Orchard PR’s co-owner and MD for Client Services takes to the Channel Eye hot seat to discuss ambition, her guiltiest pleasure and who she most admires.
Brooke Kenyon, has more than a decade of experience working with top brands and advising on all aspects of strategic communications. The 36-year-old is also a board director for Every Child Our Future which operates Bright Beginnings, a specialist nursery, pre-school and children’s centre, and she is mum to two boys – Seth, aged 7, and Charlie, 5.
What are you watching/reading/listening to?
- I fell down a hole watching US series This is Us a couple of months ago on recommendation from my sister-in-law.
- Table Manners by Jessie Ware is my favourite podcast, the only downside is how hungry it makes me.
- I love Roald Dahl; I love even more how quiet the book series keeps my kids in the car.
- There is a stack of books next to my bed all waiting to be read, Untamed by Glennon Doyle has been a 2020 highlight for me.
What are the last three accounts you followed on social media?
- @Thelistgsy – a new local lifestyle site started following me, so I followed them back.
- @Nasa – because my kids were asking me questions about the night sky I couldn’t answer.
- @Dj_fattony_ – please look him up, he is sharp, funny and his memes (at times rude) always encapsulate the moment.
Who do you most admire and why?
My parents: they’ve given me and my brother a very strong work ethic and they are an amazing support team to us every day. I really hope I can be as good a parent to Seth and Charlie as they are to me.
When are you happiest?
Sitting on a chair lift in the mountains is a very happy place for me.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Running – every time I lace up my trainers there is a tinge of guilt that I could be spending time working or with my family, but I have learnt it’s an essential way for me to find headspace, and that I actually have good ideas when I am running, and I am definitely a better mum when I return from a few miles.
What traits do you most like in yourself?
Ambition – it meant I co-owned a business aged 32 and I am really very proud of that.
What traits do you dislike in yourself?
Ambition – it meant I co-owned a business aged 32, and it’s a lot of hard work and a real juggle with a young family.
What’s your earliest memory?
Being driven home from Vazon after a day on the beach; sitting in the back of the car with my brother both still covered in sand and being hosed down before being allowed in the house. It was one of those hot days and the water in the hosepipe was really warm.
What did you want to be when growing up?
I didn’t have a strong career plan or desire when I was growing up, which those who know me might be surprised about, but my Dad once told me he would pay me £1,000 to become a Doctor. I am not scientific and have been known to faint at the sight of blood and needles, so it really was best for everyone that I chose the path of PR instead.
What song is guaranteed to cheer you up?
There are many, but a favourite, for lots of reasons, is the 1986 classic You can call me Al from Paul Simon’s Graceland album.
What would be the name of your autobiography?
Quite simply – A book about Brooke
How do you measure success?
Orchard has won a couple of awards this year which was fantastic but achieving coverage for our clients never gets old for me – a good old-fashioned editorial you have worked hard to place with a journalist is success. My team will tell you I have a love of setting KPIs for client campaigns – engagement in PR has become easier to measure, demonstrating impact to our clients is a real focus for us.
In reality, getting to Friday evening with my kids happily eating pizza and a glass of wine incoming for me, chatting over the week with my husband Scott, feels like success.
