By: Will Herman, Manufacturing Team Lead
There are three questions an interviewer must ask themselves of any candidate – can they do the job; will they do the job; and will they fit in? And where once it might well have been the third question that proved most challenging to satisfy, a notably different picture has emerged in recent years.
In the five years to 2022, the skills shortage in the UK doubled to more than half a million. Today, it accounts for more than a third of job vacancies, according to a press release issued by the Government in July. While the skills shortage is most frequently associated with industries such as engineering, construction or the health sector, for those recruiting in the creative industry, 2024 has also proved challenging.
Despite this, the PR industry is growing. According to Statista, the global data and business intelligence platform, at the end of 2022, there were more than 5,900 public relations and communications companies in the UK – it represented a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 2%. And underpinning this growth, Statista’s 2024 survey of 3,000 marketers confirmed that a lack of skills in-house was the principal reason for outsourcing PR activity, cited by approximately 50% of respondents.
But outsourcing remains challenging, and the reality is that while it can be an extremely effective way of managing a company’s PR programme, there is still a significant disconnect between many marketers and their agencies. In fact, a report by the Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) highlighted that while 78% of marketers believed their briefs provided clear strategic direction, a mere 5% of agencies agreed.
A few months after this research was published in 2021, in one of many PR agency blogs on the topic, it was noted that: ‘Creatives were not magicians – garbage in, garbage out …’ Many will no doubt agree with the sentiment, though many more will doubtless have pulled a few rabbits from hats on behalf of their clients over the years.
What is certain is that there is a better way – by outsourcing PR and content marketing services, marketers can effectively secure consultancy from a team with broader expertise than would otherwise be available. And with such a wide range of specialist skills on tap, amplifying a brand’s message and influencing the people that matter suddenly becomes a great deal easier. But to get the best from any external resource, a good brief remains essential, and a clear strategy is critical. Without these two things, both parties are likely to get a little lost and what results are achieved, will be a fraction of what might have been.
Every business outsourcing their PR therefore, should take the time to get the brief right and make sure any proposal that is shortlisted, outlines a clear process to define the campaign strategy. There are still too many agencies that seek to impress with their creativity before fully considering whether the tactics will effectively achieve their client’s objectives.
But with a clear strategy agreed, a more detailed campaign plan can be developed and implemented in partnership. The passion and creative input of any good agency partner will now complement in-house expertise and, in all likelihood, stimulate new ideas, as well as doing much of the heavy lifting. Meanwhile any concern from in-house teams about an agency partner’s focus on multiple clients, is far outweighed by the wider experience, industry contacts, and sector knowledge PR professionals bring to the table. Put simply, a good agency will work seamlessly as an extension of the in-house team, regardless of size. Which of course is why that third question when it comes to the pitch, which is not so different to a job interview, is so important: Will they fit in?