MADE IN THE EAST MIDLANDS
Using PR to make your mark
Over the past months, political and business leaders have produced thousands of articles discussing the urgent need to reconfigure our lives and our businesses post-Covid. And while their profound calls for change may seem startling for SMEs in the region, there are lessons we can all take on board and opportunities to seize. Rebecca Middleton (pictured), co-founder and director of Leicestershire-based PR and creative agency Middleton Davies, explores how using PR can help companies grow their presence and boost their business.
are turbulent. Many of the world’s most famous brands were born in a recession: Disney and HP to name two. PwC’s recent CEO Panel Survey on the
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outlook for growth and the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on how businesses operate, identified the rising expectation of stakeholders as a key challenge. How we buy from businesses, our demand for flexibility and how we judge them based on their values has all changed. SMEs that embrace this change will thrive and outshine their competitors. The pace of change remains relentless
today and adapting to a vastly different world takes bravery. Throw in adapted remote working practices, and sometimes it can seem overwhelming. This is where a strategic PR communications agency can come in. It will help you make sense of your changing business and seize the opportunities for growth, provide fresh eyes and minds to challenge status quo, and plan a way forward. Finding the right agency though is a harder
task now than it has ever been. Change and fresh thinking calls for complementary mindsets. When searching for the right PR partner, here are our key tests:
AGILITY AND COSTS An agile agency with a bank of industry specialists and freelancers is a natural good fit for those SMEs that have an eye on the budgets but want the best people at the right time. Boutique and “virtual agencies” build expert teams that fit that bill. They
s Jeremy Gutsche, CEO and founder of
Trendhunter.com, points out, it’s smaller firms with new ideas that outpace their larger rivals when times
work by fulfilling each client’s needs for both long or short-term projects, dependent on timetable and budget. They don’t carry the costs of a “bricks and mortar” agency.
EXPERTISE Investigating new ideas, shaping them and bringing them to market is a creative effort, which requires expert support. You need the right senior people around the table to support your team. Some SMEs still believe PRs are there simply to churn the odd press release out. Find an agency that’s able to offer experts who already have valuable industry experience.
REPUTATION Find an agency with a proven track record of building reputation and supporting growth. Ask to see its testimonials and examples of its work. Through the pandemic, as a boutique
agency, we helped existing and new clients seize opportunities, build reputation, and continue to build relationships. We work with a range of experts and flexible consultants who are aligned with our clients’ briefs and budgets. We have found our “virtual model” is perfectly suited to growing, recovering or niche SME businesses that need a pragmatic approach. At the start of the year, no-one really
had an understanding on the profound change and devastation that Covid would bring with it. Agility, creativity and partnerships will be critical to building and maintaining successful businesses as we recover. Finding the right PR agency to partner will provide the key to unlock potential and delivery value.
business network December 2020/January 2021 71
FEATURE
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