Friday Five: Sophie Ives, Press & Publicity Assistant at Tinopolis

Answering the #FridayFive today is Sophie Ives, who works in the publicity department at TV production and distribution group, Tinopolis. Most recently, Sophie worked on the press campaign for Channel 5’s Britain’s Loudest Snorers, fronted by Northbank’s Dr Christian Jessen.

Tell us a bit about your job?

I work for a company called Tinopolis, which is an international production and distribution group, and I work across the 13 production companies and one distributor that fall under it, as a Press and Publicity Assistant.

What are the key ingredients for success?

Everyone has their own level of successful, but I’d say that passion and determination are key to any career. If you have a passion for it, just keep going and you will get to where you want to be.

Describe a normal day?

I don’t really have a normal day! My day-to-day comes down to what shows we have coming up or are currently airing. I am either planning what I am going to do to publicise an upcoming show, or implementing plans for online, print and broadcast media for shows that are airing. Most recently, I worked on Britain’s Loudest Snorers, and secured interviews and coverage for Dr Christian, as well as doing social media press.  There is also the administrative side of my role where I work on pulling coverage together, liaise on award entries and updating websites, so quite the range!

For those trying to break into the industry, could you explain how you got to where you are today?

I feel like I am still breaking into it myself! I started as an apprentice in the industry in a completely different area to where I am now; in acquisitions. Having the knowledge of that area helped me so much when it came to working in publicity as I know how the process works. If you aren’t in the perfect role first time, just keep expanding your knowledge on areas of the industry. Have an idea of which area you would like to go into and learn about it. I believe that the more you know makes you indispensable.

What are you reading, watching and listening to now?

I’m currently reading Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes, the sequel to YOU. I watched the second series over Christmas, and I like comparing books to series or films to see how they differ. TV wise, I watched the first episode of White House Farm this week and really enjoyed it, and Love Island is back this weekend too, so will be fully invested in that for the next eight weeks!