Articles

Road(s) to Recovery - David Gallagher, Ketchum Pleon

David Gallagher is Senior Partner, President Europe and CEO London at Ketchum Pleon.

He is also Chairman of the PRCA.


At a recent PRCA - Corp Comms conference for agency chiefs and in-house communications directors, WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell took me to task for not featuring China and India in my outlook for the PR industry's economic recovery.


Fair enough. These and other emerging powerhouse markets should figure into any worldwide plan for growth, and just about any investor would want to see globalisation among the strategies of the world's second-largest holding company of marketing service businesses.


But for those of us in the PR business, based in the UK or Europe, the way to recovery isn't necessarily as easy as merely looking east. Few of us are in a position to simply relocate to Shanghai or Mumbai, and even if we are, what happens to the businesses we've built in Bristol or Brighton? For most of us, for better or worse, the challenge is finding growth right here at home, and I can think of at least three ‘roads to recovery' to consider.


The first road is the direct route: competition. The market for communications services in the UK remains one of the healthiest and most sophisticated in the world, and even if the overall volume of business looks limited, there are plenty of savvy buyers looking for smart suppliers. And smart suppliers, I would argue, are those who grow their share of the market with better talent, bigger ideas and stronger commercial management.


The second might be called the high road. Companies that take a higher, wider view of what communications now means will be in a position to win business from companies in other disciplines, like advertising or management consultancy. With the sudden democratising emergence of social media and the increasing importance placed by consumers on corporate and brand responsibility, the expertise of public relations consultants can be offered at a premium - potentially at the expense of those unable or unwilling to look at the world in new ways.

And the third might be best described as the road rarely taken: collaboration. I'm convinced there is growth in store for businesses that are able to come together and meet opportunities they couldn't have met on their own. My own agency has seen the benefits of collaboration on several levels, ranging from outright merger with Pleon in Europe, to forming a bespoke service solution with Fleishman Hillard to serve a global engagement. Sir Martin spoke of ‘consolidation' as a feature of the future, and I don't disagree, but there will be plenty of ways to grow under the more general banner of collaboration for those businesses with sufficient imagination.

None of these pathways to economic recovery are exclusive, and in fact each is enhanced by your
participation in the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA). Here's how:


PRCA enhances your competitiveness. With consultancy management standards, round the clock
training, and growing number of industry and sector interest groups, your team differentiates its
talent, services and commercial viability in a way that non-members simply cannot.


PRCA gives you a higher vantage point. With the inclusion of leading in-house teams, international
members and regular, structured knowledge sharing and thought-leadership development, you're
afforded insight and connections unavailable to those who have not yet risen to PRCA standards.


PRCA affords you opportunities to collaborate. Through all of the activities described above and
wider professional community they foster, you are introduced to potential partners and suitors,
suppliers and buyers, to meet opportunities too much for you to meet on your own.


When it comes to post-recession recovery, are there other ways to get from here? Without a doubt.
My own business is competing to serve as the global hub, from London and across Europe, for
multinationals based in the very markets espoused by Sir Martin, using a combination of local
market expertise and centrally managed processes and services. Our immediate prospects for
recovery, however, are those closer to home, and while I might look into evening Mandarin courses,
I'm not quite ready to throw in the towel on the UK or Europe.

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