WORKING IN A PR CONSULTANCY

The Insider’s Guide to PR: Chapter 1 WORKING IN A PR CONSULTANCY This chapter tells you a little more about the PR industry and discusses the difference between in-house PR and PR consultancy. If you already have a good idea about working in PR then you might want to move on to the next section which discusses whether you have the right skills. Those looking for a career in PR can take one of two main routes: by getting a job within a PR department of a company or organisation, known as in-house PR, or by finding a position in a PR consultancy. Kathryn Wyllie Account Executive GCI UK Geography and Foreign Business Management graduate “I work in a large professional consultancy with a fun and friendly small company feel. I joined a consultancy because it gives you a variety of experience across different client accounts and sometimes different disciplines. It also gives you the opportunity to work in a large team with experienced people you can learn from.” The PR consultancies in the UK range from US-owned giants, employing thousands of people worldwide, to privately owned companies operating with only a handful of full-time staff. The buyers of PR consultancy tend to be in-house PR, marketing or communications departments of other private businesses or the public sector, like local authorities. PR CONSULTANCY: A PROFILE If you decide to choose the consultancy route, then it’s worth knowing that PR companies often fall into two categories: full service, where a full range of PR disciplines are on offer or specialist, where a consultancy might specialise in certain industries or PR disciplines like crisis management. WHAT TYPE OF WORK DO PR CONSULTANCIES DO? The graph below illustrates the different PR disciplines offered by PR consultancies Business-to-Business Healthcare General Public Affairs City/Financial Consumer Technology Source: PRCA Frontline Survey 2001 HOW DOES A CONSULTANCY DIFFER FROM AN IN-HOUSE PR DEPARTMENT? The following points offer a useful illustration: · Client Contracts – A consultancy is contracted to deliver bespoke PR services to any number of companies or ‘clients’ of any discipline. Account teams within a full service consultancy, for instance, might undertake corporate, consumer, trade, financial or even crisis management PR according to a client’s individual needs. (See Chapter 3 for individual category definitions). In-house PR professionals, in contrast, are the clients, undertaking a PR programme for their own specific company. In-house PR teams might have to oversee other marketing functions like advertising and direct marketing. · Standards – PRCA member consultancies have to meet strict entry criteria and are bound by codes of practice. In addition the PRCA’s Consultancy Management Standard (CMS) is an external assessment based on business proficiency and all members must pass in order to join the trade association. In-house PR departments are not subject to such PR industry regulations as the Consultancy Management Standard, although some individuals within the organisation might be members of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) which ensures individual practitioners are bound by professional codes of conduct. In-house PR departments might also have to work to other standards or codes related to their own specific industries. Page 3 The Insider’s Guide to PR: Chapter 1 · Evaluation – PR consultancies, similar to other marketing disciplines, need to prove the value of their work, and in so doing, justify their fees! They do this through both internal and external evaluation programmes to assess the success of a specific project or on-going PR programme. Before a project commences, evaluation starts at the planning stage using research to establish the client objectives in order to develop the right strategy. Measurement and evaluation is then carried out once the programme is completed in order to help a client and consultancy plan future activity accordingly. For more details, please visit the evaluation information site, www.pre-fix.org.uk. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WORKING IN A CONSULTANCY? PR consultancy work offers some incredible opportunities for graduates as the following points make clear: · Experience – A consultancy offers newcomers to the industry an excellent grounding in fundamental PR practices. Graduate trainee programmes, in particular, are an excellent platform from which to gain varied experience with different sectors and clients. The very nature of in-house PR, on the other hand, makes it sector specific and offers little room for manoeuvre. For this reason, many PR professionals move in-house later on in their careers, once they’ve established their chosen PR specialism. · Speed – Juggling a range of clients as well as talking to a wide range of audiences, including the media, means that PR professionals must think fast and be ready for anything. · Team Spirit – A successful consultancy depends on team work. Different clients are handled by different account teams which are usually made up of five or six people of varying experience. On average, a PR account executive would work on four separate accounts. Derek Harris Senior Account Manager Republic PR and Business graduate “I have always preferred to work in a consultancy than in-house. The fact that you have a variety of clients helps you learn new approaches to day-to-day PR techniques; writing, selling-in stories, managing staff, working out strategies and inter-personal client skills. However, you don’t always feel like this when you’ve got to juggle three demanding clients simultaneously – I have been known to swear!” · Variety – A typical day might start with a client meeting in the morning, a photoshoot after lunch and then press release writing for a new product launch. Often you will be required to liaise with external suppliers like designers or mailing houses. This is all invaluable experience in recognising where PR fits into the broader marketing picture · Financial Benefits – The sort of PR salary you could expect is detailed in Chapter 4, however it is worth noting some of the other financial benefits consultancies can provide. Many consultancies offer share options in the company as well as pension schemes and health insurance. It is a good idea to investigate the benefits on offer when searching for a job. · Entrepreneurship – PR attracts bright, talented people with strong individual personalities. Many PR practitioners set up their own private consultancies and some larger firms offer their own budding “Richard Bransons” a chance to start up specialist divisions or subsidiary companies. The opportunities for entrepreneurship are plentiful in this young industry. · Social Life – Having explored the various career and financial benefits of consultancy work, what you really want to know is the kind of social life you can expect. Consultancies attract like-minded, young people and consequently foster a fun and stimulating environment in which to work. Some of the larger consultancies have their own bars or break-out rooms, or at least beer fridges, and actively encourage evening socialising. Jason Lees Account Executive Haslimann Taylor Law graduate “I chose a consultancy over in-house work because of the range of clients that consultancy life brings. The most gratifying aspect of my time at Haslimann Taylor has been watching a campaign snowball from regional to national, to international coverage within the space of a few hours. When you’ve got a good story, things move very fast.” Page 4 The Insider’s Guide to PR: Chapter 2 DO YOU FIT THE BILL? This section takes a look at the skills and abilities you need to make a success of your PR career. Public relations is often misinterpreted as media relations, but as we will discuss in the next chapter, it also include disciplines as diverse as crisis management, event management and public affairs – all areas requiring people with very different skill sets. A universal trait, however, is the ability to interact with people from all different walks of life. There are other qualities that mark out good PR people. These include good organisation, writing and presentation skills, creativity, and the ability to multi-task effectively. PR is essentially a commercial discipline – you are hired by a client to achieve a set number of business objectives – and therefore it is important for PR consultants to have a clear understanding of how companies function within the commercial world. DO I NEED A PR DEGREE? Definitely not. PR welcomes graduates from all backgrounds. In a recent survey carried out by the PRCA’s FrontLine group, only 9% of the respondents had taken PR degrees. However this is likely to rise as the range of PR degree courses grows in the future. The top degree categories in the survey were humanities and languages, with arts and businesses following close behind. See the graph below for more details. MOST POPULAR DEGREE CATEGORIES FOR PR GRADUATES Science & Technology 10% School Leaver 5% Arts 23% Public Relations 9% Political & Social Sciences 10% Languages 15% Media & Journalism 2% Business 6% Humanities 20% Source: PRCA FrontLine Research 2001. Page 5 The Insider’s Guide to PR: Chapter 2 ARE YOU CUT OUT TO BE A PR CONSULTANT? Imagine you’re working in a PR consultancy. Do the following light-hearted quiz to determine whether you have the right personality for the job. Add up your answers (A, B or C) and read the results: 1. On your way to work you pick up a newspaper. What do you read first? A: the “gossip” pages B: the front page C: the crossword puzzle 2. There’s a promotion on the station concourse and you are offered a freebie. It’s a sample CD that will provide faster internet access. What do you do with it? A: you take it, because it’s a freebie B: you decide to try it out and you consider whether the promotion was effective for the target audience C: you bin it, because you’re not interested in hi-tech stuff 3. You arrive at work and your first phone call is from one of your clients who wants you to organise a press launch for the next day. You have other deadlines to meet as well. How do you handle the situation? A: you promise the client that you’ll do it, and when you fail to do it, you try to sweet-talk your way out B: you prioritise your workload and make time for this request, because it will mean a lot of coverage* for the client C: you tell the client that you don’t approve of his unrealistic expectations 4. During your coffee break you watch the news and hear about the outbreak of an environmental crisis that might possibly affect one of your clients. What is your reaction? A: you ignore it, because you are convinced that it’s only sensational news that won’t affect your client in the slightest B: you dig up the crisis plan you prepared when you started working for your client and you contact him to discuss it and prepare him to talk to the media C: you get in a real panic and decide to discontinue your relationship with the client 5. During lunch you and your colleagues have a brainstorming session to come up with ideas for a new product launch. The client requested that you present your ideas. You find it difficult to prepare for the presentation, because you didn’t receive a comprehensive brief** from the client. What do you decide to do? A: you’re still having lunch at the local brasserie, so you decide to be your confident self and present off the cuff B: you compile a list of questions to ask the client prior to the presentation C: you don’t make an effort – if the client doesn’t like your ideas, it means that you don’t want to work for him anyway Page 6 The Insider’s Guide to PR: Chapter 2 6. During the presentation you get a little nervous. How do you cope? A: you start to waffle and make promises like anything is possible B: you stick to the market research you’ve done and focus on the facts only C: you blame your team mates for not doing enough preparation and leave it up to them to present 7. The presentation goes really well in the end, and the client asks you to come up with creative ideas to launch the product A: you tell the client that you can promote this product in all the mainstream media within the next week B: you analyse the product and come up with creative ideas that are easy to implement within a targeted audience C: you advise him to patent the idea and sort out the legalities before you can work on the project 8. Later in the day, one of your ideas for the new product gets criticised by your account manager***. What is your reaction? A: you ignore the criticism and go ahead with your idea anyway B: you see it as positive criticism C: you complain that you don’t get enough praise for what you do 9. It’s getting late, and your final task is to draft a press release for the new product launch. A: you quickly draft the release and send it to all the mainstream media without speaking to the journalists first B: you write the release with a targeted audience in mind and think of ways to sell in your story to that media C: you decide to leave it till the next day 10. The working day at the office is finally over and you decide to take one of your clients out to dinner to discuss a new proposal. At the restaurant, you find the service completely unsatisfactory. How do you handle the situation? A: you make a scene in front of everyone in the restaurant to show your client that you have a lot of confidence and you’re not afraid to stand up for your rights B: you take the waiter aside and explain what went wrong, and follow up with a letter to the manager C: you don’t say anything, and leave without paying the service charge. *Coverage - see chapter 7. **Brief - see chapter 7. ***Account Manager - see chapter 4. Page 7 ... - tailieumienphi.vn