A typical day in the life of Miriam Robinson

In the run-up to the announcement of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize 2013 winner this week, we have asked the shortlist to put together some photoblogs of their days at work.

Today is Miriam Robinson from Foyles:

I would love to say I'm one of those people who starts the day with a clean desk and a fresh to-do list. I'm not. My day usually begins by arriving in my office - on the top floor of Foyles on Charing Cross Road - and trying to find my keyboard underneath a poster design we're working on, a holiday form that needs signing off, three spreadsheets and one high heel shoe. I wouldn't be standing if it weren't for my amazing team - there are seven of us and together we look after all of Foyles' events, exhibitions, design, windows, signage, advertising, newsletters, social media, partnerships, private hires, web content, marketing strategy and budgets.  So I suppose much of my day is overseeing these functions, keeping us all roughly to schedule and holding the proverbial 'big picture'.  At any given time we'll be working ahead on author promotions, signage for displays, large campaigns or email messaging, all designed to remind customers old and new that Foyles means business when it comes to books. 

  I spend quite a lot of time in meetings, which sounds painful but normally is something I quite enjoy - I'm probably at my best when I'm brainstorming, sharing ideas, and seeing where synergies lie in new partnerships and ventures. So I'll meet with everyone from publishing partners to arts organisations to authors to architects. A big part of my days lately is helping to plan our new flagship at 107 Charing Cross Road - whether that's working on publicity with our PR team, crowd-sourcing ideas from the industry, customers and beyond, or trying to figure out how to make an event space full of concrete pillars do the job it needs to do. 

This is of course when everything is going to plan, but like any marketer (or retailer) much of my job is reacting - whether that's to national events, customer demand, or a five-piece film crew that's decided to show up unannounced with the desire to film in the Philosophy Department.

It truly is a case of no day ever looking like any other, with the exception that every day I'm surrounded by the most phenomenal colleagues any one could imagine, which is undoubtedly what makes my day complete.

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