Grayling PR's Alicia Squadrone, 2021 PRCA South West Rising Star winner, interviews this year’s PRCA South West PR Professional of the Year, Paul MacKenzie-Cummins, MD of Clearly PR. Paul shares the secrets to Clearly’s success, forecasts the PR industry's greatest challenge, and more.
First of all, congratulations on your award! Tell us a little bit about your journey setting up Clearly and what the company is all about…
Clearly was founded in 2014 with two key objectives: to provide both a public relations and content marketing service which was unusual at the time, and to make a positive impact on youth unemployment and homelessness.
Clearly has won a lot of awards in the last few years, being ranked for two consecutive years as one of the Top 50 PR Agencies outside London and winning the PRCA Medium PR Consultancy of the Year in 2021 – what’s your secret to success?
Winning awards is wonderful, but there is no secret to doing so. It’s about having the right people on board who are committed to always be thinking of ways to improve outcomes for themselves, colleagues, and clients.
What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing the PR & comms industry at the moment?
The biggest challenge facing businesses is that of ESG. To be specific: how to communicate their environmental and social commitments in a way that doesn’t see them court accusations of green or purpose washing.
If you had to impart one piece of advice to other PR & comms business owners in the area, what would it be?
There are two pieces of advice that I would share. First, pick your battles with your rivals based on those services that you can be ‘great’ at. Be prepared to ditch those you are only ‘good’ at. Second, anticipate future client needs. Don’t be afraid to pivot.
What are your long-term plans with your business? Where do you see Clearly in five years’ time?
Clearly in is year two of its seven-year plan to become a £7 million business and gifting £500,000 to environmental and social impact programs in the South West.