Sarah MacDonald

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT SARAH MACDONALD

About me My name is Sarah MacDonald and I have enjoyed working in the communications industry for over 20 years. I am honoured that I had the opportunity to learn my trade from a wonderful mentor and friend, Sydney Wynn who for me was a true purveyor of PR! He was old school, worked as a journalist, then for the Rank Organisation, knew MPs and even members of the royal family. He taught me not to be scared of picking up the phone and also how if you’re going to take a client, friend or journalist out to lunch then go somewhere decent! After training with him at MacFarlane Laboratories and helping to launch a number of amazing health food products such as Seatone and Spirulina I left to join the BBC. After 6 months I managed to get a job in the music industry working for the infamous Bronze Records! Heavy metal wasn’t really my thing but working in the Round House and hanging out with the likes of Motörhead was pretty awesome, but short lived as Bronze soon went into liquidation. Then I got really lucky and landed a job in the promotions department at Island Records where I stayed for 7 or so years. Looked after the PR for Marianne Faithful, Womack & Womack, The Christians, Eric B & Rakim, U2 and many more talented artists during an extremely high pressured, yet fun career. The Hacienda was booming and we were in our prime! A short stay followed at Warner Bros where I worked with Lou Reed, REM, & many more great artists. After taking a break to have children, I came back into PR after moving to Kent. In 2007 I set up Rise Communications with an ex colleague Jo Hage. Rise is a PR, marketing and events agency. We have some great clients and also look after the PR for National Fish and Chip Day (the UK’s biggest food awareness day) and will shortly announce National Bagel Day! Event Management and PR are my passion, but am just as comfortable with business development, marketing and helping people bring their ideas to life. At Island Records our motto was “if you don\'t promote a terrible thing happens. nothing! Just before lockdown in March 2020 I was invited into Standford Hill prison to give PR advice to a number of inmates who were on an entrepreneurial workshop. This was one of my highlights of last year as even though lockdown has prevented some of their ideas coming to fruition, I have kept in touch with the lads and intend to go back for a follow up workshop when restrictions are lifted. In my spare time I can usually be found cycling around Kent, whether it be on my road bike or my gravel bike, or hiking with my dogs