PRmoment Podcast

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. On the show today we're talking to PR creative don Mark Perkins. Mark now runs his own PR creativity training scheme called Pop Creative. He's worked for a raft of PR's most creative firms including Cow, W, Frank, The Red Consultancy and MHP.Infamously his work includes the Christmas Tinner and Missing Type campaigns.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:How to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowThe impact of AI on JournalismAI as a content production toolIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The final entry deadline is Friday 20th June.Here's a summary of what Mark and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Mark tells us how his Pop Creative methodology works.“My focus has always been about having the right idea, rather than 5 or 10 good ideas.”Are there 2 types of creative directors in PR - those who come up with ideas and those who facilitate others to have ideas?What are Mark's top 3 most favourite creative campaigns he's ever worked on? Did Missing Type and Christmas Tinner make the cut? Will Mark ever return to PR as a creative director?“Having been a PR creative lead for over 20 years, I kind of felt that's a mountain I've climbed enough times.”Mark on why PR creativity has not changed in the last 20 years:“Our job, in a world of noise, is to grab people's attention.”“Great creative listens, it doesn't demand attention.”Mark on why don't we see more creative double acts in PR, in the way we tend to see creative partners in advertising?“Advertising is a different discipline…PR is story first.”Mark tells us which PR firm he enjoyed working for the most…Of the new crop of PR creatives, who is Mark a bit jealous of? Which firms' work does he like the most at the moment?Mark and Ben discuss whether earned creative is about to become the dominant creative channel.

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in April 2025Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Don't miss PR Masterclass: AI in PR on July 2ndHow to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowHow will AI impact the agency business model?The impact of AI on journalismIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards final entry deadline is Friday 20th June, You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here is this month's run down of the biggest PR pitch wins in May 2025:International Wine & Spirits Competition appoints ClarionBritish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) appoints KindredLastMinute.com appoints Sunny Side UpPeoples Postcode Lottery appoints SmartsTruffle Burger appoints ChompGousto appoints The RomansBAM UK appoints Four Agency WorldwideSamsung appoints MischiefWestern Digital appoints HarvardBurson appoints CellnexIP Office appoints Lansons Team FarnerWaitrose appoints The HeardWenzels appoints WSky TV appoints Blurred Contura Orthopedics appoints Match FitAnd this month's run down of M&A activity in the PR sector:Stakked acquires RadioactiveMission Group merges Mongoose PR with Populate Social and Alive Experiential to form Mongoose Sport& EntertainmentIntinctif sells MENA operations to Excella AdvisoryPublicis acquires Capitv8M+C Saatchi  acquires Dune 23Together Group acquires OBO

Today on the show we're talking to media lawyer legend Jonathan Coad about what PR folks need to know about the law. Jonathan Coad graduated from Jesus College Cambridge with an MA in law and is one of the UK's highest profile media lawyers.His practice areas are copyright, defamation and privacy. His media clients have included Disney, ITV, Sky, Viacom, MTV, Channel 4, Sony, Huffington Post and Newsweek. He has undertaken reputation management work for corporate clients such as Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Gucci, GlaxoSmithKline and Cambridge University. He has also acted for high-profile business moguls, senior politicians, music, TV, film and sports stars and members of the Royal Family. He's had 30 years experience at the intersection of media and law and today he's going to talk about PR practitioners should know about dealing with the mediaBefore we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 2nd.Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.Also, the final entry deadline for The Creative Moment Awards is 20th June. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.Here's a summary of what Jonathan Coad and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:What does the client want when a media crisis kicks off?What is the role of the corporate PR firm and what is the role of a media lawyer in a PR crisis situation?“The key tools for any PR crisis practitioner (in the UK) are The Independent Press Standards Organisation Code and Ofcom. And less important but none the less as (essential) background the law of data protection, defamation and privacy. Those are my work tools.”Why does media regulation play a vital part in crisis response in the UK?Who makes editorial decisions where contentious issues arise?  What are the criteria on which editorial decisions are made? “99 times out of 100 the editor will take the advice of the in-house lawyer.”What are the sources of perceived risk for media owners? The applicable regulation (press/IPSO, broadcast/Ofcom) or the law (privacy/defamation/date protection)?Who creates perceived risk for the media owners? Is the appetite for risk the same across the media?  Should PR folks treat broadcast and press the same?  How should PR folks treat social media crises for their clients? Where can PR folks learn more about PR, journalism and the law, including Jonathan's book, Reputation Matters.

Today on the show we're looking back at 3 of the winning campaigns from The PRmoment Awards to dive a bit deeper into what they were all about and why they won.We're looking at 3 campaigns from V&A, Greggs and Calm with Aarti Bulsara, director, Hope & Glory PR and DonFerguson, deputy MD, Hope & Glory PRWe'll be looking at the objective, strategy, creative, activation and results of the work.There is a video version of this podcast on PRmoment Youtube channel and we will be using video to bring the campaigns to live, so it may be worth checking out our Youtube channel if you're interested.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually.Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The final entry deadline is Friday 20th June.Here's a summary of Aarti, Don and Ben's discussion:Winning Campaign Case StudyHope&Glory, CALM & adam&eveDDB - Missed BirthdaysCALM's “Missed Birthdays” was a spectacular installation designed to raise awareness of suicide. Each of the 6,292 balloons marked the birthday a young person missed because they died by suicide. It drove 220 pieces of coverage, delivering over 350 million Opportunities to See through editorial coverage. 23,000 people shared the installation on their social channels. Most of all, the installation prompted 29,500 visits to the CALM C.A.R.E. Kit microsite delivering vital prevention information and advice.The PRmoment Award judges said: “Crisp and clear articulation of what you did, why you did it and what your campaign generated - both in terms of coverage but also in behaviour shift.” Winning Campaign Case StudyNigella meets GreggsGreggs is known for its playful tone of voice and position within British culture. Its biggest challenge at Christmas is to launch its festive menu in a disruptive way (when media is saturated with high-budget launches). Step forward culinary queen Nigella. The resulting campaign generated over 1,520 pieces of coverage from start-to-finish. The “ad” was hailed a triumph and Greggs reported that Q4 like-for-like sales rose 2.5%.The PRmoment Award judges said: “A strong, unexpected idea and execution with great post-campaign data, showing the true impact of PR when done well.”Winning Campaign Case Study:The V&A - If You're Into It, It's In the V&AThe V&A has over 2.27m objects in its collection. There's something for everybody so “if you're into it, it's in the V&A”. Hope&Glory offered nine people the opportunity to advise the V&A about its collections – enhancing its understanding of modern culture. The campaign reached 87% of the core audience and, of those exposed to the campaign, 76% said the activity made them think more positively about the V&A brand. Amongst non-V&A visitors, 40% said the activity made them think it was more relevant to them.The PRmoment Award judges said: “Huge results for a modest budget. Tapped into culture. This is gold standard”

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. On the show today we're talking to the 3 co-founders of Fight or Flight: Joe Walton, Charlie Meredith-Hardy and David Woodward. It's Fight or Flights 5 anniversary this year so we're going to chat about how this independent has gone from a start up with zero income 5 years ago to a business that now has a fee income of over £8m globally, with revenues in the US of approximately £3.7m.Clients include Oracle, Motorway and Expedia.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:Check out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. Do check out all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The early bird entry deadline is Friday 16th May.Here's a flavour of what Joe, David and Charlie discussed with PRmoment founder Ben Smith.Joe, David and Charlie reflect on how the UK B2B PR market is at the moment.Why the UK B2B market has had a challenging last 12 months. What size of budget do Fight or Flight's target currently, in the UK and US?Why did Fight or Flight launch in the US so early in its life cycle?The reasons for a B2B tech PR firm to launch in the US are obvious but how have Fight or Flight managed to get £3.7m revenues in about 3 years? Why has Fight or Flight succeeded where others have failed?“We made some very big senior hires (in the US) out of the gate”“We hired the right people, we went in hard, we went in senior and it's paid off.”In the early years the positioning of Fight or Flight centred around the opportunity for creativity in B2B communications. David reflects on whether that has worked, or whether the growth of the business quickly outgrew the positioning?“If you look at the points of difference in the agency world. Quite  few of them are not defendable”“A little bit less than 5% of the B2B market is doing truly brave creative work. The work that takes you out of your comfort zone and builds fame.”For B2B PR firms, is one of the challenges the relative low seniority of some in-house B2B communicators?“We are seeing quite a few consumer PR folks coming into B2B.”Fight or Flight have grown quickly? Everyone wants to grow quickly but it's a difficult thing to do.  Joe, David and Charlie tell us how they did it.“People often ask us, ‘Do you wish you did it earlier?' My answer is: that we did it at exactly the right time.”What were the challenges of such fast growth for a PR firm?Are Joe, David and Charlie optimistic or pessimistic about the state of UK tech at the moment?Where is Fight or Flight likely to launch next?“People tend to forget the danger of doing nothing.”As “three, white, straight founders from the home counties” how did Joe, David and Charlie approach the need for Fight or Flight to have strong DE&I credentials?The implications of AI for the media, PR firms and in-house teams are significant. Where is Fight or Flight on the opportunity: threat spectrum?

Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This is our quarterly bonus podcast, where we chat about Rajar's latest results. For those of you who aren't aware of Rajar - it was established in 1992 and operates the single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United KingdomRaja publishes the listenership figures each quarter, which is good for insight for PR, curious about how the public engages with radio and how the market is performing.On the show today, we have Alex Blakemore, senior producer & newsroom daily editor at Markettiers, who will discuss the latest Rajar results for Q1 2025. Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:How to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowThe impact of AI on JournalismAI as a content production toolIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?How will AI impact the agency business model?The legal implications of AI in your communicationsHow to move from AI experimentation to implementationCheck out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.Here are some of the highlights from what Alex and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Some headline stats:Radio Weekly Reach is now 50m, 87% of UK adults, Live Radio Hours – Weekly stay strong at 20.5 HoursTV Hours – Weekly watching  (Barb April 2025) 16hrsBBC Share of Radio Listening 43%BBC vs Commercial Reach – WeeklyBBC – 31.3mCommercial – 39.8m Heart is now the UK's biggest radio brand by listeners- overtaking Radio 2. Commercial Stations on the RiseTalkSPORT UP from 3,253,000 to 3,506,000Heart Network UP from 10,058,000 to 10,192,000LBC News UP from 974,000 to 1,013,000Times Radio UP from 604,000 to 622,000GB News Radio UP from 468,000 to 559,000BBC Stations on the RiseBBC Radio Berkshire UP from 34,000 to 48,000BBC Radio Newcastle UP from 215,000 to 234,000BBC Radio Scotland UP from 745,000 to 827,000BBC Radio WM UP from 185,000 to 194,000BBC World Service (UK Reach) UP from 1,184,000 to 1,210,000Trends and Insights for PR folks:1. News and speech content holds valueLBC News, Times Radio, and GB News Radio all saw meaningful increases, especially in total hours. This suggests a sustained demand for news-driven formats, particularly in uncertain political and economic conditions. 2. Online and smart speaker radio listening have hit record levels demonstrating changing listening habits as more people opt to tune in via connected devices like laptops, mobile phones and smart speakers. Total online listening to all radio has reached a record high of 28.5%. As part of that, smart speaker listening has also hit record levels, now accounting for 17.6% of total listening, up from 16.6% in the same quarter of 2024. 3. Because of choice, radio networks and stations need to know their audience - Older audiences are spending more time listening. Classic hits and news-led services performed especially well, with older listeners helping drive growth in total hours. Stations like Boom Radio, Greatest Hits, and BBC Radio 3 are examples of this pattern. The strongest percentage increase in weekly reach belongs to Heart Musicals, which increased by 61 percent, from 134,00

In the fourth episode of the season — recorded during Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May, 2025) — Elizabeth Howlett, editor at PRmoment and Dean Connelly, founder of Latte Recruitment are joined by Nick Morey, co-CEO at Dynamo PR who explains how taking a counselling skills course improved his leadership skills. 

Ben Smith and Jack Peat discussed Taylor Herring's report, "News is Dead. Long Live the News," focusing on PR's adaptation to evolving newsroom structures and social media's transformative role in news generation and distribution. The report highlights the need for platform-specific content strategies, emphasizing authentic, visually engaging content tailored to algorithms and social newsroom preferences, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Next steps include further exploring the implications of these trends and developing tailored PR strategies for different social media platforms.DetailsTaylor Herring Report Overview: Ben Smith and Jack Peat discussed Taylor Herring's report, "News is Dead. Long Live the News," which examines how mainstream publishers' editorial teams are structured and whether PR teams are adapting. The central premise is that PR firms are slow to mirror changes in modern newsrooms. They also discussed upcoming PRmoment events, including the PR Masterclass on AI in PR.Social Media's Transformative Role in News: Jack Peat highlighted social media's shift from a news distribution platform to a source and generator of news. They emphasized how social media upends every stage of the news cycle, with user-generated content playing a significant role.Evolving Relationship Between Publishers and Social Media: Ben Smith and Jack Peat explored the change in how publishers view social media, from using it for traffic to their digital platforms, to becoming a central source of news and audience engagement. They cited examples of publishers prioritizing social media channels with growing teams and significant investments.Platform-Specific Content Strategies: The report revealed that different publishers excel on different platforms. This highlights the need for tailored content strategies rather than a one-size-fits-all approach to PR. The success of publications like Lad Bible and Joe on TikTok and the Economist on X exemplify this.The Algorithm's Influence on Content Creation: Jack Peat noted that algorithms, rather than editors, are increasingly important, requiring PR to tailor content to specific platform algorithms. Editors, however, remain crucial in understanding their publications' voice and how to optimize content for their target platforms.The Shift from One-Size-Fits-All PR: The discussion emphasized the end of the "one-size-fits-all" PR content era, as social news desks seek authentic content tailored to their specific platform and audience. Sending lengthy press releases without visual assets or opportunities for the social news teams to create their own content is no longer effective.Types of Video Content Sought by Social Newsrooms: The podcast explored the type of video content preferred by social newsrooms; it's authentic, live-in-the-moment content, often shot on camera phones. The idea of providing "B-roll" footage that social newsrooms can then tailor to their own platform's style was suggested.The Growing Importance of Creators in Newsrooms: The conversation highlighted the shift in newsroom staffing, with a growing emphasis on creators who possess deep platform-specific knowledge rather than traditional journalism training. This trend is driving a change in the relationship between PR and publishers.Publishers' Evolving Commercialization Models: The discussion included the evolution of publishers' commercialization models on social media, moving from legacy platforms that rely on ad revenue and referrals, towards platforms like TikTok and Snap that use a "walled-garden" approach, and finally to the trend of publishers owning their audiences through subscriptions rather than renting their audience through advertising.

In the third episode of the monthly Career Edit podcast, Dean Connelly and Elizabeth Howlett discuss The Ultimate Talent Attraction Guide, created by Latte in partnership with PRmoment. The pair run down how to attract and retain talent in the PR sector, and some of the issues surrounding this. Additionally, Howlett and Connelly talk about April's people moves.1 mins: Howlett thanks the PRmoment podcast sponsors PRCA, reminds listeners about: Creative Moment Awards' earlybird entryThursday Club networking sessions sponsored by 72Point Media (follow Ben Smith for more information)The highly-anticipated return of the PR Masterclass: AI in PR2 mins: Connelly opens up discussion for April's people moves:Thuli Weerasena and Kara Buffrey, both senior PR's in the hotel and restaurant team at W Communications launching digital-first PR agency CHOMPLauren Williamson moves from associate director at MHP Group to ThreeSixtyJack Rodgers, the former press strategist for the Green Party joins Amnesty International as media and PR managerLouise Mason-Rutherford has moved back to Burson Buchanan as partner, after stints at Blakeney and Citigate Dewe Rogerson8 mins: Connelly and Howlett dive into The Ultimate Talent Attraction Guide. Connelly explains that he spoke to winners of The PRmoment Awards 2025 to find out how they are attracting talent.9 mins: “You don't have a business without people especially when you work in PR when you're competing for clients.”Connelly runs through big mistakes when creating an employer brand, starting with the job interview process.12 mins: Why the benefits package is so important“Benefits have become so important and people are becoming more aware of the value of benefits.”16 mins: “The best benefit I've seen…”17 mins: The importance of selling the opportunity to the candidate19 mins: “Talent attraction is down to the touch points someone has with business.”20 mins: Howlett and Connelly briefly touch on flexible working as a benefit22 mins: The rollback of DEI and talent attraction“You just need to be honest about where you are with it.”32 mins: Keeping in contact with your new recruit to ensure they don't ghost you on day one

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in April 2025Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:How to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowThe impact of AI on JournalismAI as a content production toolIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?How will AI impact the agency business model?How to build and scaling AI-powered PR toolsThe legal implications of AI in your communicationsThe intersection of PR and AI for in-house communicatorsHow to move from AI experimentation to implementationCheck out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The early bird entry deadline is Friday 16th May.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Andrew and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:Here is this month's run down of the biggest PR pitch wins in April 2025:“Brands are hiring for what agencies can do, they are less fussed about who the agency is.”Here is a link to Ben Smith's podcast with W's Warren Johnson that was referred to in the show. Toyota and Lexis GB appointed Hope&Glory - Another big win for the UK consumer independent PR firm, it's a strategy and creative development brief.Heineken UK appointed  Blurred – Oversee corporate social impact strategy.Tik Tok appointed  Ready10 – Consumer PR for TikTok and TikTok Shop amidst security and content moderation concerns.Tesco appointed Pretty Green and Tin Man – New creative agency roster for consumer PR.Russell Hobbs/Remington appointed B The Communications Agency – PR, influencer, and social media for a 3-year contract.Dunelm appointed  Tin Man – Consumer and influencer PR to increase brand awareness.Channel 4 appointed Mischief – Launching TV series, including Handmaid's Tale final series.Plaidis Global appointed The Romans – UK savoury portfolio PR.Aperol appointed Manifest – Global PR and influencer strategy.Trip.com appointed Rooster – UK and European PR for online travel service provider.Heathrow Express appointed Splendid – Retained PR agency following a project on language masterclasses.Mountain Warehouse – Work and Class – Integrated communications account to inform customers globally.Michael Page – Words+Pixels – Consumer and B2B PR to raise the profile of the global recruiter.LNER – Brands2Life/Mischief/One Green Bean – Creative roster for the train operating company.Sky News – Mu

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. On the show today we're talking to Heather Blundell, the UK CEO of Grayling. Heather joined Grayling in late 2023 after a brief spell at Ketchum as deputy UK CEO. Before that she'd headed up Weber's Manchester office and been part of the leadership team at Weber in London.On the show today we're going to talk through Heather's career story, from her time as a trainee at Edelman, which she describes as “like SAS training” through to her MD role at Grayling today.Grayling has global revenues of £40m with about half of those in the UK. It has 30 offices globally.Clients include Visa, Birmingham Football Club and Grindr.Before we start, two pieces of good news at PRmoment this week. The first is that the programme for PR Masterclass: AI in PR is now complete. The PR Masterclass series are hybrid events so you can attend either in person or virtually. The event is on July 3rd and themes include:How to Integrate AI into your PR WorkflowThe impact of AI on JournalismAI as a content production toolIs LLM optimisation PR's biggest opportunity of our lifetimes?How will AI impact the agency business model?How to build and scaling AI-powered PR toolsThe legal implications of AI in your communicationsThe intersection of PR and AI for in-house communicatorsHow to move from AI experimentation to implementationCheck out the microsite PRMasterclasses.com for all the details including the speaker line-up.The other vital bit of information is that The Creative Moment Awards are now open for entries. You can see all the categories for 2025 at the microsite creativemomentawards.co.The early bird entry deadline is Friday 16th May.Here's a summary of what Heather and PRmoment founder discussed:3 mins Heather on the current health of UK PR would you say?“The agency model and way of working is continuing to evolve.”“We're seeing clients be cautious.”“Pitching is more aggressive than ever.”8.30 mins Heather started her PR career at Edelman. Looking back, is that where she learnt how to be good at PR?“There was a high level of expected excellence. I've tried to emulate that throughout my career. It was a high challenge, high support culture.”15 mins How did Heather make the move from Edelman in London to Weber Shandwick in Manchester?16 mins Heather talks about the role Colin Byrne and Jon McLeod played in her becoming MD of Weber Shandwick Manchester aged 29.“Agencies must be a meritocracy, not a test of longevity.” Ben Smith19 mins How Heather and her team turned around the fortunes of Weber Shandwick in Manchester to have a fee income of about £5m and 40 odd employees in 2014.24 mins Heather and Ben reminisce about the PR legends that were Colin Byrne and Robert Phillips.Here is the link to the PRmoment Podcast with Colin Byrne, referenced in the show.28 mins Why did you leave Weber to go to Ketchum?29 mins What did Heather learn from her time at Ketchum?31 mins Heather on why she moved to Grayling.“Grayling is the first PR firm I've worked at where the UK business is bigger than the US. That makes a difference.”Here is the link to the PRmoment Podcast episode with Sarah Schofield reference on the show.35 mins In some ways, the defining trend of the l

How will Trump's tariff chaos impact UK public relations ? PR's H1 Review 2025 with W Communications founder Warren Johnson On the PRmoment podcast.Every six months or so I like to catch up with Warren Johnson from W Communications to talk about the financial state of UK PR.And as Q1 is done and dusted, Trump is having endless fun throwing tariffs at the global economy, and we've just finished the agenda setting PRmoment Awards season: now seems like a good time.And before we start, do check out the homepage of PRmoment. We're entering our pre summer golden events period and there is a LOT going on. We've got webinars, lunches, networking and face to face conferences and events.Everything is on the PR Calendar, which you can access from the homepage of PRmoment but do check out our next webinars:In an Era of Global Doubt: How can Brand Communications be Optimistic? On 29th April. This webinar is free to attend.And Creative Moment Creative Campaign Case Studies on 30th April, tickets are £35 + vatThanks to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors, The PRCA.Here's a summary of what PRmoment founder Ben Smith and Warren discussed:1.30 min How does Warren see the impact of Trump's Tariff Tax on public relations?“We are going into a tariff era… He's trying (misguidedly) to shift the burden of tax from income tax to tariff tax. Anyone who has studied economics knows that is not going to work.”“The randomness of them is going to sow quite a bit of economic uncertainty.”“I fear that just as we were starting to see quite an encouraging financial year ahead of us, I think many of us had a strong Q1, I fear that we're going to slip back into the great inertia post Covid.”4 mins Warren, PR's resident economist (he did an economics degree) gives us his insight into why tariffs are unlikely to work from an economics perspective.6 mins What are brand communicators likely to do about Trump? “Whilst there are opportunities there will be unexpected threats as well. I'm not sure where comms will net out.”“I don't think we've (PR) had more than 6-8 months to have a really good run at things since 2020."8 mins Warren reviews a very good Q1 performance for UK PR.13 mins Is the PR new business market still busy?14 mins Warren on the margin pressure currently experienced by agencies?“Constant procurement overreach, to the point of bullying.”Paid media briefs: how is paid media supporting editorial ideas?15.30 mins What PR services are clients buying?“Loads of influencer and a bespoke blend of integrated marketing services. I haven't seen a press office brief for 3 or 4 years.”19 mins Warren on the evolution of paid behind earned media creative across multiple channels, including media owners.

For those of us who've worked in PR for looong time, there were 3 things you could rely on in public relations:There would be someone at every measurement conference who couldn't resist the mention of AVE to start a fight/push their personal brand. There would be an endless analysis of the pluses and minuses of PRs 2 UK trade bodies. This would take up an inordinate level of discussion amongst UK PR people.And 3, the B2B tech PR sector would keep growing.Then 2022 happened. And all of that changed. We'll leave an analysis of PR's trade bodies conversation and AVEs for another day but today on this show we are going to chat with Hoffman CC Group's Dan Miles about a very interesting report he's recently authored discussing the impact of the tech recession on B2B tech marketing.B2B tech PR grew pretty consistently for about 20 years from 2000 to 2022. There were obviously a few downturns and bubbles bursting during that time but the PR B2B tech sector proved very resilient through all of that. Until 2022. I only know 3 B2B tech agency side PR guys, who when talking about 2022-24, don't lean back in their chair, take a sharp intake of breath and look to the ceiling!It was a properly tough period. But do we really understand why? Downturns happen, they are part of professional life, but in B2B tech marketing this was a 2 year period like no other.And as the B2B tech PR sector wasn't used to recessional downturns, it was especially hard. Perhaps B2B tech PR wasn't ready for the pain?Today on the show Dan Miles is going to try to explain to what happened, why it happened and what comes next for the B2B tech PR market. Just to say, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA4 mins Dan on why he decided to write this report? 7 mins Dan talks us through the methodology for the report: 400 in-house folks surveyed across B2B tech marketing and PR.8 mins Why was 2022 - 2024 a perfect storm for tech marketers? Do we know why that tech recession happened? “11,000 tech companies laid off 260,000 members of staff between 2022 and 2024.”“Hiring freezes meant there was a sense of having to do more with less.”11 mins How quickly did the tech PR market go from “Yep, we're alright”, to: “We've got a problem.”13 mins Why did the tech PR sector suffer so badly compared to other areas of public relations?20 mins How bad was the B2B tech PR downturn?:How many PR people got laid off?By what percentage did budgets decrease?Do we know how many tech PR firms went out of business?How long did the hiring freezes last?How long did the short term, “get sales in” activity last? What were these short term objectives/ tactics?28 mins What was the B2B tech PR sector like to work in during that time?“It got to the point in 2024 when you couldn't rust the brief. Because you didn't know whether the brief would be completely changed part way through the process or if the person (giving the brief) might disappear entirely!"32 mins In terms of the recovery, we're a bit beyond the green shoots stage aren't we? When did the B2B tech PR market start to turn?“It took until March this year (now) for us to be approaching bullish about growth.”35 mins Has the B2B tech market come out as a different thing, doing different things?

In the second episode of the monthly Career Edit podcast, Dean Connelly and Elizabeth Howlett are joined by Jo Carr, president of Women in PR and co-founder CCO at Hope & Glory PR to discuss how PR leaders can support more women into senior roles. Additionally, Howlett and Connelly talk about Axe + Saw's recent appointment of Hannah Sharrat who joins the agency as associate director, having previously worked at Ogilvy PR UK. 1 mins: Howlett and Connelly intro themselves, thanking the PRmoment Podcast sponsors PRCA and directing listeners to keep their eyes peeled for more webinars and masterclasses on PRmoment's site. 2 mins: Hannah Sharrat appointed as associate director at Axe + Saw "It can help move the agency into the next level of growth""The amount of Ogilvy employees commenting on the [Linkedin] post saying they will miss her..."4 mins: The hot topic of the month following CIPR's Missing Women In PR, is on how to get women into more senior PR positions. 6 mins: Connelly gives his insight into recruiting women into senior roles "Women are progressing up to associate director level and then a big shift happens" 7 mins: Carr discusses CIPR research and talks on why "some people don't see the problem"13 mins: If women are being overlooked for legacy projects, should we base pay on what people have achieved?14 mins: Carr outlines solutions and things leaders can do immediately to push change21 mins: What can male leaders do if they recognise the senior team isn't diverse enough and feel uneasy? 

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in March 2025Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Before we start, do check out the homepage of PRmoment. We're entering our pre summer golden events period and there is a LOT going on. We've got webinars, lunches, networking and face to face conferences and events.Everything is on the PR Calendar which you can access from the homepage of PRmoment but do check out our next webinars:In an Era of Global Doubt: How can Brand Communications be Optimistic? This webinar is on 29th April. This webinar is free to attend.Also check out this Creative Moment Creative Campaign Case Studies webinar on 30th April, tickets are £35 + vatAlso, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Andrew and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:PITCH WINSPapa Johns appoints The Romans – culture-first PR and social retained account; 6-figure brief to elevate brand creativity.Café Direct appoints Tin Man – UK PR and social for ethical coffee brand, Tin Man further expands its food division.Horlicks appoints Tangerine – Influencer and social brief for Kids Chocoland, targeting parents.Uber Boats appoints PC Agency – Global brief to promote London river bus service, including electric ferry launch.Sudocrem appoints Brazen – Extended PR, influencer, and social content to broaden audience reach.Stock Spirits Group appoints The Remarkables – EU brief for product launches, international expansion and ESG commitments.MGM+ appoints Academy – UK/EU retained agency for streaming platform's brand and content campaigns.Verify Me appoints Academy – Age verification tech provider; brief includes US and Europe expansion.O&CC appoints Brandnation – Integrated PR, influencer, marketing, and creative brief for retail brands.Segway Navimow appoints Sprekley PR – Launch of X3 robotic lawnmower with Paris event and product reviews.Molton Brown appoints PC Agency – Hotel amenities PR to increase hotel placements, B2B and B2C focus.Tristan Capital Partners appoints Duet London – Launch of Sicilian Ave in London as dining and social destination.Health Shield Friendly Society appoints Midnight – B2B brief to position as leading employee health benefits provider.SunLife appoints Third City – Raise awareness of financial services and promote new brand image.Love Finance appoints WPR – Paid social creative across TikTok and Meta for brand awareness and lead gen.The Brain Tumour Charity appoints Evergreen PR – GP education campaign to support faster brain tumour diagnosis.Capgemini appoints Fleishman Hillard – Global comms agency for integrated support and brand reputation management.Serco appoints MHP – Strategic and corporate comms brief for outsourcing company working with governments.Experience Oman appoints Finn Partners – PR and marketing to enhance awareness of Oman's tourism.M&A activityTogether Group acquired experiential tech agencies, Imerza and Visualisation One – expanding service lines in the luxury market with VR and game-engine tech.Sauce Communications buys a majority stake in The M Collective – creating The Sauce Collective, a luxury lifestyle PR and digital agency with 50 FTEs.Finn Partners acquired Rice C

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. Today we're chatting to 2 of The PRmoment Awards jury chairs Alison Clarke and Michael Murphy to get a chairs perspective on the jury day.The PRmoment Awards have 5 judging streams incorporating 6 juries across one day. So there are 30 odd jury sessions, of about an hour across 5 different judging streams.Each stream has an experienced chair to make sure everyone behaves and on today's show we have 3 of the 5 chairs. Me, Alison Clarke and Michael Murphy. As a chair it's an exhausting day. At the end of it I need to open a cold beer and go and sit in a dark room!But that need for counselling aside, it always seems to me that as chairs we have some wonderful insight from the juries that we then don't share with anyone. And today we're going to put that right with a PRmoment Podcast on "The Chairs' Perspective."Clearly we can't talk about who won or give away any campaign specifics because some of that detail is confidential but standby for a whole bunch of insight from inside the PRmoment Award juries.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.The PRmoment Awards Manchester sold have sold out but you can still register for the waiting list. The PRmoment Awards in London still have some tickets available. But time is short. The event is on Thursday March 27th in London. The Manchester awards are a week later.Michael and Alison, welcome to the show.Here is a summary of what Alison, Michael and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed: 2 mins Michael and Alison explain what the PRmoment jury process is.7 mins How do Michael and Alison like to chair the sessions? It seems the chairs have their own chairing styles - there's no one best way of doing it!11 mins The chairs agree that passions and arguments can run high amongst the judges.12 mins Michael and Alison compare the type of work coming out of the consumer agencies, compared to the B2B and tech agencies17 mins A discussion about whether PR charging enough for its work19 mins How did the type of work coming out of big agencies and small agencies compare?20 mins Alison and Michael reflect on a really strong year in Manchester and The North this year.22 mins For people entering the PRmoment Awards in 2026 - what advice would Alison and Michael give?

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers and acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins, mergers a d acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in February 2025.Bloch  is the lead consultant  PR, social, content and influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.He launched Andrew Bloch & Associates in 2020 and Big Dog Talent in January 2025There's a couple of new webinars that have gone live including The World's Greatest PR Research, which is a new topic, where we highlight the insight of some of the best PR related insight we've seen recently. Also now live is our free to attend Why PR has an attention advantage on social with the folks from Tangerine. Tickets are now available for both The PRmoment Awards shows, including the London Ceremony at Park Plaza Westminster on Thursday 27 March 2025 and the Manchester Ceremony at Manchester Hall on Thursday 3 April 2025.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Bloch and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:This month's run down of the biggest PR pitches:Linkedin appoint KetchumNomad Foods appoint BursonHusqvarna appoint BursonHello Fresh/Green Chef appoint John DoeField Doctor appoint Shook IFIT+ Nordic Track appoint ShookOrdnance Survey re appoint MarkettiersAutotrader appoint Hope & GloryThe Growth Foundation appoint Words+Pixels Disaronno appoint Mercieca Oxford Landing Wines appoint FrankGu appoint Tin ManRadisson appoint WUtility Warehouse appoint Here Be DragonsTravel Supermarket appoint JBHThis month's biggest M&A activity in public relationsStagwell merged Hunter and KWT GlobalConnect Group (Strategic Comms) acquire majority stake in Linco, an Edinburgh based Public Affairs Publicis acquire BR Media Group

Today, the PRmoment Podcast has launched a new series, The Career Edit. Co-hosted by PRmoment's editor Elizabeth Howlett and Dean Connelly, founder of PR recruitment firm Latte, the series will delve into the biggest debates surrounding the world of work and recruitment within the public relations industry. Connelly and Howlett's combined expertise in PR, recruitment, HR, talent and retention allows the pair to take an unflinching look at some of the main bugbears and barriers agency leaders and PR practitioners face. In this first episode, the duo discuss the latest people moves of February 2025 (accurate at the time of recording), before moving on to the month's Valentine's Day themed hot topic exploring why recruitment is a lot like dating. Many thanks to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.2 mins: Connelly and Howlett discuss notable PR people moves from February 2025Siobhan Shea-Simonds joins Headland from Teneo. Comments from Kerry Parkin, founder and CEO at Sway and Ed O'Brien, head of issues and media management, global corporate affairs team at KPMG.Guto Harri, former director of comms for Downing Street under Boris Johnson becomes PR advisor for Oxbridge Boat Race Nerissa Chesterfield, former director of comms at 10 Downing Street under Rishi Sunak, moves to Chelsea Football ClubEva Omaghomi, who spent 17 years as King Charles' senior advisor, has launches her own agency, Forster Jones & Associates.8 mins: Why recruitment is like dating9 mins: Connelly discusses how to trust your gut “The reality is our gut feeling is coming from data, and we need to solidify what that is.”12 mins: Howlett opens conversation around what to say on job interviews to find out about the company culture 16 mins: Connelly talks on how to spot the green flags“It shows emotional intelligence when someone is honest about challenges in the business.” 20 mins: Howlett compares job interviews to meeting the parents for the first time 23 mins: How do you break up with your employer and still be friends? 30 mins: Can PRs call out toxic workplaces without making it worse and risking professional reputation? 

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. Today we're chatting to the PRCA's Interim CEO Sarah Waddington about her plans for the organisation. In January this year Sarah was appointed to the role, having been appointed to the board of the organisation in 2023..Sarah is about a month into the role but in that time the PRCA has joined the CBI, launched a PR Pitch guide and Ketchum has rejoined, having left back a couple of years ago.In a moment of gorgeous irony, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Do check out the programme for our next webinar on “The World's Greatest PR Research.” It's on 19th Mar 2025, starting at 3:30PM UK time.In this exclusive webinar, PRmoment editorial team have picked the best PR research they have seen in the past 12 months.Sarah welcome to the show1 mins What is the role of a modern trade association? 6 mins What is the business model of a trade body? What are the revenue streams?7 mins What would you say are the priorities for the PRCA currently? “Member value is number one…we're aware agencies and in-house teams have faced difficult times in the past few years…My priorities: the fee structure. We're doing a piece of work at the moment to make sure that is fit for purpose and reflects the market.”8 mins Which regions around the world does the PRCA operate in?11 mins There is a huge diversity and variance of what PRCA members want from a trade body, does that mean it can try and do too much, and become too complex an organisation?13 mins What do PRCA members tell you they want from the organisation?15 mins How many people does the PRCA employ now? How many members does it have? Agencies? In-house? Individual?16.30 mins Both UK PR trade bodies (The PRCA and the CIPR) made a loss in the last financial year. Why does Sarah think that is?“The economy hasn't really picked up…Anybody who is a member of an industry body right now, is looking at their subs and saying ‘what am i getting for this?' It's alright paying subs when life is good and margins are high. It is right when that is scrutinised."21 mins It's obviously early days in Sarah's leadership stint at the PRCA but what are her ambitions for the organisation? “Right now it's (about) consolidation and financial stability.”“If we're looking at the fee structure, there is clear growth to be had from the regions.”22 mins Sarah has been involved with the leadership of the PRCA and before that the CIPR. So she knows your way around PR professional associations. Broadly is she in favour of leaner organisation or an expansionist strategy? Sarah also updates us on PR's forever question: The PRCA/CIPR merger.

Welcome to the latest PRmoment podcast. Today we're chatting about some new research that looks at the impact of earned media on ChatGPT's content.On the show to talk about this is Darryl Sparey, the MD and Co-Founder of Hard Numbers, a PRmoment award winning communications consultancy. Hard Numbers is predominantly an B2B PR firm, working with clients like BT Group and Nebius AI, but also with consumer clients like PDD, Roadchef. It has around 20 staff, and a fee incoming approaching £2m.Unlike many agency founders, Darryl spent much of his career in business development. After ten years running sales and marketing for Precise (now Onclusive), he moved into digital marketing, running the London office of a Search Engine Marketing agency. He then moved into PR as a board director of Hotwire. Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Darryl and Ben Smith spoke about:2 mins Darryl talk to us about the approach you took for Coverage to Capital 4 in terms of the methodology?4 mins What content sources does ChatGPT use?“Editorial content drives 61% of ChatGPT's content.”5 mins What was the impact of earned media overall? And by the criteria you set, so: quality, trust, innovation and value?8 mins Owned media was the second biggest source of data for ChatGPT.11 mins What were the other most used sources of information about a company?:Earned MediaOwned mediaCustomer review sites and ratings,Industry awards and lists12 mins What sources of media does ChatGPT not use?14 mins What are the implications for this report for PR?15 mins What are the implications of this report for publishers and journalism?16 mins The irony of LLMs being built on journalistic content from a publishing business model that they might destroy.20 mins What are LLMs for PR professionals? Another channel? Or more than that?

Welcome to our review of PR pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in Jan 2025Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew launched Andrew Bloch & Associates in 2020.There's a couple of new webinars that have gone live including The Worlds Greatest PR Research, which is a new topic, where we highlight the insight of some of the best PR related insight we've seen recently.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.1 mins Why Andrew is feeling optimistic about 2025.2 mins This month's round up of PR's biggest pitch wins:The Children's Society appoint Smarts Oxfam appoint  Hope & GloryAdidas Manchester Marathon appoint  PHASport in Mind mental health charity appoint  Work in ClassRemy Cointreau appoint LXBella + Duke (pet wellbeing) appoint Aisle 8Napo Pet Insurance appoint  Munch for PR – Flabbergast for Social mediaGenerator (global hospitality brand) appoint  Munch and FlabbergastGrenade appoint Tin ManFor Goodness Shakes appoint  Rooster National Lottery Operator (Allwyn Group) appoint M&C SaatchiAlton Towers appoint  Smoking GunHolocaust Memorial Day appoint AtalantaHublot (LVMH) appoint WYo Sushi appoint EarniesBudweiser brewing Group appoint Hanover.Air Canada appoint PC AgencyGovernment Digital Service appoint Four24 mins This month's run down of M&A in public relations:Stagwell set to acquire UniceptaStagwell acquire Create GroupMarketbridge (US marketing firm) acquire April Six – Part of Mission Group (listed holding company)Cavendish acquire Deryn

Today on the PRmoment podcast we're discussing the results of Global Women in PR's Annual Index with Zeno UK MD Jo Patterson and Charlotte West Lenovo, vice president global corporate communications and board director of the Lenovo Foundation.976 Female PR professionals around the world took part in the survey.Before we start don't miss our next PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Jo, Charlotte and Ben Smith discussed:3 mins Jo talks us through the top line findings from this research.“Things are getting worse, not better for women in the workplace.”“The sentiment for flexible working amongst employers is in decline.”“51% of women working in PR globally have experienced harassment.”5 mins Jo talks about the different forms of harassment of women at work.“Seniority is no guarantee of protection (from harassment.)“The most common source (of harassment) is people's immediate bosses.”“56% of the women who experienced harassment didn't report it.”12 mins Charlotte talks about the steps she takes to ensure harassment doesn't take place in her teams.13 mins Lots of very high profile, very successful, almost always white men are behaving badly currently. Is this increase in the number and profile of poor male role models impacting the level of harassment of women?19 mins Jo and Charlotte talk about global flexible working trends in PR, from an employee perspective.

Welcome to the PRmoment podcast, with editor Elizabeth Howlett and founder Ben Smith and we're talking all things measurement and data. Ben has been putting together PR measurement and analytics conference programmes since 2009. So he's been an interested observer of that intersection for 16 years, so it's safe to say Ben understands the players, the bluffers and the issues when it comes to PR data, analytics and measurement.No matter where you are on the PR data, analytics and measurement journey, you'll improve your understanding of this dynamic and innovative area of communications of you attend PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement on 6th Feb. Both virtual and face to face tickets are currently available.If you want to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications - then this is the PR Masterclass event for you. Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here is a summary of what Ben and Elizabeth discussed:2 mins  PR and measurement - it's a long story and Ben talks us through why.8 mins Ben talks about 15 years of putting together PR Analytics programmes and what the key issues and themes need to be.9 mins Ben reminisces a period of when PR people were searching for a silver bullet measurement solution.11 mins Ben gives a shout out to AMEC's Integrated Measurement Framework.13 mins Ben gives a run down of the speakers and themes for PRmoment's upcoming PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Integration.

Today on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Louise Findlay-Wilson, managing director, Energy PR.Louise founded Energy PR 29 years ago. It's a £1.1 m fee income business with 11 employees. Energy PR is a generalist PR firm with a specialism in digital PR, so the SEO and link building side of things. Current clients include InnovateUK, the New York Toy fair and Trooli.We've just launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Louise and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:2 mins Louise talks about the digital PR market at the moment? 5 mins There were already more journalists than PRs and the SEO community has planted itself of PRs front lawn and that seems to have impacted the already imbalanced ratio of journalists to PRs?10 mins What is the likely impact of AI on search?“The zero click economy coming out of Google is a challenge for a lot of companies everywhere.”15 mins Will the Google: SEO community dance continue forever?17 mins Louise talks about the timeline of Energy PR between the first 15 years and the second 15 years - the first phase she kept the business relatively small, the second phase saw her grow the business.“In the first phase I had one foot on the accelerator and one foot on the break.”“Phase 2 I concentrated on growing it and recruited a fantastic deputy MD in Susannah Morgan.”

On the podcast today I'm chatting with Will Hart about the launch of PRmoment Leaders 3rd semester, from late Jan to April 2025.We also talk about the PR agency market currently and where it's at after an eventful 2024.Before that, the breaking news is that the PRmoment Awards final entry deadline is the 17th January. Don't miss the opportunity to create proof points of the quality of your agency's work.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.2 mins Will reminds us about what PRmoment Leaders is all about?5 mins What are the challenges faced by PR agency directors currently - the people who are likely to be the future leaders of their businesses.“They are too time poor… delegation is an important theme for these people.”“A  PR agency's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. People often work down a level because they are so great at individual relationships, clients don't let them go. They get trapped in their client relationships."“There is an ongoing experiment in optimising hybrid working.”“Everyone is dealing with huge ongoing disruption and change. And the pace just gets quicker.”9 mins Will, through PRmoment Leaders, has a unique perspective on the PR agency market atm:“One huge difference I see is the difference between the independent agencies and the holding company firms.”“From the people we have in our cohort, you've got to feel positive about the new business environment.”Here's the link Ben Smith mentioned to the show with Warren Johnson on a previous PRmoment Podcast.14 mins Will talks about PR agency talent trends.17 mins Will talks us through the Masterclass speakers for the third semester of the agency cohort of PRmoment Leaders. More info about this semester here.1. Jonathan Hughes Edelman, EMEA COOHow to create and lead a PR agency in a constant state of evolution2. Jonny Bentwood Golin, global head, data & analyticsWhy data storytelling matters and how to do it well3. Charlotte West, Lenovo, VP global corporate commsFuture-proofing the agency/client relationship4. Howard Jones, Telecoms sector, comms directorWhat is the role of earned media in today's integrated world?5. Jo Patterson. Zeno London, managing directorPR agency governance. Not as boring as it sounds6. Adrian Ma, Fanclub PR, founder and managing directorWhat's the point of purpose (when almost everyone is doing it)?22 mins Will talks about PRmoment Leaders In-House programme for the second semester of PRmoment Leaders:1. Caroline Fisher, ASICS, comms director How PR is taking the lead in integrated campaigns2. Sheeraz Gulsher,People Like Us & Braver, founderHow to improve the diversity, inclusion and retention of PR teams3. Marsid Greenidge. Vesuvius, group head of commsPR and Internal Comms - how does the relationship work best?4. Richard Baines, The Amber Group, founder & directorHarnessing personality types for team success5. Sian O'Keefe, FMCG comms directorHow to build and maintain great agency partnerships

Today on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Rich Leigh, founder Radioactive PR.Rich founded Radioactive PR 10 years ago, so it's another one of our birthday podcasts.Radioactive now has 6 employees and it's fair to say it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the business over the last few years and Rich is going to talk us through that journey on today's show.I'd describe Rich as a portfolio PR entrepreneur.He launched Bloggabase back in the day, as well as PR Examples which is now known as Famous Campaigns.He also wrote a book called Myths of PR.These days he runs Radioactive as well as hosting his own successful podcast The Starting Line where he interviews with entrepreneurs, entertainers and athletes.Before we start don't miss our next PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 final entry deadline is this Friday the 17th January..Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Rich welcome to the show4 mins Rich launched Radioactive PR 10 years ago. How have those 10 years been?5 mins Why Rich Leigh's PR story is such an amazing one.“My upbringing was quite a different one. Quite a violent one…there were lots of prison visits. Lots of drugs around us.”“I always just thought, if I did the exact opposite of the things I saw happen in front of me, then I have the chance of breaking the cycle.”7 mins  Rich talks about his previous PR launches Bloggabase and PR Examples“I can fail and fail and fail. Nothing fazes me. If you grew up like I did. Not getting a bit of coverage doesn't really matter.”14 mins Rich talks about his long time colleague and friend: Andy Barr“Andy was the first good man I ever met. Most of the men in my life had been in and out of prison."“He gave me a chance. I dropped out of school and had a baby and said ‘hey, employ me.' And he gave me a chance.”17 mins Rich talks about the start of Radioactive. 18 mins After 6 years the business was up to 30 employees in 2021 Now it has 6 employees. Rich talks us through what happened.20 mins Rich had to make a lot of people redundant? That's tough on them but it's also tough on the employer.“We had to let a lot of people go. (It was) a really really rough time.”“We were unprofitable to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Easily.”“You feel like you've failed.”27 mins Rich talks about why digital PR, so the link building element from earned media, has become such a tough market.“At one stage it (digital PR) was 80% of our work.”31 mins Why digital PR has done huge harm to the PR: journalist relationship.37 mins Rich talks us through his biggest mistakes.39 mins And his biggest successes.“I've changed my life entirely.”41 mins Rich tails us though how he's evolved into a portfolio PR entrepreneur.“The advice was: don't go to prison and if you get a job - keep it.”43 mins What's next for Rich Leigh?

Welcome to this special episode of the PRmoment Podcast where I'll briefly talk about some to the most important elements about The PRmoment Awards.If you didn't know already, it's 1 week until the final entry deadline for The PRmoment Awards.In this special podcast, PRmoment founder and Ben Smith outlines some of the changes we've seen to the PRmoment Awards in the last 2 years, including:To recap some exciting changes for 2025New for 2025 Most Shortlisted League Table, a Winners Top 10 and increased profiling of award winning campaignsImproved for 2025 Instant feedback on your entry post the shortlist announcement if you weren't shortlistedThe Regional Champions SchemeBen also talks listener through the judging criteria for the PRmoment Awards which are available for all to view in the PRmoment Awards entry pack.You can also download the entry form here.Our final entry deadline is fast-approaching on 17th January. If you want to be celebrating with the best of the best this March or April, then take a look at our categories on the PRmoment Awards microsite.

Sourcecode's UK MD Giles Peddy and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discuss a summary of SourceCode's Global Trends Report, highlighting key global and regional trends in communications and marketing. This report provides insights to help navigate the current dynamic environment. It is based on a foreword by Foresight Factory (trends consultancy) and perspectives from SourceCode US & UK, and its partners in LATAM, Asia, and the Middle-East.Before we start, we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications. Early bird ticket prices are available until December 20th.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite. Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Global Trends identified in the report:AI and Cybersecurity: AI integration and deepfake technology are reshaping trust in media and communications. Cybersecurity concerns are growing, with the global cybercrime cost projected to reach $14 trillion by 2028.Misinformation: Disinformation spreads rapidly in today's digital landscape, impacting brand trust and political narratives, making vigilance essential.Sustainability: Sustainability is becoming critical across all industries. Though efforts toward Net Zero are inconsistent, regulatory pressure is increasing demand for transparent corporate reporting.Nostalgia Marketing: Brands are finding success with nostalgic elements, tapping into familiarity to strengthen customer connections.Micro-Generational Marketing: Targeting distinct generational groups within broader demographics is proving essential for brand relevance.Regional Highlights identified in the report:North America: Internal communication strategies are emphasized for productivity and retention. Digital immune systems are recommended to safeguard digital infrastructure and customer trust.UK & Europe: Renewable energy efforts are accelerating, with a target of 42.5% by 2030, and recent political shifts necessitate new approaches to stakeholder engagement.Middle East: The region is advancing in digital assets, blockchain, and Web3. Major tech investments align with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and offer strong opportunities for growth in tech and finance.Asia-Pacific: Economic growth remains positive despite geopolitical tensions. There's a high demand for data-driven strategies and talent development to support the tech ecosystem.LATAM: Hyper-localization in content is key, with sustainability at the forefront of consumer expectations. Authentic content is essential to foster trust in a rapidly digitalizing market.These insights reinforce the importance of agility, creativity, and proactive communications strategies in today's “Never Normal” environment. The full report includes a more detailed analysis for each region.

Today on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Latte founder Dean Connelly about the PR recruitment market in 2024. The reason for analysing the recruitment market in PR is that it tends to reflect the confidence of the sector. If firms are recruiting, they are feeling confident, if they are not recruiting they tend to be more concerned about the future.Latte is a PR recruiter in London and Sydney and Dean founded the firm in 2016.Before we start, we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications. Early bird ticket prices are available until December 20th.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite. For some more perspective on the current PR recruitment market, take a look at this Linkedin discussion.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what PRmoment founder Ben Smith and Dean discussed:3 mins Dean outlines the current state of the PR recruitment market.“We're seeing more corporate and tech roles coming through but consumer is quiet.”“The first half of the year for us in consumer was quite busy but it's seen a steady decline.”6 mins Why the move to project income and shorter turnaround times on briefs has impacted the recruitment sector for full time employees.9 mins Which sectors are up/down in PR recruitment currently?“One consistent message is inconsistency.”“Covid growth meant unrealistic financial targets were set.”14 mins Dean runs us through his PR recruitment heat thermometer for Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4.15 mins The most in demand jobs titles: Account manager to account director.17 mins Which job titles are less in demand?18 mins Dean outlines his talent trends of 2024 and predictions for 2025.

Today on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Amy Dowling, head of markets communications at Tui about the PR pitch process from a client's point of view.We'll cover the issue of client ghosting and discuss why it happens. Amy will also share her 11 step process of how to run a PR pitch. Finally Amy will give her top tips for PR agencies on how to pitch better.If you haven't heard already I'm pleased to say we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement event. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Amy and PRmoment founder discussed:Amy recently ran a consumer PR pitch process which has been described by those involved as “robust, fair and on time.”Amy explains why the pitch process is so important from the client's perspective.Why do you put so much vigour to the design of Tui's pitch process?4 mins Amy talks us through her 11 stage pitch process.Align stakeholders - What is your ultimate goal? What are your broad comms and business objectives?When do you want the work to start? Work backwards from a timeline perspective. Define your budget - perhaps bronze, silver or gold alternatives.Develop your long list of relevant agencies (Perhaps up 10-12 agencies)Post initial agency approaches, research and understand any potential conflicts. Which may rule some agencies out.Align with procurement: make sure they understand what you are looking for.Chemistry or tissue session with the agencies on the long list. These agencies should have been sent a pre tissue pack in advance.After the chemistry session the long list is cut down to 4 agencies. All those who were not successful were given written feedback within a week.“Sometimes you don't know what you don't want until it's there. Or what you do want, until it's in front of you.”The brief for the pitch is issued. (Approx. 4 pages: Including budget, objectives, do's, don'ts, context. insight, audience, business background etc)Workshop briefing session feedback session: Agencies meet the PR lead for the brand and marketing teams to sense check and ask questions.4 weeks between the workshop and the pitchProcurement submission for the agencies - DEI, business health etc. Procurement scores this documentation, which is in addition to and alongside the creative pitch process.“As a sector, if we could standardise the procurement form it would save agencies a lot of time.” Ben SmithThe pitch and a decision within 10 days. Feedback was given by telephone, again within 10 days.

It's my twice yearly chat with W Communications founder and CEO Warren Johnson and today it's our 2024 PR Agency Year in Review.It's been quite the year. Some have described it as the year that never was! But could it have been worse? And has PR in this the latter half of Q3 and into Q4 actually come good?Warren founded W Communications in 2009. It now has global revenues of £20m and a headcount of 200, with 140 in London and 60 across the rest of the world.Over the next half hour or so Warren and I will discuss the ups and downs of agency life over the last 12 months.Before that, the breaking news is that the PRmoment Awards final entry deadline is the 17th January. Don't miss the opportunity to create proof points of the quality of your agency's work.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.2 mins Warren, on how has 2024 been for W.“The dismantling of the retainer model accelerated this year.”“We and the rest of the industry are having to re-tool into a more management consultancy style project based business”“We're seeing a greeter and greater appetite to buy more services from PR consultancy businesses.”“It's busy, I wouldn't say it's as profitable as it has been.”“We're having to work harder than ever to maintain our strong margin.”“You can often have clients bump a project with little or no notice and also no penalty and that's a drag on margin. Until we get that fixed.”“If you don't know what the world looks like in 3 months, let alone 6, why would you plan for 9 months out.”9 mins Why is retaining PR agency margins tougher than ever?10 mins What are the implications of the move towards project based fees on the talent profile of PR agencies?11 mins Is a retainer relationship ever better for the client?“If you want to partner with an agency properly, then a retainer is always better.”13 mins In which sectors is PR spend up/down? “Love a bit of B2B. No one is ever going to cut budgets driving CEO fame or lead gen.”“Sport for us has been huge. Biggest growth area. Insatiable appetite for briefs coming in.”“Travel has been strong."“We've had some very good wins over the last 5 days. It's been nice to go into Christmas with some wins under our belt."17 mins Warren's top tips for any independent PR agency CEOs out there on how to manage their businesses in this new project lead income, more agile business environment.“Challenge every way of working. Make sure it's match fit.”“Agency bosses need to get out. Get into the office. Spend time with your staff IRL, go out and see clients.”“PR agency owners are making money but not enjoying it.”20 mins What talent trends have you seen this year? “Lots of big senior names have become available, particularly client side.”“At a lower level there's bound to be a slight reduction in grad level intake just because of the cost of bringing them in and the quite often poor quality of talent coming in. The costs versus talent quality is beginning to become imbalanced.”23.30 mins Warren's thoughts on the Omnicom, IPG merger. Historically these holding companies mergers happen because of the ad agencies and the PR firms either innocent bystanders, or potentially innocent victims, depending on how cynical you're feeling at the time. Is this one the same?“The PR agencies are a rounding error of that deal.”25 mins Warren reflects on the busyness of PR's 2024 pitching Golden Quarter.27 mins How does Warren think PR will fair 2025?

Welcome to our review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in 2024.If you haven't heard already I'm pleased to say we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement event. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open. The final entry deadline is on January 17th. Miss it and miss out!Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.JANUARYPitchesIceland appointed TangerineHenkel appointed BCW/BursonMinistry of Justice appointed KindredAirbnb  appointed The Romans.M&AMerger of BCW and H+K to become Burson and create a £1bn + agency.Bully Pullpit Interactive acquired Boldt. FEBRUARYPitches“This is often the hangover from the Golden Quarter Pitches that start to get announced.”Bolt appointed Boldspace.Burger King appointed The Academy.British Gas appointed Smarts. M&A SEC Newgate acquired a 70% stake (over 5 years) in Athens HQ V+O Group.Real Chemistry acquired Avant Healthcare -Havas acquired Ledger Bennett. MARCHPitchesPepsi appointed Hope & Glory.“The first change for Pepsi in 14 years. This was a big big brief.”Taco Bell appointed Earnies.“You never forget your first win'Pizza Express appointed Pretty Green. M&AMHP acquired La Plage (creative content above the line agency). First acquisition for MHP since its acquisition by Next15.W acquired Franses,Havas appointed WildernessAPRIL PitchesWilliam + Grant appointed Exposure.Shark Ninja appointed  BursonTinder appointed The AcademyCarlsberg appointed Hope&GloryEA appointed Premier.M&AAccenture bought Unlimited“In my mind one of the smartest deals that was done this year.”WPP announced that leading global investment firm KKR has made a growth investment in FGS Global.“WPP has focused on releasing cash and consolidation and they've done that impeccably well.”“The holding companies and the big private equity firms have all realised that scale is important.”MAYPitchesEDF appointed Tin Man/Lucky Generals“What we've seen in consumer PR is... the agencies who went into the year strongest, have come out even stronger.”Reebok appointed Brand Nation.Pringles appointed Mischief MHP.Unilever appointed Golin“Nothing beats the UK, no one comes close, in terms of strategic creativity.”M&APagefield sells to PPHC.JUNE/JULYPITCHESFamous Grouse appointed Pretty Green.B&Q appointed Romans.Homebase appointed Aduro.The Independent appointed W.WRAP appointed Kindred.National Grid appointed 9 agencies to a “Community Agency Framework” for next 3 years – Grayling, Cavendish, Lexington, Aecom, Arup, Camargue, Copper, grasshopper, JBP.M&APublicis acquired Influential.Havas - acquired a controlling stake in Klareco Communications.Prime Weber Shandwick – MBO. AUGPITCHESMoet Hennessy appointed Earnies - wines and spirits division of LVMH.Dept for Education appointed FourArla Foods -appointed City Press.  

Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This week we're chatting to Heather Yaxley, managing consultant at Applause Consultancy about the long term, medium term and short term impacts of a corporate crisis on an organisation's reputation.Before that - the big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite. The final entry deadline is January 17th.Thanks so much to our PRmoment Podcast partners The PRCA.Here's a summary of what Heather and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:2 mins How well do firms tend to recover from a corporate crisis?“80% of corporate crises don't result in any problems at all.”3 mins “Often the share price of an organisation impacted by a corporate crisis recovers very quickly.”“It's the cumulative effect of poor behaviour that can lead to the long term decline of an organisation.”8 mins What are the business and communications KPIs that are impacted in a corporate crisis situation?“There is something special about the right mindset to look at (crisis) situations.”15 mins “You get people who cannot move on on from crisis”“People ask: “Have you (as an organisation) learn your lessons?” The media and the public join the dots.”15 mins Does it get to a point where you can't turn it around?17 mins What are the different categories of crisis?18 mins How successful are current crisis response techniques?24 mins Heather on why crisis communications response is a team sport.

A slightly different and shorter podcast today to briefly talk about Agency proof points, PR agency growth rates and The PRmoment Awards early entry deadline is this Friday 13 DecemberI've just finished some analysis of the top 100 agencies in the UK looking at the number of full-time employees they have. The source was LinkedIn, so it's not a foolproof measure, but it gives a decent indication of the employee hiring growth and decline of UK agencies.One caveat would be that I can see there's an argument that bearing in mind the increase in project income, relative to retained income, PR firms may have increased their use of freelancers compared to full-time employees. A deeper dive analysis of these stats will be revealed over the coming weeks, but one top line stat is that of the 100 largest agencies in the UK, the average full-time employee growth over the last 12 months is 2.5%.This, in a UK PR market that by and large seems to be picking up.Whether FTE growth will follow the current gentle momentum to growth of the UK's PR sector, remains to be seen. I've asked a handful of people in the last month or so, if during this golden quarter, on a score of 1-10, if 5 was normal, where are we at at the moment from a new business/pitch busyness perspective.PR agency CEOs and the like seem to put PR on a score of 5/6 currently. This time last year they'd put us PR's pitching busyness barometer at a score of 2/3. So relatively speaking, we're on the up.From PRmoment's Linkedin analysis of the number of FTE of PR firms - there are some really interesting trends when it comes to the type of businesses that are growing or plateauing and I'll be sharing that insight over the next few weeks.Which leads me on to my point about the PRmoment Awards. Some agencies have grown their number of FTE's at 15%+ percent over the past 12 months. But not many. When it comes to your PRmoment Award entries it's an opportunity for you to shout about your work.The vast majority of entries for The PRmoment Awards are campaign lead.If you've got a compelling agency of the year story, then go for it. And as per my FTE analysis, it's a different marketplace now. Across the board, relatively growth rates have been suppressed compared to the post Covid boom. But much of the work I see coming out of UK PR firms is excellent. Clients are getting integrated work across multiple channels. They are getting good value. And they are getting better strategy and creativity than at any time since I started working in the sector. (2004 if you're interested!)A number of PR agencies have reduced revenue, retained profits but they're still doing outstanding work and the PRmoment Awards can be your proof point of the quality of that work.A PRmoment Award is a proof point of that work to clients. And proof points are really important for PR agencies and indeed in-house PR teams.  If you're thinking of entering the PRmoment Awards, the early entry deadline is on the 13th of December, and the final entry deadline is on the 17th of January. If you are a regular listener of this podcast, and don't enter already, go on, take the jump and enter the awards - join many of your peers.It's also probably worth mentioning at this point that we offer an excellent feedback loop for anyone who doesn't make the shortlist. More details about how this works can be viewed on the PRmoment Awards microsite - but I'd argue this functionality alone makes entering the PRmoment Awards a uniquely useful benchmarking exercise for the quality of your work

On the PRmoment Podcast this week we're going to be discussing whether the cost of technology made it harder than ever to start up a PR firm? Or are the barriers to entry at an all time low?One of the things many of us really love about the PR sector is its dynamism. Do great work and you can fly. This dynamism has been fuelled over many years by a constant stream of new entrants to the PR agency market.But is this dynamism now threatened? Does the cost of technology, for so long an enabler of agency start ups, now mean that to access the full set of technology and tools you need to service clients, the era of low barrier to entry to the PR agency market is drawing to a close.Or has the continuous development of tech and software meant that the costs continue to fall?On the show today to have this debate we have 2 agency founders. Carrie Jones and Archana Jain.Carrie is the CEO at JPA Health, an independent healthcare communications firm in America. She founded the firm in 2007. It now has 150 full time employees and has taken minority PE investment. Carrie believes that the cost of technology and software has meant that it has become prohibitively expensive for new PR agencies to start up.Archana is the managing director of PR Pundit Havas Red in India, one of India's leading consumer PR firms. Archana founded PR Pundit in 1998 before selling the firm to Havas Red last year.Archana believes that technology has made the cost of starting your own PR business cheaper than ever.Can they both be right?Before we start, we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications. Early bird ticket prices are available until December 20th. You can attend face to face in London or virtually from anywhere in the world.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite. The early bird entry deadline is December 13th.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here is a a summary of what Archana Jane and Carrie Jones discuss:5 mins Carrie and Archana talk briefly about their career stories and how they launched their firms.9 mins Archana Jain on why she believes that technology means that it is currently easier than ever for independent founders to start their own firms.“It's never been easier to set up an enterprise in India.”14.30 mins Carrie on why she thinks it's now prohibitively expensive for PR founders to start their own firms now.“Tools are off the shelf solutions that are available to everyone. They don't give you a competitive advantage.”“In the US market in order to be competitive with the big agencies, you need Google Cloud partnerships, you need access to big data. Off the shelf AI and generative AI solutions is not enough. It needs to be a proprietary closed database supplemented and trained by a data scientist.”“The data and compliance standards required in a multi market have a different complexity.”“The level of compliance, the level of large data purchases, the level of expertise to tweak, modify all of the data solutions. For me it's never been harder and it's super, super expensive”26 mins Carrie and Archana talk though the PR tools markets in the US and India.

Send us a textWelcome to our review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in November 2024.Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew launched Andrew Bloch & Associates in 2020.If you haven't heard already I'm pleased to say we've now launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement event. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.3 mins Andrew on the current state of the PR market. How does the golden quarter compare to previous years.“Measurement is more critical than it ever has been.”PITCHES DFS appoint Red Consultancy and PR First. Teneo continues to work on financial comms.“Everyone loves a retail client.”Simply Business appoint Golin. Danone appoint Freuds.“This is a whopper… a fame making brief.”“The best agencies have had very good years organically (growth.)” Pret A Manger appoint Frank. Headland continues looks after corporate pr Levis appoint Burson – corp reputation brief  across the EU.  Stanley 1913 appoint The Romans – pr and influencer for drinkware brand (best known for Stanley cups – the quencher) UK, France, Germany, Netherlands. Product launches, brand partnerships.  Apply creative with local relevance. PG Tips appoint The Romans – retained pr and social- engaging tea lovers across UK. PG Tips now part of Liptons (formerly Unilever) Rebrand – new blends, packaging etc. previously a project client. Digital and social now a third of all biz for Romans. Cayman Islands Tourism Dept appoint Allison. Essity appoint PR Agency One.  B2B comms brief to raise the profile of the group and reinforce position as industry and category leader across brands. Fed Olsen Cruises appoint The Academy – consumer pr. Targeting new and existing passengers. Previously in-house.Tui (First Choice/Marella Cruises) appoint Ogilvy for a long term comms strategy and earned first activation. First Choice merged with TUI in 2007. Nest, the UK Government backed pension scheme, appoint H+K (now part of Burson) – Corporate reputational support services. Also work with Blurred to help promote purpose PR strategy.Uni of Warwick appoint Shook This month's round up of M&A activity:“This has been a boom month for the PR M&A sector.” Croud sell majority stake to ECI (PE) – Croud is a full service marketing company. Croud is estimated to be worth £180M+. Fee income of £23.5M.“Croud is one to watch for sure.” Coolr sell minority share to Growth Capital Partners (GCP.) Founded in 2017 by Adam Clyne. 120 full time employees (FTEs.) This acquisition will help deepen service offering and scale quicker including i

Send us a textToday on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to co-founders of CommsClarity Paul Hender and Richard Bagnall.These 2 are stalwarts of the PR measurement and evaluation game. They've worked together on and off at the likes of Metrica, Cision and Carma for the last over 30 years!And today on the show they are going to be chatting about what is the data opportunity for PR firms?Fittingly given today's podcast's theme we've just launched our PR Masterclass: The Intersection of Data, Planning and Measurement. Attend this PR Masterclass to hear from experts on the latest techniques, tools and case studies about the use of data in modern communications.The other big news in public relations is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.3 mins Why is it an interesting and important time for the intersection of data and PR?“There's a perfect storm of the need to use data better in PR.”“There is an increasing cynicism about last click attribution.”“There is this extraordinary evolution revolution of the the media”“AI is disrupting the media analysis place.”“Brands are going to live and die on this.”“People are taking all these data points and throwing them at the wall and hoping some of the mud sticks.”8 mins Over the last 10 years many of the legacy media monitoring firms attempted to build something resembling a one stop shop for data. How successful have they tended to be in that strategy? “What evaluation isn't is templated counting amounts of easy to capture data points.”14 mins There are so many PR tools now. Indeed many of them are not specific tools to PR. How can PR folks navigate that media monitoring, social listening, audience integration, misinformation and emotion tool market?Editors note: Golin's Jonny Bentwood will present his PR Tools Review at PRmoment PR Masterclass in February. (Masterclass 4)19 mins Has the number of PR tools and media intelligence being bought increased? And is that investment being spent wisely?20.30 mins How big do agencies tend to be before they bring in either a head of analytics or an analytic team?“Every agency needs to be able to talk with confidence about data and analytics and the value of its work - and if it can't do that it doesn't have a very bright future.”22 mins What are PR firms doing with their data? What does good data use by a PR firm look like?26 mins Should PR firms buy data tools or build them?30 mins Why the problem of PR people becoming overwhelmed in data is huge.32 mins PR's integration of data challenge: How are we doing? With a nod to AMEC's Integrated Evaluation Framework. “The whole concept of absolutism has to go out the window. You can't just chuck out data points. That's where derision happens.”37 mins Data storytelling is one of PRs words of the moment. How does that compare with the reality that PR remains in many ways an art form?

Send us a textToday on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Paul McEntee, founder of Here Be DragonsHere Be Dragons is a £1.2 million income independent consumer PR firm in London. It has 13 employees and clients include Beavertown Group, Disney and Greggs.It's another one of our birthday shows -  this year marks 10 years of Here Be Dragons.The big news is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.3 mins Paul reflects on 10 years of Here Be Dragons and how it's been as a solo founder.“Always trust your gut but don't always act impulsively on it.”“Knee jerk reactions from a solo founder never normally end well!”“As the business grows you need to learn to step away.”7 mins What has been Here Be Dragons growth path over the past 10 years.7.30 mins Why did Paul launch his own PR business?“I didn't mean to start an agency. I just wanted to leave (the big agency environment)…It became this machine that I couldn't really stop, so I went with it."9 mins Paul talks about the advantage of being an independent business without investors.12 mins Paul talks about the importance of celebrating milestones in business, including Here Be Dragons' 10 year anniversary.“It's a reflective moment, you've earned that.”16 mins Is Here Be Dragons the latest firm to make the jump into that gang of consumer PR agencies who do a surprisingly high proportion of the most high profile consumer PR work?“It's a harder club to join than to stay in.” Ben Smith18 mins What is Here Be Dragons genre of creative work?20 mins Paul talks about how and why he's created his personal brand on LinkedIn and other channels.“We try to paint a picture of personality.”23 mins Paul talks about his employee programme The Dragons Club.26 mins Paul talks about his future plans for Here Be Dragons.32 mins Who's in Paul's PR Top Trumps: his most respected PR dream team?“That man is a media operator like no other.”

Send us a textWelcome to the PRmoment Podcast.Today we're chatting to Nikki Collins. Nikki launched Earnies 1 year ago. She previously worked at W Communications for 9 years and before that at Frank. Earnies has a fee income of £1m and clients include Taco Bell, Moet Hennessy, ASOS, Typhoo and Meatliquor.The big news is: The PRmoment Awards are now open. You can download the entry from and take a look at this year's updated categories on the pr awards micro site.Also,thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Nikki and PRmoment founder spoke about:3 mins Consumer PR is doing OK. But it's not an easy market. Most consumer PR firms are either flat or circa 5-8% up year on year. Earnies has put on £1m revenue in 12 months from a standing start and won the likes of Taco Bell, Moet Hennessy, ASOS, Typhoo and Meatliquor. It seems to be outperforming the market when it comes to client acquisition. How come?“Be it with the media, be it with clients, we're constantly trying to meet people face to face.”“We hired a creative director from day one. Which is quite a buck power move from day one. That's given us creative firepower.”“It (taking investment) allowed us to turbo charge our growth from day one. It allowed us to make investment hires. Do high profile pro bono work.”8 mins How many leads has Earnies had from The Romans?“The bigger agencies and the legacy agencies, want to diversify a lot of what they do…to incorporate different services. For us we're focussed on earned media and coverage.”“I believe in the art of PR and what that means.”13 mins How is the consumer PR market at the moment?“To have gone from zero to over £1 m in a year, it feels like it's in a really positive place.”14 mins Nikki talks about how she's done an average of 2 pitches or tissues sessions a week for the last 12 months.“I've tried to re-callibrate what a pitch looks like for us.”“Our role is to look at the stories our clients want to tell.”“We always do a tissue session, that is mandatory.”19 mins In a pitch process how deep do Earnies go in the scope of creative ideas and articulation of those ideas?“It's a numbers game…We have so many pitches going on. Pitching is not a stressful process for us. We'll do everything we can in the time that we have, we're not up until midnight…if we lose something don't get grumpy about it, we move on. We've probably got another pitch tomorrow.”21 mins Who's got equity in Earnies, Joe Sinclair or The Romans?“We don't share any of their resources, we don't use any of their creative or their account team.”23 mins Have Earnies ever pitched against The Romans?24 mins Nikki talks about Earnies work with Killed Women, which recently won an ESG Award.28 mins Why did Nikki decide to launch her own biz when she came back from mat leave?

Send us a textThis is the latest in our Birthday series: Manifest is 15 years old!Manifest has offices in the US (New York and LA), London, Australia and Sweden. The total group fee income is £8m. Interestingly £4 of that is now in the US, £3 in the UK and £1m divided between Sweden and Australia.On this week's show Alex reflects on 15 years on Manifest.Before we start, the big news is that the PRmoment Awards 2025 are open.All the categories, the updated entry form and the 2025 entry pack can be viewed on the awards microsite.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what Alex and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discuss:4 mins Alex divides the 15 years since he founded Manifest into 5 year segments.“When we started we didn't have any clients, didn't know how to run an agency, no board experience.”“Brewdog was a star in the ascendance like no other in those first few years we worked with them. That then attracted big brands quite quickly. Everyone was asking how did you do that: The answer was ‘by having more influence that you give your agencies generally.'”“In the early 5 years, one thing that was difficult was there was pressure of recruiting people and being responsible for their jobs.”14.30 mins “We (Manifest) have changed the PR industry in lots of ways.”16.30 mins Alex talks us through years 6 to 10 years of Manifest.“One of the biggest transitions for me personality, was from founder creative to founder CEO. I'm not sure I've ever finished that transition.”“Not many people are playing the long game, not in agency land anyway.”23.30 mins How did Manifest's mix of clients change in the 6-10 year phase compared to the 1-5 year stage?“After 10 years we were around £5m…the number of people was the big difference.”27 mins Alex on the last 5 years in Manifest, which includes the toughest part of Manifest's story.“In the UK, our home market, economics have been a challenge. Brands have temporarily  pulled back from looking at things holistically.”“There's a quiet confidence in the PR industry at the moment. But no-one is getting cocky.”31 mins Alex on why Manifest's US bridgehead has worked. The US is now Manifest's biggest market.“We were able to look at the differences between the different markets and make them work for us.”34 mins What offends Alex more, Manifest being called a consumer PR firm or an advertising firm?36 mins Was 2022/23 Alex's toughest time in business? What happened? And how did Manifest get back on track?40 mins What are the most important skill types within Manifest now?“I remember once being called an expert generalist.”“You need specialist skills and generalist interest.”42 mins Who have been the most important people in the Manifest story along the way? 

Send us a textWelcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This week we're chatting to Kat McGettigan, founder of Fine Lines.Kat describes Fine Lines as an “agency-growth agency.” Previously she worked at Grayling, M&C Saatchi and Weber Shandwick.Thanks so much to our PRmoment Podcast partners The PRCA.3 mins “There are 3 pillars to good growth.”“You've got to service the wife!”6.30 mins What is a good agency proposition? When is niche, too niche? “Redefining your proposition can be a vanity project but if done well it can be transformational.”On agency positioning: “There's a lot of genericism and overclaiming.”18 mins What is a good agency tone of voice?19 mins Agency award wins are a proof point of the quality of your work.20 mins Is it more about the credentials of your work, than an agency proposition?24 mins Kat talks about her new launch Lonely Female Founders Club.

Send us a textToday on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Battenhall founder Drew Benvie - asking if social media be banned. Battenhall is a social-first agency with 120 employees and won Large Agency of the Year at The PRmoment Awards 2024.Before we start, check out the programme for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London. Face-to-face tickets are expected to sell out, so if you want to come along, don't hang about.Testimonials from previous delegates on the PR Masterclasses microsite. It really is an incredible programme, a great atmosphere and well worth your time if you are a PR agency leader out there.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.2 mins Does Drew think social media will be banned?“There are parts of the world, and demographics around the world, who cannot access social media. What we're seeing is the increased regulation of social media for safety reasons.”4 mins Social media has had a 20 year experiment phase and, perhaps with regret, the downsides outweigh the upsides - therefore should it be banned?5 mins Has social media had a positive or negative effect on society?6 mins How has social media changed the world for the better?“There are people who make a positive contribution to society who do that through social media.”9 mins What might regulation of social media look like?The UK's Online Services Act will come into effect in 2025, the EU's Digital Services Act came into force in February 2024 and in the US the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates social media.In China, many of the West's social media channels are banned. It has its own versions.“For social networks in China you have real name registration, which means your legal identity is your identity on the social network. And then the government regulates your use of that social network. So there is a teen version of every social network…”“This regulation (in China) has been brought in for fears of addiction to social media, addiction to phones and it's been brought in for video gaming as well.”“Some of the lessons that China is learning (about teen access to technology) is starting to spread to other parts of the world in terms of the regulation.”14 mins Why the problem the West will have with social media regulation is that we don't have real name registration.“Without stricter registration rules for the Apps and the social networks the limits on age usage are not going to be fit for purpose."“Concerns over safety have largely led to the advertiser exodus from Twitter.”“We're going to see that if a social network is not taking safety seriously, it will be banned from a country and Brazil set a precedent for that.”18 mins Do we believe governments will stand up to the social media companies, bearing in mind the seemingly infinite number of lobbyists they seem to have?19 mins Without real person registration is social media regulation even possible? Bearing in mind AI, bots and disinformation.“In the not too distant future we will be in a safer place.”“OFCOM is going to be tasked with the regulation of the Online Safety A

Send us a textToday on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to Lis Lewis Jones founder of LiquidLiquid had its 20 year birthday its year - and for your background has a fee income of £2.5 m and it works across a few sectors but specialises in agriculture and food - which amongst other things means it has a chef on the payrollIt has 35 employees and works across 25 countries.Lis is going to talk us through the journey of Liquid - which includes sponsorship of her beloved West Brom.Before we start, check out the programme for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is in central London. Face-to-face tickets are expected to sell out, so if you want to come along, don't hang about. Testimonials from previous delegates on the PR Masterclasses microsite. It really is an incredible programme, a great atmosphere and well worth your time if you are a PR agency leader out there.Thank you to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.2 mins Lis looks back at 20 years of running her own PR firm - Liquid PR.5 mins Lis talks about how Liquid became a food specialist - including why they have 2 chefs on the payroll.8 mins Lis explains how and why a £2.5 fee income PR firm with 35 works across 19 timezones!14 mins Lis talks about why she bought a Guernsey based business and why Liquid no longer has an office there.16 mins How  Liquid Australia came about.“I would describe our growth past as a couple of 5 years olds on acid!”23 mins  The importance of cultural intelligence when setting up in new geographical markets.24 mins Lis talks about her role as an export champion for the Department for Business and Trade.

Send us a textWelcome to our review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in October 2024.Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew launched Andrew Bloch & Associates in 2020.Before we start, check out the programme for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London. Face-to-face tickets are expected to sell out, so if you want to come along, don't hang about.Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA1.30 mins Andrews run down of this months biggest pitch wins“It's decent, the budget has created some uncertainty…its picked up a little slowed than I had expected post the summer but there's plenty going on.”Formula E hires Soapbox – Soapbox also look after Matchroom Boxing, Pro Darts Corporation, Under Armour, AJ, Luke Littner and Eddie Hearn.Primark hire Weber Shandwick to support global trust and reputation projects. Asos hires The Earnies for consumer comms.Typhoo also hire The Earnies G- Shock hire Kingdom Collective – National Energy System Operator (NESO) – Britain's new energy body responsible for planning Britain's electricity and gas networks – appoint Brands2Life to deliver brand strategy and Eulogy to create a national advertising campaign.Bafta film awards hire DDA Pooch (healthy premium dog food company) & Mutt hire Munch Dave's Hot Chicken hire Cut The bull Epson, the global tech company hire Kindred ESG brief for internal and external audiences. Ena Athletics, the premium performance sportswear brand hire Brand Nation San Miguel hire MSL –XIX Vodka hire Sunny Side Up. Honda hire Exposure Monopoly Lifesized hire One Green Bean.21 mins Andrew talks us through this month's biggest PR M&A deals.“There's been a lot of people trying to get things through because of the budget”Auspicious Group – A new creative services agency is formed via acquisition of 2 film companies.  Studio Yes and Blue Chalk Media.  3 businesses already have 40FTEs and $7m revenue.Run by Rachel Pendered, co-founder of Media Zoo who will be co CEO alongside Barnaby Cook co-founder of Casual Films and Mark Killik also previously from Media Zoo. Helios Global Group (healthcare comms) gets backing from Telemos Capital (PE). Berkeley Communications acquire Danebury Research – a PR survey company. Blue Communications acquire Saltwater Stone.

Send us a textWelcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This week we're chatting to Kat McGettigan, founder of Fine Lines about how to pitch successfully.Kat describes Fine Lines as an “agency-growth agency.” Previously she worked at Grayling, M&C Saatchi and Weber Shandwick.On the show, we talk about how agencies can improve their pitch techniques but we're also going to take a step back and look at the broader area of growth strategies for PR firms.Kat was last on the podcast discussing this theme a couple of years ago, so this is an updated perspective on the PR pitching world.Before we start, check out the programme for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London. Face-to-face tickets are expected to sell out, so if you want to come along, don't hang about.Testimonials from previous delegates on the PR Masterclasses microsite. It is an incredible programme, with a great atmosphere and well worth your time if you are a PR agency leader.Finally, thanks to our PRmoment Podcast sponsors, The PRCA.2 mins Kat outlines the key elements of a successful pitch from an agency's perspective: Chemistry, Clarity, Commitment and Conviction.“The short answer is winnable chemistry.”5.30 mins How do you build chemistry with someone you've never met? 10 mins Commitment to a pitch: “You've got to really commit (to a pitch), not batten pass!”“For small to medium sized agencies (relatively) pitching is a lot more expensive.”“If someone asks you to respond to a pitch in less than 2 weeks, walk away.”14 mins What are the stages of a pitch response?21 mins What is a good win rate for agencies when pitching?“My advice would be to pitch to win more”“If your being selective a good pitch win rate is about 40- 50%”“Some pitches are pitch and learn into a different sector”25 mins What's the difference between a chemistry and a tissue session?30.25 mins The problem of ghosting in the PR sector.32 mins Do clients understand the level of investment agencies are putting into the pitch process?34 mins Has ghosting taken over from procurement as the most frustrating part of the pitch process?“I'm a fan of procurement.”36 mins How many pitch rehearsals should you have?37 mins What is slide 47 syndrome?“The slides are your backing singers, You are Beyonce!”“Always go for the earliest pitch slot.”39 mins Why you should always try and have the pitch at the agency's office.41 mins What are the red flags for agencies when to walk away from a pitch: 1) no access to the stakeholders, 2) no budget and 3) unrealistic timelines.42 mins Is it not mad that so few ideas from a pitch ever get used?44 mins Should all pitches just be limited to one idea?“Virtual is really difficult to get that winnable chemistry.”“Hybrid is really difficult”

Send us a textWelcome to the PRmoment Podcast.This is our quarterly bonus podcast, where we chat about Rajar's latest results. For those of you who aren't aware of Rajar - it was established in 1992 and operates the single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United KingdomRaja publishes the listenership figures each quarter, which is good for insightful for PR, curious about how the public engages with radio and how the market is performing.On the show today, we have Alex Blakemore,senior producer & newsroom daily editor at Markettiers, who will discuss the latest Rajar results for Q3 2024. This quarter included the general election which was on the 4th July, the euros which started on the 14th June and the Olympics in July.Here's a summary of what Alex and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:2 mins 51 m people in the UK are listening to radio every week,  88% of the population.4 mins The BBC's share of Radio Listening is now at 40%.“More than 1 in 10 people listen to BB local radio every week.”“LBC UP is from 2,612,000 to 2,691,000”“GB News Radio is  from 518,000 to 611,000 (up by almost 100,000 this quarter.)”7 mins What are the opportunities for PR people when engaging with radio? “Greatest hits radio and the hits radio network are still doing very well as they reach 7,435,000 and 7,225,000 respectively. They announced just yesterday ahead of the Rajar results being released they are dropping regional programmes from its greatest hits radio service following a change in legislation.”“These commercial stations are really thinking about how they can reach niche audiences.”“Nearly half the UK listen to a podcast each week.”14 mins Is the breakfast show still the most important radio show of the day?“The biggest breakfast show is still Zoe Ball on BBC radio 2 with 6,277,000 people listening weekly to her show.”“Capital Breakfast is also on the rise with Jordan North seeing another boost in his second Rajar results since moving to capital from radio 1 with 2 million 959 thousand people tuning in each week, up from 2 million 800 thousand last quarter.”

Send us a textToday on the PRmoment Podcast we're talking to the managing director of Pitch Marketing Group. Pitch is a sports marketing and consumer PR firm in London. It has a fee income of over 5 million pounds and 46 employees. Clients include Red Bull, NatWest, Beats By Dre, EA FC and Formula 1.Chris joined the business as an account manager in October 2012 and became the MD in 2021. Pitch became an EOT in 2023.On the show today, we're going to talk about the rise of sports marketing as a significant sector within communication and Chris's journey from account manager to MD of his firm.Before we start, check out the programme for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London. Face-to-face tickets are expected to sell out, so if you want to come along, don't hang about.Testimonials from previous delegates on the PR Masterclasses microsite. It really is an incredible programme, a great atmosphere and well worth your time if you are a PR agency leader out there.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.2 mins Chris outlines what good sports marketing looks like.6 mins What is the difference between sports sponsorship and sports partnership?8 mins What skill set do you need to be good at sports marketing?11 mins What does a good sports marketing campaign look like?14 mins What channels are the most significant when it comes to sports-related content?20 mins Sports marketing has the reputation of being reassuringly expensive - is that right?23 mins What do brands want from a sports sponsorship?“Awareness is one thing…but someone like Gallagher (Insurance) wants their audience to know what they do and why they're different to their competitors.”32 mins Chris talks us through his favourite ever piece of work: Betfair's Switching Saddles campaign with Victora Pendelton.38 mins Chris's personal story is a nice one - from account manager to MD in 12 years at Pitch. He talks us through how that came about.

Welcome to our review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch. Here, we discuss the biggest pitch wins and mergers & acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in September.Andrew is the lead consultant - PR, Social, Content and Influencer at the new business consultancy firm AAR and a partner at PCB Partners, where he advises on buying and selling marketing services agencies.Andrew launched Andrew Bloch & Associates in 2020.Before we start, make sure you get your tickets quick for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum . It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London.“Honestly, I had one of the most fascinating and useful days of my career. I can't think of anything that needed improvement. The quality of the speakers was phenomenal. Thank you!”PR Agency, director “The best day I've spent at work for ages!”PR Agency, director “What an incredible line-up of speakers!”PR agency, founder 1 min This month's rundown of the biggest PR pitch wins Reed Employment – Soho Communications.  Corporate and consumer brief,  Soho was founded by James Henderson the former CEO of Bell Pottinger in 2018. NHS - £500M framework – will run to 2028 – for consultancy and advisory services for health. Divided into 10 lots one of which is for ‘communications, engagement and research”. 27 firms were selected. The potential of £45M value. Include agencies such as Engage Communicate Facilitate (ECF), Freshwater UK, and Lynne Group. Mars Pet Foods – Brands 2 Life will lead social across Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Including influencer and paid. Kellanova (the new name for Kellogs, who own Pringles, Pop Tarts, etc.) appointed Tin Man for the US brand Cheez-It UK launch. Bassetts Vitamins – Tin Man – consumer PR brief for leading vitamins brand. Earned first, creative, press office and influencer. Motorway – Romans – Consumer PR brief. Fight or Flight handles corporate comms.  Nationwide – Romans: consumer PR brief to raise awareness of the financial services brand with younger audiences and families. Greggs – Here Be Dragons:  Project basis on consumer activations. Zurich Insurance – Boldspace: Corporate press office. Handled two projects earlier in the year, now retained. Gordon Ramsey Restaurants– H/Advisors Maitland– global corp comms. The plan is to build out the restaurant groups' corporate profile and engage with key audiences. World Travel & Tourism Council – Finn Partners  – global comms for the launch of the ‘Together in Travel' comms campaign. Currys – Red – Press office and creative. Increase awareness of expertise, range and relatable playful brand tone ahead of Black Fri and Xmas.  Hitachi Zero Carbon – Brands 2 Life – EMEA, APAC and N America. The brief is to increase brand awareness for this division of Hitachi, which is on a mission to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon world largely by converting public transport and commercial fleets to electric vehicles.Ellen McArthur Foundation – Kindred – Kindred will support the charity's media and comms team to develop and amplify stories across the UK, US and EU with particular focus on food and plastics projects.Kidney Cancer UK – PHA Group – The brief is to support the charity's press office and long term awareness raising mission.20 mins This month's rund

On the PRmoment Podcast this week, we're talking to James Hewes, CEO of the PRCA. James joined the PRCA in January this year. The organisation had been in an uncertain state for a year or so because of the long-term illness and untimely passing of previous CEO Francis Ingham.In 2023/4, the PRCA set off on a governance review and subsequently made significant changes to its structure, senior team and member offer. So, I thought it would be good to get James on the show to give an update on his plans for the PRCA and what he's been up to for the first six months of his tenure.The PRCA has a turnover of £3.8 m.Before we start, our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum has now launched. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London.The final entry for the ESG and Sustainability Awards deadline is 27th of September.Finally, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here's a summary of what James and PRmoment founder discussed: 2 mins What state was the PRCA as an organisation in when you started?“We were probably doing too much stuff. There was a tendency to throw resources and activity at every single thing…rather than stopping and thinking what was the best value for members.”4 mins Was the PRCA's governance review worth it?“The positive outcome of the governance review: there's a lot more transparency…there's more opportunity for members to get involved in a structured way.”“It (the governance review) has simplified things dramatically.”6 mins James updates us on the PRCA's finances.“The numbers were a bit tough for 2023, they'll be a bit tough for 2024, but the organisation is on a much much more stable footing.”“The organisation has been a break-even business for a very long time. In a world of great uncertainty, you need to be a bit better than that.”“We are non-profit making with a good cash reserve…we're cash generative.”10 mins Are the PRCA's membership numbers growing again?11 mins Over the years, there have been stop-and-start rumours about the CIPR and the PRCA merging. Are there any active conversations on that side of things at the moment?12 mins Where does James want to take the PRCA under his leadership?19 mins The PRCA's Articles of Association talk about growing the organisation internationally. James talks about how that has gone so far.22 mins Who are the key people at the PRCA now?23.30 mins What does James see as the most important issues affecting the PR sector currently?

Today, we're chatting with Billy Hamilton-Stent and Jon Lonsdale from Publicis Pro. For anyone who's forgotten, the business was previously called Octopus Communications, and they sold to Publicis back in 2021. The firm specialises in B2B communications.Jon and Billy got in touch because they've been on their own AI journey for Publicis Pro and on the basis that a rising tide lifts all boats, they are keen to share their experiences with their PR agency peers and what better way to do that than on the PRmoment Podcast.Before we start, do check out the programme for our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London. Face to face tickets are expected to sell put, so if you do want to come along, don't hang about. Testimonials from previous delegates on the PR Masterclasses microsite. It really is an incredible programme, a great atmosphere and well worth your time if you are an agency leader out there.Also, the the final entry deadline the ESG Awards is 27th of September.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.3 mins AI exploded into our consciences in 2023, it's been a bit of a process for lots of people: from scared, to discovery, to embrace and disappointment. Billy and Jon talk about their AI journey.“We set about how to build a management system using AI”9 mins Has AI overpromised and underdelivered so far in PR?“It's quite easy to see what AI's limitations are quite early on.”“We didn't go into this thinking our teams were going to be 10 x more productive by the summer.”“We have created a management overlay on a set of large language models.”12 mins Billy talks us through how Publicis Pro's AI tool Otto does: “It's a tool that allows us to adapt, refine and be more effective as an agency. Its uses are manifold.”“The people in Publicis Pro that use Otto most are the strategy team.”“Train the AI around your clients. We've got Otto trained on tone of voice and (client) spokesperson.”Because of the nature of the technology, you have to stop talking about it in the way you might conventional tech…it's less linear…it's collaborative.“(AI is) less of a tech race and more a change management race.”30 mins Will AI change the structure of PR firms?31 mins. How has AI impacted PR roles differently at a junior, mid-level or senior level?32 mins How can agencies integrate AI into their workflow?“Pick one or two things you do a lot of and it (AI) can really help. Less is more.”33 mins Did Otto cost a fortune to build?34 mins Is AI going to improve the margins for PR businesses?“Otto has added a percentage point to our profits this year.”“Just think about how inefficient an agency can be.”36 mins How can AI help PR firm's employees collaborate more effectively?“Collaboration is a cultural point in an agency, not a technological one.”37 mins Are the holding companies at an advantage when it comes to AI, in that they have the scale to build stuff?39 mins Will AI ever do creative well?42 mins Do external AI tools still get Jon and Billy excited?

On the PRmoment Podcast this week, we're talking to Sandy Lindsay MBE about her career in PR. Sandy is the founder and chair of Tangerine Group & non-executive director of various organisations, including The Rugby Football League.Sandy launched Tangerine 22 years ago, and the business has grown to have 120 employees with an income of over £7 million in fees. It became an employee-owned trust back in 2017, and it was one of the first PR firms to do so.Before we start, our PR Masterclass: Agency Growth Forum has now launched. It's on 12th November 2024, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT. Both face-to-face and virtual tickets are available. The event is held in central London.Also, the early entry for the ESG Awards deadline is the 13th of September, and the final entry deadline 27th of September.Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.Here is a summary of what Sandy and PRmoment founder discussed:4 mins Sandy launched Tangerine back in 2002. Did she always want to launch her own business?5 mins Sandy talks us through why you left Harrison Cowley to launch Tangerine.“PR is more ethical now than it used to be.”8 mins The plan for Tangerine was always to run national accounts as a Manchester agency. Has that worked out?9 mins Is there still a perception amongst some that large national accounts should be run out of a London baked agency?11 mins Sandy's previous employer, Harrison Cowley, was well regarded as a regional agency. Why did she not want to follow that model?13 mins Who were Tangerine's original clients? What type of work does the agency specialise in now?14 mins What mistakes has Sandy made along the way?“We launched the obligatory London office…it was a bloody nightmare…We just didn't need it.”“It's fine to make mistakes. If you're not, you're not trying anything. You're not taking risks.”“Your comfort place is fabulous but nothing ever grows there.”17 mins How do you know when to knock new launches on the head?20 mins Sandy talks us through the growth of Tangerine. “We've never gone up and down (revenue-wise), but we have plateaued.”23.30 mins Sandy on why Tangerine launched the digital marketing training provider Juice Academy.“600 apprentices have been through the Juice Academy for over 13 years.”26 mins How does the Juice Academy apprenticeship scheme work? 30.30 mins Tangerine got into social early. Was it quick off the mark, or were the established PR agencies a bit slow?32 mins What type of work do Tangerine do for Specsavers?34 mins Sandy describes why Tangerine expanded significantly during the Covid period.36 mins Who have been the key people in Tangerine's story?38 mins As a founder, when do you know it's time to hand the baton on to the next generation?40 mins Sandy is a non-exec of the Rugby Football League. What makes a good non-exec?“A non-exec gives you a helicopter view.”“I would not only recommend agencies get them (non-execs), I would also recommend agency leaders do them.”