There are few whose names are more synonymous with the UK #PR industry than Matthew Freud. He pretty much invented the concept of networking... Anyone in our industry - or with an interest in politics, the cult of celebrity or the power of the media - should listen to this podcast from When it Hits the Fan with David Yelland and Simon Lewis (you can find it on BBC Sounds). There's so much to unpick, but one fascinating claim Freud makes is that reputation - which the PR function is responsible for - can increase the value of a business by 50%. He argues that if you have two identical, publicly listed companies but one is more 'widely admired' than another, it would command a 100% premium. A powerful statistic. Why don’t PR or communications budgets reflect this? We’ve tended historically to be the poor relation to marketing in terms of spend. Reputation should be the biggest priority for the C-suite; whether that's ensuring the workforce (internal comms) is clear on the values and vision of the business; or sending out the right messages to the market. Also, a good reputation means current and prospective customers will respect, value and aspire to connect with the business. You don't have to be a celebrity or politician to care about reputation - every business should be ensuring that everything they do reflects the values they want to adhere by - whether that's through their #ESG reporting, their #socialmedia community or their #mediarelations. Does the PR industry have a reputation crisis of its own?
Steve Earl
2mo
PR and comms budgets don’t reflect it because agencies have long struggled to get those at the top to understand value and can lack confidence. I say this not to be a miserable sod, but to encourage the opposite.
Hannah Williams
2mo
I think, more broadly, what constitutes a "good" reputation is pertinent here. There have been times in my career when I've spent a great deal of my time trying to persuade corporate comms professionals that the greatest risk to their business is nobody giving a single shiny shite about them.
Ian Barber
2mo
Lots to chew on here but to the budget question, I'd suggest it's a false equivalence. Marketing budgets are huge in most part because of media spend. Reputation KPIs cannot so readily be shifted by media £££ in the way that brand and sales KPIs can. If you were to compare creative marketing agency fees with PR and Comms agency fees, my guess is the gap would shrink...or even disappear.
Interesting how 'networking' is the Cinderella of marketing communications. Suspect, because it is mainly done badly, and is more like 'notworking'. Would challenge the hype about inventing networking. Hopefully, we'll see more recognition of investing in building social capital as much as digital capital in the future of Comms.
Looking forward to listening to it on the BBC. I remember working with Matthew Freud and his team in 2008 on Change4Life. His networking with the most influential people in the world, and leveraging that extremely effectively to meet the goals of his campaigns, was as one of Matthew’s great powers.
Caroline Chapple
2mo
Just love this podcast / programme (and I always think of The PR Network ! :-)
Matt Phillips
2mo
This is brilliant Georgina - so many insights “if real life is drama, the media is pantomime… and there are only so many roles… heroes, villains and maybe a few jesters”. PR’s role in casting and creating plot twists in an executive or brand’s story is much underrated. Thanks for highlighting it.
An incredible talent and family. Thought exactly the same, a rare and inspiring interview. I wish we had more advocacy like this for the industry.
Jo deBank
2mo
Yes, a particularly good episode of a good series: a must listen for PR/comms professionals IMO.
Board Advisor and Independent Counsellor on Reputation, Crisis, Risk and Resilience. FRSA, FPRCA. Visiting Fellow, Cardiff University. PRovoke Media 2023 EMEA Innovator25. rodcartwrightconsulting.com
2mo*adds to listening list*. Does he have a source for the stat?