Overrated 💁🏻♀️ This year, I realized that following the crowd isn’t for me. In an industry where everyone zigged, I zagged. 2024 wasn’t just about campaigns and clients—it was about challenging the norms and redefining success on my own terms. Here are my biggest revelations: ✨ We can’t thrive in isolation — collaboration is key. ✨ Breaking the ‘rules’ often leads to deeper connections and bigger wins. My 2024 Key Milestones: 🏆 Certified Public Relations Manager (CPRM): A reminder that continuous learning is more than a checkbox. 👗 Launched Button by TJ: My proudest venture. 🌐 Represented clients at Gulfood - The World’s Biggest Annual F&B Event, Arabian Travel Market, GISEC GLOBAL, and GITEX GLOBAL - The Largest Tech & Startup Show in the World. What’s next in 2025? My mission is clear: 🎯 Consulting on bold PR campaigns that don’t just tell stories but create them. 🎯 Challenging outdated narratives and redefining what’s possible in our industry. To my media network that makes the impossible possible, my incredible clients, and the professionals who inspire me every day — thank you for making 2024 unforgettable. Here’s to breaking more rules, telling bolder stories, and building something extraordinary together. Happy New Year, everyone! - Tazeen 💜