I Fly Macarons Across the Country: One Year at STRONG PR, Marketing & Events and Why I Love What I Do

Never thought you’d read a blog post starting with that heading, right?

Nope. Me neither.

But yet here we are, and I can assure you it’s not just a catchy opening line. It’s real. In my first full year at STRONG PR, Marketing and Events, I’ve flown macarons across South Africa, I’ve bussed in over thirty artificial cherry blossom trees to Sun City for a one-night-only miniature festival. Oh, and I helped launch the Haval H7 to the automotive media, amongst other mind-numbing happenings. This year has been nothing short of extraordinary - a whirlwind introduction to the exhilarating, often unpredictable world of events management.

As a plucky twenty-four-year-old from Johannesburg with a deep love for people, stories, and shared experiences, through STRONG PR I’ve found myself in the most surprising places, being stretched creatively and logistically in ways I never imagined. Events management is not just about pretty lights and canapés (though those certainly help); it’s about conjuring moments that matter. It’s a constantly evolving, fast-paced industry that lives at the intersection of education, experience, and connection - the holy trinity of “eventing.”

What I’ve come to learn is that events management is actually a form of magic. Behind the scenes of glitter, confetti and bright, beautiful spaces, my actual job is to weave together thousands of moving parts - shifting timelines, multiple suppliers, excited clients, and our own relentless desire to deliver better than we did the last time. At STRONG PR, it’s a beautiful dance of creativity and logistics, rehearsed in chaos, but performed with poise.

And somehow, despite the pressure and unpredictability, it fills my cup. Why? Because I get to be at the very centre of something profound: shared human joy. We create spaces where people light up, where ideas flow, where laughter echoes, and where brands come alive through experience. And when it all comes together - the stage lights, the speeches, the sensory details - I get to stand in the wings and know that I helped make the magic happen.

One moment that really brought this home for me was in Sun City, where I was part of a team that was executing a three day, multi-venue event for 450 people. I know it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it was the first time I truly felt my creativity being put to the test in a way that would directly impact how others felt and how they interacted with the people and environment around them. We weren’t just creating a themed event – as stunning as the theme was; we were crafting a memory - one that people would carry long after the last song played and the last firework has gone off.

And that’s what great events do: they stage brands in a way that people feel. It’s no longer just about visibility or awareness — it’s about emotion, immersion, and meaning. Through shared experience, we translate our client’s event identity into something tangible, something memorable. It becomes a theatre with purpose. It’s storytelling at scale. It is in these moments that I sometimes sit back and realise: adults are just big kids filled with a curious desire to learn and to smile. To feel good. And sometimes all you need is a mini padel court at your event to bring the goodness to your attendees heart. Or thirty-something cherry blossoms.

So here’s to many more years of doing the kind of work that reminds people how good it feels to connect. One year in at STRONG PR, Marketing and Events, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. See you soon World!