PRmoment Podcast PRmoment

This week on the PRmoment Podcast, I’m interviewing Mitch Kaye, co-founder and CEO of The Academy, as we look back on ten years since he and Dan Glover launched The Academy.
The Academy is an independent PR firm in London with a fee income of approximately £7m. It has 56 employees and was co-founded by Mitch Kaye and Dan Glover in 2014. 
If you want to join your PR peers, don’t forget to buy your tickets for The PRmoment Awards. The Manchester Awards are on Thursday 11th April and the London Awards are on Thursday 25th April.
3 mins How is the consumer PR market ATM? 
“We’re in a good moment. 2023 was our best ever year and 2024 has started in the same manner…We’re enjoying where we’re at but I do speak to lots of other people who are having a hard time.”
“There’s definitely work out there and there's definitely people winning.“
5 mins It's ten years since Mitch and Dan Glover founded The Academy. When they launched, what was the plan, and how much did they need to adapt that plan?
7 mins Second time around doesn't happen too often with PR founders; most people seem to have only one start-up in them. Why is that, do you think? 
“Ambition is the biggest thing for me.”
8 mins What's been easier the second time around? And what has been harder?
The second time around, “the highs are not as high, the lows are even lower, but you're braver, you're more experienced, and you have seen problems before…so you can call on that body of work.”
10 mins Where is the PR market now compared to 10 years ago?
“PR is in a much better place. It is a brilliant time for consumer PR. As a discipline we take ourselves more seriously and we are taken more seriously.”
“Some agencies now, and I would include us in that, have the ear of much more influential people.”
“The job is more difficult now but more rewarding too.”
16 mins The Academy has had some impressive client wins and the work coming out of the business is very good at the moment. How does an agency get itself in form?
“The hardest thing to do in this business is to win. It’s very, very easy to come second in a pitch.”
19 mins The Academy has a high fee income per head compared to its peers. A PR income ballpark of £100K per head is tough to achieve in consumer PR. And you’ve got a fee income per head of £125K. How have you done that?
“We’re not the cheapest agency on the block. We’ve got great people. We’ve never shied away from that, really.”
21 mins Has The Academy been immune from the decreasing number of retainer client relationships towards increased project income?
“We’ve probably got a disproportionate amount of retainers versus our competitors.”
“We hire ahead of our needs and retainers help you do that…the challenge of retainers is energy.”
23 mins Last year, The Academy had an 80% win rate on 15/20 pitches. When you were at Mischief, you did 70 pitches a year. That's quite a change in strategy.
“If you're pitching three times a week, you’re not spending an awful lot of time with your clients.”
“The biggest opportunity you have is with your existing clients. They've already hired you, they already trust you.”
“Doing three pitches a week is never the answer.  Whatever the question is.“

Welcome to our March 2024 Review of PR Pitches and mergers & acquisitions in the UK PR scene with Andrew Bloch, where we will discuss the biggest, most seismic pitch wins and mergers and acquisitions that the PR sector has seen in 2023.
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, here is a plug for our latest launch:  our new subscription training service for senior folks within agencies' PRmoment Leaders. Do take a look and let us know if you like it.
And if you fancy joining us at the PRmoment Awards in either London or Manchester you need to get your tickets quick.
Thanks also so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.
2.30 mins Andrews updates us on this month's PR Pitch wins
Pukka Organic Herbal teas appoint Grayling.
Global Brands (who own VK and Hooch) appoint Prohibition.
Pepsi appoint Hope & Glory.
Taco Bell appoint Earnies
Popeyes appoint The Romans.
Pizza Express appoint Pretty Green
Cook appoint Don’t Cry Wolf.
Carlsberg Group appoint Richmond & Towers for a global PR and social media strategy for Brooklyn Brewery brand.
National Hockey League appoint Mischief.
Casio appoint Kingdom Collective - (Part of Splendid group.)
Nobu Hotel appoint W Communications.
Franks Hot Sauce appoint Pangolin.
18 mins A discussion of the state of the PR new business market at the moment.
“It’s not a bed of roses for everyone, but there is still business out there.”
You have to show resilience and dig deep. ..running an agency is always a bit of a roller coaster. It’s often a question of how quickly you come out of the dips. It's not plain sailing. Anyone who runs an agency and tells you it's a piece of cake, I’d call them a liar.”
19 mins A round-up and discussion of March’s M&A activity.
21 mins Ruder Finn acquire Atteline - expanding its Middle East and global footprint.
Woodrow has formed a partnership with Paris-based Taddeo to expand both organisations' work across the UK and Europe. Jim Donaldson, the former CEO of Fleishman Hillard, joined Woodrow as non-exec chair in February this year.
Stagwell acquire Sidekick. Sidekick launched in 2021 after the merger of experiential agency Kreate and content agency Many Makers.
MHP acquired creative content above-the-line agency La Plage.
Havas acquires Wilderness in its second acquisition this year already.

Braver co-founders Darain Faraz and Mike Levaggi on the PRmoment podcast
Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast. 
On today's show, I’m chatting with two of Braver's co-founders: Darain Faraz and Mike Levaggi.
Previously, Darain spent 11 years in-house at LinkedIn. Mike's career has included roles at Seventy Seven, Hope&Glory and Snap.
Alongside Sheeraz Gulsher, they launched Braver in September last year. Braver is a talent consultancy specialising in helping PR employers increase the diversity of their teams.
Before we start, here is a plug for our latest launch:  our new subscription training service for senior folks within agencies' PRmoment Leaders. Do take a look and let us know if you like it. 
Thanks also so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.
Darain and Mike, welcome to the show
3.30 mins Mike talks us through Braver’s approach to trying to help PR with its diversity problem.
6 mins Darain talks us through why he and his brother Sherazz launched People Like Us.
“My brother (Sheeraz) was baffled when he landed in the (PR) industry. He asked what’s going on? Why is it quite so homogeneous?  We should be doing something about this. He was rightly furious. I’d become a bit apathetic about it.”
10 mins Do we believe employers in the PR sector want to be more diverse? 
“The reality is that we’re inching along in our progress… The industry is keen to make progress, but it's not sure how to get there.”
12 mins What is PR’s ethnicity pay gap?
“PR’s ethnicity pay gap is 22.3 %.” 
“There is obviously a point when people leave the sector…from the conversations we’ve had, it's because they have felt they weren't given the same opportunities and promotion at the mid to senior levels. Agencies have to do 2 things: hire intentionally so their workforces more accurately represent the audiences they are communicating to 2) make sure that their workplace gives equal opportunity for people to thrive.”
25 mins How are PR employers trying to become more diverse? What are they getting right? What are they getting wrong?
29 mins What does best practice look like when it comes to increasing the diversity of your PR team?
“For it to be effective, you need an ongoing dialogue between people across your organisation and senior leadership.”
“Public sharing of salary bands is really crucial.  so important. We (Braver) refuse to work on roles where we can’t share the salary.”
33 mins Are Rooney Rule shortlists a good idea in PR?
35 mins Many PR firms are doing better at increasing the diversity of their employees, but are they getting the inclusion part wrong.
42 mins To what extent are clients, through procurement policies, only buying PR from agencies with diverse teams?
“There is a moral imperative.. but ultimately, it is a commercial imperative.”

On the show today, I’m chatting with Jo Ogunleye, B2B Communications Lead at Google UK  and Laura Wheeler, Head of Communications UKI, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Google Cloud.
Both are B2B communicators, and we’re going to talk about what creativity looks like in B2B communications, how it can be used and how it can be integrated across the appropriate B2B channels.
Thanks to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors, The PRCA.
A quick mention about the relaunch of PRmoment. If you take a look at PRmoment.com, you'll see a brand new design with lots of new features, hopefully, easier navigation and also the launch of our new subscription training service for senior folks within agencies' PRmoment Leaders. Do take a look and let us know if you like it. 
Thanks also so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.
Here is a  summary of what Jo and Laura and PRmoment founder discussed:
2 mins Jo and Laura talk about what a modern, integrated approach to B2B communications looks like.
6 mins What are the priority channels for most B2B communications?
“Your company blog or your website should always be your priority channel.”
14 mins A discussion of the rise of influencers within B2B markets
17 mins Is creativity used less in B2B markets because communicators are more risk averse, or is it because of budget?
“Creativity is a critical part of B2B PR…You need to stand out from the crowd. 
…B2B buyers are usually bombarded with information.”
20 mins Why is creativity important in B2B PR? 
21 mins Laura gives some examples of how Google Cloud uses creativity in its B2B campaigns.
28 mins How to craft your B2B campaigns to reach multiple objectives, including impact on sales.
31 mins Does creative content drive more sales in Google’s experience?
38 mins Bearing in mind how specific the target audience is, are B2B campaigns easier to measure?
41 mins As in-house communicators, what is the role of the PR agency in B2B markets? To what extent do you look for creativity in your agency partners in B2B?

Welcome to the PRmoment Podcast. 
On today's show, I’m chatting with Charlotte West, executive director of corporate communications at Lenovo, and Jo Patterson, UK MD at Zeno.
Today, we’re discussing the findings of the Global Women in PR Annual Index, a research programme that aims to measure the status of women working in PR and communications worldwide.
Before we start, we should pay tribute to GWPR co-founder Angela Oakes. Angela sadly passed away after a brief illness last year but her legacy of helping to change the landscape for women working in our industry will go on.
Here are some topline findings from the report:
Flexible working has become an accepted normLevels of flexible working have been maintained since this time last year and are anticipated to stay.Women continue to see progression and promotions slower than men, and boardrooms continue to be male-dominated.According to the report, half of female PR professionals globally have experienced harassment or inappropriate behaviour at work. But before we start, a quick plug for our latest webinar launch. The topic is “How to track the success of an earned media campaign." Tickets are free, and we’re putting this one on in partnership with our good friends at Carma. T
Also a quick mention about the relaunch of PRmoment. If you take a look at PRmoment.com, you'll see a brand new design with lots of new features, hopefully easier navigation and also the launch of our new subscription training service for senior folks within agencies' PRmoment Leaders. Do take a look and let us know if you like it. 
Thanks also so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.
Here is a summary of what Charlotte, Jo and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:
3 mins The report reckons PR professionals expect to be working remotely for an average of 2.5 days a week, a slight drop in comparison to 2022 (3 days.)
What remote working policies have Charlotte and Jo established at Lenovo and Zeno, respectively?
“At Lenovo, the corporate guide is in the office three days a week.”
6 mins A discussion of how remote working changes the culture of work - for better and for worse.
“At the moment, the 2-day working week in the office is working well for us (Zeno).”
9 mins Jo talks about the impact of flexible working for women working in PR.
11 mins How has flexible working changed the culture at Zeno?
20 mins “Most people in PR don’t have a work-life balance. What we can’t lose is work-life flexibility.”
Some stats from the Global Women in PR Annual Index
“The benefits of working flexibly continue to be regarded positively amongst PR professionals. With regard to well-being, seven in ten (75%) feel it helps employees maintain their mental well-being and four-fifths (82%) feel it helps maintain a healthy work-life balance, up from 77% in 2022.
“75% believe flexible working allows women to have a family or take on caring responsibilities and still progress in their careers; up slightly from 71% last year. Whilst 74% agree that it helps retain female talent (increasing from 68% in 2022).
A third (32%) believe that flexible working helps women progress into the boardroom.”
23 mins Does flexible working slow down or speed up the PR careers of women?
27 mins What does the next generation want from work? Is the generational divide amongst work-based teams becoming more pronounced?

Welcome to our February Creativity Review. Here, we are talking about the best bits of PR creativity we’ve seen this month.
On the show today are:
James Gordon-MacIntosh, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Hope&Glory
Leila Mountford, Partner, Creative Director at Portland
Kim Allain, Creative Lead, MSL UK
To remind the listeners of the only rule of our global creativity review, our creatives are not allowed to choose their own work!
This is part of our regular series of creativity reviews, so if you like what you hear, look back at the PRmoment Podcast archive on iTunes or Spotify to listen to more creative ideas.
This special PRmoment Podcast about creativity is, naturally enough, bought to you in partnership with Creative Moment. You can subscribe to Creative Moment here.

A quick mention about the relaunch of PRmoment. If you take a look at PRmoment.com, you'll see a brand new design with lots of new features, hopefully easier navigation and also the launch of our new subscription training service for senior folks within agencies' PRmoment Leaders. Do take a look and let us know if you like it.

Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

Here is a summary of what Kim, James, Leila and your host PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:
4 mins Lush Saltburn Bathbomb
You can read more insight on what made this campaign a creative bit here. 
6 mins Michael Cera and CeraVe
You can read more insight on what made this campaign a creative bit here.
12 mins Uncommon’s Ratboot
You can read more insight on what made this campaign a creative bit here. 
15 mins Taylor Swift mania in Australia sees the release of  ‘Tay Tams’ to celebrate 60 years of the iconic treat
19 mins MSCHF’s Global Supply Chain Handbag
You can read more about this campaign here.
23 mins Kitchen roll supplier Plenty gives couples a chance to win a wedding.
Does kitchen roll need a purpose?
27 mins Hello Down There: Martin Scorsese directs Squarespace Super Bowl ad
You can read more about this campaign here.
32 mins PETA’s Dangerous Leather Warning to the public
You can read more about this campaign here.
35 mins Dove’s “It’s Hard Knocks Life” campaign.
39 mins Changing Narratives' Campaign Challenges Racial Stereotypes
41 mins An Ordinary bottle floats down the Thames.
You can read more about this campaign here.
45 mins Aldi’s Rogue Vogue