Tara Rogers is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of independent Dubai-based PR agency, Mojo PR. Along with her business partner, Louise Mezzina, Tara manages a team of upbeat PR professionals who service accounts that include Montblanc, Tiffany & Co., Mercedes-Benz, Dubai World Trade Centre, and Great Place to Work®. During her 25 years in marketing, PR and communications, Tara has held many key positions in the UK, the Middle East and South Africa. She has served as General Manager for Fortune Promoseven, Weber Shandwick and d’pr & d’events, and as PR Director for MBC Group. She has also held roles as Marketing Manager at Dubai Duty Free and Head of Marketing at Bradshaw Taylor in the UK. Tara has a BA in English, Psychology and History from Rhodes University. You can connect with her on Twitter on @dubaitara or @mojo_pr. In this interview with Bayt.com, Tara talks about the unique culture at Mojo, her advice for young PR professionals and employers who want to retain their top talent:
I clearly love it because I’ve been here for almost 20 years! Dubai is an exciting place to be with countless opportunities, and most interestingly, for both men and women. In all my years here, being a woman has never impeded or negatively impacted my career. Also worth noting is the chance you have here to work with both international and local brands and companies. In PR, particularly, you will work on a far bigger range of clients than you would generally work on at the same time. I love the Arabic culture, and am so grateful for all the opportunities, both professionally and personally, that I have enjoyed here.
Our corporate culture begins with our name – Mojo is a West African term that means ‘lucky charm or spirit’ – and we’re all about finding the ‘mojo’ – whether of a client’s brand or our team members. My business partner, Louise Mezzina, and I set up Mojo PR five years ago and one of our core missions is to grow the next generation of PR professionals. Everyone who joins Mojo PR has the opportunity to become a partner in the business. Career paths are clear-cut, salary brackets for each level are totally transparent, and promotion is 100% up to the individual. If they demonstrate excellence in their position, they will be promoted. We have promoted a team member after only six weeks, and another after two years – it’s really in their hands. We particularly celebrate energy, passion, ambition and intelligence – and we love support, nurture and reward it. Our culture is one of openness and inclusion – we love the fact that there are 14 people in our team and 12 different nationalities. And we work in a completely open structure (Louise and I sit together with the team) so knowledge sharing is automatic!
There are obvious qualities: strong communication skills, both verbal and written; ability to work under pressure; ability to work with people and to develop strong relationships; and creativity. At Mojo PR, we look for additional talents to qualify as a good PR professional: natural curiosity; thirst for learning; business acumen; passion; and an entrepreneurial spark. Importantly, we don’t only hire people with PR experience – we have a number of huge talents in our team who have come from other professions – two from HR backgrounds, a fashion designer, a teacher, and of course, a few with journalism backgrounds. The qualities that I’ve mentioned that are important for us were evident in all of them – they’re elements that can’t really be learnt, whereas PR skills can.
Be open to being flexible and adaptable. Be tenacious, enterprising and above all, keep a sense of humor.
Hone your communication skills and demonstrate them, whether in your emails or a blog. Develop your social media skills. READ. Show an understanding of the media, or at the very least, an interest in the different media available today. Don’t tell us you want to be in PR because you’re good with people and like to socialize – that’s a very small part of good PR.
Your human capital is really your only asset in this business. Support, nurture, respect, invest in, and grow your talent. Give them ownership of some kind – be it new responsibilities, opportunities or shares. Make sure that your working environment is one they want to come to everyday – make it as dynamic, fun, friendly and authentic as possible. Respect, recognize and reward.
This is a very difficult question as there have been many. Starting Mojo PR with my partner Louise and looking back on so much that we’ve achieved in five whirlwind years is certainly a major highlight. But my proudest moments have been seeing people who have worked with me in different companies – many of whom had started their careers in my team – become successes in their own right. Watching their growth, and being part of it, is one of the most heart-warming exciting highlights in my career.
