| Many businesses fail every day for reasons outside of | | | | drift into the communications role as a 'pre-retirement' |
| the current economic climate. According to the United | | | | holding place or where organisations misguidedly |
| States' Small Business Administration (SBA), around | | | | perceived communications to be a safe, soft haven to |
| 90% of small businesses fail within the first two years | | | | place people - for a variety of reasons. A |
| of operation primarily because many entrepreneurs | | | | controversial statement, I know. But I've seen plenty of |
| lack the basic knowledge and experience to handle | | | | examples of the effects of poor talent placement in |
| early-stage commercial challenges. | | | | senior PR/communication roles. |
| Poor marketing strategy, where companies are unable | | | | Thirdly, it assumes that the client is fully candid about |
| to use their PR and marketing tools effectively to | | | | their business! |
| promote and sell to their public, is cited as one critical | | | | It is perhaps one of the hardest tasks of any |
| internal threat to success. | | | | communications professional to deal with a company |
| Just this month, 'The Industry Watch' report by | | | | that refuses to acknowledge it has issues to address |
| accountants and business advisors, Stoy Hayward, | | | | or opportunities for change. Yet the 'Pollyanna Principle' |
| predicted that rising unemployment and falling | | | | is rife in organisations where a fear of failure prevails. |
| consumer spending would cause a record 36,200 | | | | This can be borne out of a punitive corporate culture, (I |
| businesses in Britain to fail this year - almost one | | | | know one where executives were fired if a negative |
| hundred per day - with no let-up until at least 2011. | | | | press article appeared) the complacency of market |
| Wide-scale threatened job losses across Europe at | | | | leadership, the refusal to acknowledge a need for |
| electronics giant, Phillips, bear out the gloom but raise | | | | change - or out of the primitive and ill-judged belief that |
| nagging doubts as to whether a more progressive | | | | the purpose of PR is purely to spin good news stories |
| consumer outreach strategy could have helped | | | | as an extended form of corporate advertising. |
| mitigate any potential loss. | | | | Yes, these companies still exist. In a June article in the |
| As a former corporate director of communications, I've | | | | Wall Street Journal, 'Why Business Plans Don't Deliver', |
| always taken extremely seriously my responsibility to | | | | its author states a number of reasons why business |
| lead my in-house team and out-sourced PR agencies | | | | plans commonly fail, citing, among other things, an |
| under the common mantra that a marketing/PR | | | | 'Everything is Wonderful' belief on the part of leaders |
| campaign (or agency itself) is only as good as the initial | | | | who fail to recognize potential pitfalls to their |
| client brief. Indeed, I would still to this day vehemently | | | | organisation's success. Failure, for instance, to |
| argue that a thorough brief remains the essential | | | | acknowledge the impacts of competition, pending |
| pre-condition to any campaign success. | | | | legislation, changing public mood, the evolution of |
| The notion that you only get out what you put in holds | | | | technology and new media channels will fundamentally |
| particularly true in the client-PR agency relationship. As | | | | distort any campaign brief and set PR teams |
| a former client and team leader, I would have no | | | | immediately up for failure. Worse still, any attempt to |
| qualms stalling all activity until a thorough brief was | | | | distort reality among the public and its serving media |
| documented, agreed upon internally and contractually | | | | will carry long-term reputational damage from which it |
| bound along with corresponding agency performance | | | | is always extremely difficult - and often impossible - to |
| metrics (subject to quarterly review). A good brief | | | | recover without fundamental leadership or corporate |
| always makes the difference between focused and | | | | change. |
| strategically beneficial activity versus knee-jerk, | | | | Finally, it allows too much abdication of responsibility |
| unaccountable action that offers little sustainable worth | | | | and passivity on the part of outside agencies. |
| to a company. | | | | As a client, my respect for the caliber and value of an |
| What concerns me, despite having made the transition | | | | outside consultant always rose proportionately with the |
| to consultancy, is that placing the entire onus of | | | | lengths to which they would go to risk an incisive, |
| campaign success on the client's ability to brief is a | | | | thought-provoking and sometimes unpalatable question |
| distortion of a relationship that, by its very nature, | | | | to draw you out of your comfort zone. Being |
| should be collaborative and based on shared | | | | provoked to a mild degree of defensiveness is a good |
| responsibility. | | | | sign of an agency capable of analysing your business, |
| All too often I have encountered PR agencies using | | | | of seeing disconnects with public expectation and |
| the mantra of poor client briefing to explain away the | | | | future trends, of delivering stark truths and guiding your |
| failure of a PR campaign to get off the ground - | | | | company towards meaningful and positive change. |
| usually at budget renewal time and having conveniently | | | | Of course, some companies and individuals will always |
| invoiced a year's worth of activity without raising | | | | prefer the nodding acquiescence and unquestioning |
| campaign issues along the way. On the flip side, this is | | | | compliance of an agency that has retention of that |
| usually when I have been called in by companies to | | | | year's contract at the forefront of their mind beyond |
| trouble-shoot the PR agency relationship on the basis | | | | the construction of a long-term client relationship built |
| of failed expectation and zero accountability against | | | | on commercial insight and candid exchange. Equally, |
| spend. These can be highly charged, emotional | | | | those companies and corporate individuals may not |
| gatherings where no-one - not least the organisation | | | | yet be ready to face change - and may be culturally |
| being served - emerges as the winner. | | | | incapable of doing so. There are plenty of well-paid, |
| The notion that a PR campaign/agency is only as | | | | big-name PR firms already trading in that space. It is |
| good as the client brief is flawed on several fronts: | | | | not where my company operates. |
| Firstly, it assumes that the commissioning client fully | | | | Thankfully, there are also plenty of pioneering PR |
| understands the nuanced discipline of PR or audience | | | | enterprises staffed by passionate individuals motivated |
| dialogue. | | | | to see their clients prosper at the risk of pushing |
| I am astounded that, in this day and age, some large | | | | sensitivities. Equally, there are companies keen to |
| corporations still segregate the in-house marketing | | | | maintain their agility and profile edge when the upturn |
| function from PR (in the same way that some | | | | comes and who encourage active agency intervention |
| micro-segregate online reputation management from | | | | and strategic input. |
| social media marketing). | | | | It is always incumbent upon any outside advisor or |
| I have been often struck by the absence of basic | | | | agency to interrogate a company's brief; to |
| experience and knowledge some senior marketers - | | | | cross-check the robustness of a company's position |
| and other commissioning functions - display in such a | | | | and assumptions in a changing marketplace; to unearth |
| grass-roots area of public engagement so pivotal to a | | | | the gems that may not be immediately apparent to |
| company's public fortune. Whilst it's a fabulous | | | | those operating perhaps too closely within an |
| opportunity to help educate and raise internal | | | | organisation; to challenge existing methods of audience |
| organisational standards in public engagement (as I've | | | | outreach and to inform new dialogue channels; to help |
| often done), it's also an open invitation to poor | | | | companies achieve and exceed their existing and |
| campaign management, wasted funds and corporate | | | | future marketplace potential. None of which can occur |
| exploitation by unscrupulous PR agencies (as I have | | | | without healthy exchange and proactive input by the |
| witnessed and also had to correct all too often). | | | | agency into that initial corporate brief that symbolises |
| Secondly, it assumes the client PR principal is an | | | | the manifesto on which the company will secure its |
| expert in PR campaign and resources management. | | | | future public license to operate. |
| Whilst institutions such as the UK's Chartered Institute | | | | In my next article I will take a look at the questions |
| of Public Relations is seeking to address professional | | | | agencies and companies themselves should be asking |
| standards in the qualification and practicing license of | | | | as they move out of recession into an economic |
| PR executives, there is still an overhang from an era | | | | upturn. |
| that saw executives from all walks of functional life | | | | |