My name is Bui Tyril and I’m the managing director and one of the founders of Nordixis. When I was very young I realised that I had a way with words that somehow set me apart. I’d come up with nicknames at every opportunity, arguing with school teachers, writing lyrics for music, and engaging in debates of all kinds. In my spare time, I love to play the drums, make music and write lyrics; I had my first album released on October 15th, 2018.
A nose for news
I dropped out of college to pursue a career in journalism, which I privately studied in earnest to become as good as I possibly could. I worked at local newspapers and soon discovered my taste for intriguing headlines and powerful stories. Later I became more familiar with editing and news analysis — and learned that information tends to be linked to interests, that objectivity in the news is a relative concept of aspiration, with implied value judgements unavoidably present regardless of other qualities.
Publishing
I grew up with printing and publishing in the family and have worked with periodicals and books. Magazine publishing, both digital and print, is a growing business in Nordixis, with a yearly magazine published since 2005, a new title launched in 2013, and more in the pipeline.
Media relations
Every business is a potential source of newsworthy stories. That’s why I started my own PR agency to help clients develop and deliver their messages without having to run the risk of messing things up with the media — when it comes to working with journalists, there is no such thing as off the record!
Academic credentials
I also found out that for effective public relations, a firm grasp of the fundamentals of business communication is essential. So I studied the subject thoroughly and earned a Masters degree with Distinction in Corporate Communication and Public Affairs at the Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, after having completed a Graduate Certificate in Management Studies there.
Marketing and PR
As well as representing one of the key modules in the above MSc degree course, marketing has played a pivotal part in much of what I’ve been working with over the years. I started to study the subject in the early 1990s and have more or less continued to do so ever since. There is clearly a significant overlap between marketing communications and public relations — e.g. both may routinely use press releases, ads and other tools as components in campaigns. I like to look at it this way: the overall purpose of marketing is to develop and maintain market share or customer base whereas public relations is for building and managing relationships with key publics and stakeholders whether or not they are, or are likely to become, customers. However, of course, to ensure congruence throughout the whole spectrum of business communication, there has to be good coordination — or integration — between marketing and PR.
Not everything public
An important lesson from the experience of operating my own business coupled with academic studies and countless interviews I’ve had over the years with business owners and executives, is that there is a time and place for everything — and while much information is appropriately made public, likewise a whole lot of communication must for various practical reasons remain undisclosed. Notwithstanding the growing imperative of transparency in all departments, there will always be issues that are best resolved behind closed doors; perhaps more than anything else, my encounter with the world of interest representation and public affairs confirmed this truth.
Hands on
Before that, I’d worked as an advertising designer alongside my role as copywriter and PR consultant, applying the graphic design skills I’d gained over the years, much of it based on my understanding of typography learned from early familiarity with a publishing environment. So from writing profile articles and designing ads to producing magazines and putting together websites, I can be pretty hands on — although, increasingly, I delegate and use subcontractors.
Making sense
Communication is central to all business and, for that matter, all human relations. Our integrative approach to communication is all about the idea that to build trust and credibility you need clarity, coherence, and responsiveness. To survive and thrive in today’s climate, every organisation has to offer a timely, unambiguous, and meaningful message that doesn’t suffer from serious inconsistencies. We’re here to help you with that.