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Company profile
30 years of industrial P.R. W
4CM is one of the few P.R. companies that can boast 30 years of uninterrupted service to the industrial sector. Managing director, Nick Brooks, reflects on the past and the shape of things to come
hen 4CM was set up in the autumn of 1981, the world of B2B communi- cation was very different. Print was king, from brochures and data sheets to exhibition posters. Press releases had to be distributed as hard copies, with black and white and then later colour prints that needed scanning and separation before they could be printed in trade journals. Long, boozy P.R. lunches were the norm, while companies focussed mainly on the UK market, often adopting a scattergun approach in their use of advertising and direct mail. As we’ve entered the 21st century, B2B communications have grown increasingly more complex to take into account new as well as traditional media formats that help lead opinion and dominate the online market. Blogging, targeted e-mail marketing, YouTube videos, podcasts, web content (and of course SEO!) have created new and exciting opportu- nities. These new media formats now provide a level of market accessibility and interaction that would have been unthinkable even ten years ago and which have massive potential to power the relationship between industrial companies, their customers, prospects, staff and other stakeholders.
4CM has always specialised in P.R. for the industrial sector and has been at the heart of many of the changes in communications that we’ve seen in recent years. Throughout, our success has been founded on the close partnerships we build with every client and on our philosophy that P.R. has to deliver real value to our clients, in terms of increased revenue, growth in market share and power- ful brand awareness.
The changes in B2B communication chan- nels have affected the way in which we manage the relationship between our clients and the media and even the way in which we write, as communication has to be instantly accessible, with formatting and content that works across multiple media, while retaining the same levels of precision that the technical world of industrial marketing requires. Our own work has evolved from the pro- duction of specialised copy to the adaptation of written and spoken work for a variety of channels, to the development of dedicated measurement and analysis – mere AVE is no longer sufficient, and metrics have to provide accurate and reliable information to our clients. In addition, as our clients have become increasingly globalised, we have created a network of overseas partners that share our philosophy and specialised market focus. Whatever happens in the next 30 years, we
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expect to face challenging and exciting times ahead as information becomes more readily available in a 24/7 society that is largely free of geographical and cultural bound- aries. In this world of heightened change, our ability to create, maintain and develop a strong and influential media voice for all our clients in the industrial market space will remain a crucial constant that delivers real, long lasting value.
‘As we’ve entered the 21st century, B2B communications have grown
increasingly more complex to take into account new as well as traditional media formats that help lead opinion and dominate the online market’
P.R. is a wise investment in tough times
David Ding, membership director of the PRCA Manufacturing companies invest heavily in R&D, technology, processes and people. The improvements these elements make to a product are tangible and the value they add to the bottom line highly visible. However, it isn’t always the best product that is the most successful because too often manufacturing companies neglect the power of P.R. According to the PRCA’s annual benchmarking survey, the minimum average spend across all sectors per month on P.R. is over £3,000. So can your business benefit from investing more in P.R.? P.R. can raise awareness of your product. A good reputation opens doors. If your customers and potential customers have heard good things about you from people and publications they trust then it will open doors for your sales force and actively drive new business. Your customers want reassurance from people they trust and P.R. can help you identify which audiences you want to reach and the best way to reach them. However, it’s an increasingly difficult task, which is where a specialised P.R. agency can play a crucial role. Despite the loss of a number of trade titles in recent years, there are still many excellent print publications. There’s a huge range of national and international trade shows. And then there’s the Internet, where user forums abound and bloggers publish their thoughts and opinions whenever they want. P.R. gives you the tools to identify and target the media, and to deliver consistent messages that truly influence your customers. A specialised P.R. agency will also help you use language that engages with individuals and markets. When you’re passionate about your product, it can be frustrating if others don’t always share that enthusiasm and belief, so it’s important to tell the story in the right way for each audience. Although anyone can claim to be in P.R., and there are many consultancies out there with differing and varying expertise, your best option is to choose an agency that is a member of a body such as the PRCA. That’s why we run a free service called ‘Find A PR Agency’. We will only recommend consultancies that have achieved the internationally recognised Consultancy Management Standard and that can deliver the exact services you need. To find out more visit
www.prca.org.uk
OCTOBER 2011 Design Solutions 1971-2011
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