James Treacy from Clogherhead in Co Louth works for Tourism Australia at the Australian Embassy in London. His role is to promote Australia as a holiday destination through the media in the UK, Ireland and the Nordics .
What took you to London?
I was born in England; my mother went to England on a university placement in the 1970s and and didn't come back for 25 years. She married an English man and brought myself and my twin brother home when we were nearly eight.
It was always in my head to go abroad. When I finished my Master’s in 2011 people my age were leaving Ireland in their droves, and London was an obvious choice for me as a location to start my career, as I didn’t want to backpack.
Tell us about your career in media so far.
I applied for a few graduate schemes in London during my MA. I was one of five selected out of 500 applicants to work at a leading media and PR agency. At the interview I was surrounded by people from Cambridge and Oxford. There I worked on exciting projects for big clients, such as a now well-known safety video for Air New Zealand to a corporate social responsibility project for L'Oréal, where I'd bring the likes of the BBC to the labs in Paris to see how they made hair products.
After a few years there, I moved on to work for Tourism Australia at the Embassy, where my role is to promote Australia as a holiday destination in UK, Ireland and the Nordics through TV, online and newspapers and magazines.
Another goal of ours is to encourage more 18- to 30-year-olds to travel on the Working Holiday Visa to Australia. It’s quite funny that I’m now working to encourage more Irish people to take part, when so many Irish people my age were emigrating on this visa when I was deciding what to do after graduation.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
On a professional level, being nominated as a future leader in the travel by an industry magazine was a definite highlight. But what I really love is working with partners such as airlines on large scale projects. Last year I worked on a big TV series with Etihad on ITV called ‘Wild Australia with Ray Mears’. I organised everything from flights to itineraries, to ensure Australia would look amazing on screen. It paid off, and one million people tuned in each week to watch it. It’s been sold on to Netflix and other stations across the world. I’ve met the royals a few times which was surreal.
What’s your day to day like?
There's never a dull day - recently we've announced Chris Hemsworth as our brand ambassador, created a pop-up restaurant, and transformed Australia House into a cinema for the world screening of The Great Reef series with Sir David Attenborough.
I work on a lot of broadcast projects - my last visit to Australia was with Masterchef judge John Torode and Lisa Faulkner for ITV’s This Morning, where they filmed a range of tourist experiences across Australia. There’s a lot of intricacy in working out filming schedules, permits, ideas, and locations, but it’s hugely rewarding when you see Holly Willoughby on the This Morning couch introducing that segment of the show and nearly a million people at home are watching. It’s amazing to see the level of detail that goes into TV shoots, and I watch TV completely differently now.
Do you get to visit Australia often?
I've been quite a few times now, mainly with media and on TV shoots. Every trip is different. While people are often envious, it can be stressful. A highlight was going on an ITV shoot last year with adventurer Ray Mears. We went all over Australia, but my favourite part was going on safari in the Northern Territory. I also went with a breakfast TV show once and did a different city every day for a week for live crosses, that was stressful but exciting.
If you could go anywhere in Australia on holidays yourself, where would you go and why?
Tasmania is incredible, although a little like Ireland. I would tell anyone to see Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru. Byron Bay is one of my favourite places - it's so laid back and the beaches are amazing. It's too hard to pick one place.
What benefits has working abroad brought your career?
London is quite a challenging space to get your brand’s voice heard, so you have to think creatively to help them to stand out. It’s also extremely competitive for jobs, so you need to have great experience and contacts.
What about personally?
It’s been amazing and challenging . When you move here first, it’s a nightmare to find accommodation, but you eventually settle in. I’ve made some great friends from a wide variety of backgrounds. London toughens you up, people are straight talking and direct.
Have you any advice for others embarking on a career in PR or advertising?
Play to your strengths and do a degree that you’ll be good at, at a university you like. I did my degree in Geography and French. I did unpaid work experience in Dublin at an agency which was key to getting my first role in London, which also helped me to be certain it was what I wanted to do.
Look at opportunities abroad; international experience will always stand to you. When I moved to London there were very few graduate schemes in Dublin; the opportunities on offer here were so much better.
It sounds silly, but don’t underestimate the charm of being Irish. Several of my seniors have commented that it makes you stand out, especially when working with journalists.
What do you miss about home?
Ireland will always be home; my Mum is still there and we’re the sixth generation to live in our house in Louth. The people are so friendly and sometimes you just need a bit of Irish humour.
I have a solid group of Irish friends in London and I live with my twin, so it’s a home away from home for me now.
I miss living beside the sea, and bumping into people you know when walking down the street. When that does happen on the underground in London I’m gobsmacked.
Where do you see your future?
It’s so hard to say, London has been very good to me and I’ve been given amazing opportunities. For those wanting a career in advertising and media it’s one of the best places in the world to be - it will make you or break you but the experience is invaluable.
I can see myself staying in London for the foreseeable future, but I’d be open to other international opportunities. I’m always tempted to go to Australia on the Working Holiday Visa. It’s super easy to get and you can live and work there for up to two years. But life is too good in London at the moment.
