Talking Heads: The messenger must be heard
It used to be said “PR is largely about perception”. And while that may still apply, the reality of the past 18 months is that communications and PR (externally and internally) is not only more important than ever, it is going to define how a business is perceived - and it will impact the bottom line. Ardent’s Brian Gribben and Myddleton Communications’ Paul Jaffa discuss.
PR has always been an essential component of the marketing mix and, some would say, more important than ever given the world in which we now operate. How do you view the changing nature of the discipline as we move on from recent events?
BG: The importance of having a well-defined communications and PR strategy with perfect execution has risen-up the list of priorities. It was not just a matter of suddenly moving everything from a physical to a virtual world, but the impact of every decision taken had an unusually disproportionate effect on brand and reputation. Suddenly firms had to demonstrate their ability to operate seamlessly in remote environments, continue to work with their clients, protect their data and look after the health and safety of their employees. PR and communication became paramount. Looking ahead this role will be taken more seriously by firms as the adage of “it will never happen to us” simply does not apply anymore.
PJ: As direct face-to-face marketing initiatives were cut off by lockdown and working from home and then moved online, traditional PR (communicating clear messages to specific markets and shaping staff and workers’ opinion) has become more important. To reassure clients and markets they could immediately adapt to secure remote working and to update staff on all aspects of their jobs and roles, professional service firms increased their exposure to “old school” internal and external communications.
With other marketing tactics not available over the past year, media relations and external comms have had to step-up and have, possibly, reclaimed their position. Is that a fair analysis?
BG: Finding new ways to engage with markets and clients beyond the traditional conferences, meetings and seminars has been a challenge, and one in which external communications team have had to step up. Working with new (and existing) technology has been key. Previously niche solutions such as podcasts, videos and webinars have now become mainstream, and suggesting to a law firm partner that they engage with their clients via Zoom would have been unthinkable 15 months ago. Communications teams have had to employ some lateral thinking such as engaging with their IT colleagues and external platform vendors to ensure the smooth running of virtual services. This has changed the dynamic of their role.
PJ: Strong repeat messaging has helped marketers in all environments make the webinars, podcast, and Zoom call the main communications tools internally and then slowly with clients to ensure business kept moving and indeed grew during lockdown. PR and comms teams developed new messages to keep clients engaged on the implications of Covid-19 and lockdown on their businesses and the wider economy as governments focused on crisis management and the legislative process slowed to a halt.
With large percentages of staff physically away from the office, internal communications (always a challenge to get right) has assumed even greater importance. What lessons do you feel have been learned going forward?
BG: We realised the importance of centralisation and co-ordination when it comes to internal communications. Previously we had disparate groups wanting to communicate firm-wide on everything from practice group initiatives to training courses. This led to the inevitable email overload and open rates were never more than around 45% on average. At the start of the pandemic, we realized that communication had to be streamlined and open rates had to be as close to 100% as possible; only the important announcements were made - and all communication had to come through a central team.
PJ: Internal comms became a lifeline for many working from home as the only method replacing meeting chat, office gossip, water cooler meetings and more informal information exchanges. Workers, cut off from their normal sources wanted to hear how their firm leadership was dealing with the crisis and the impact on the business. Frequent negative rumours or media speculation about the impact of Covid-19 - and what business leaders were planning - needed to be set in context for each form and workflow. And new technology protocols needed to be worked through and embedded
“Major financial institutions and large law firms are not in the end going to have the workforce dictate the future of the business despite how publicly “user friendly” they wish to appear. This will present another major challenge for PRs and marketers.”
How do you think PR and wider communications (will all audiences) might change as restrictions are lifted?
BG: Firms must listen to clients and cater for the potential of a hybrid model that blends physical and virtual interaction. We cannot expect life to return to normal, and new communication preferences have emerged for which we now need to cater. It’s also important that we don’t forget how communications have improved efficiency and reduced expense and hospitality budgets during the pandemic. These gains will be hard to relinquish.
PJ: It will take time for marketing budgets to return and, when they do, they may be divided up differently. There’s no doubt there will be a return to face-to-face marketing be it lunch with a prospect or a seminar, but much will still be managed online as more time effective. Conferences and launch receptions will return but will take time as people remain anxious in crowds and so planners will need to be sensitive to formats and reassuring delegates. Again, for PR’s, internal comms is key to reassuring those slowly returning to work and messaging will have to be planned carefully with firm leadership.
And what about the role of social media in that (awful phrase) “the new normal”?
BG: Social media has been the mainstay of communication strategies during the pandemic with companies reaching a global audience (and to some extent a captive audience) more successfully than was previously thought possible. Technological barriers have been torn down and communication teams are deploying multi-media campaigns effectively. The danger, of course, is that companies fail to adapt their social media thinking as social restrictions lift. The attention of their clients may have moved to other platforms (from virtual to physical), so companies need to forecast when this change might happen.
PJ: It’s all about ROI - PR professionals are great at coming up with creative ideas for pitches and campaigns that get clients’ messages “out there”. But firms are demanding more. Their budgets are being squeezed and they need greater reporting in the form of tangible returns on their investment. This isn’t anything new, of course, but it will invariably accelerate the need for PRs to assume much of the functions more commonly associated with digital agencies (amplification and SEO, for example) in the same way that these agencies have increasingly been introducing a PR element to their service offering.
CSR will assume ever-greater importance as will the way business is judged by both new and existing clients. The need to tell clients what their advisers are doing and planning for a post-COVID environment is non-negotiable isn’t it?
BG: There is no doubt that we are living in a world of unprecedented change and clients are choosing to work with advisers who take CSR seriously. This is no longer a check-box exercise; in a competitive environment, clients are making a conscious choice to collaborate with like-minded firms who have implemented positive change programmes. Clients can see beyond marketing rhetoric and the firms that take CSR seriously, (as they all should) will gain competitive advantage as well as reaping the obvious wider benefits of a well implemented CSR programme.
PJ: Another likely output from the current crisis will be the rise in the number of PR professionals giving away their secrets. Clients aren’t looking to be sold-to, they need guidance, support, and answers to the challenges they face. So, those agencies that give their insights and expertise away - in the form of blogs, white papers, video content and more - will be the ones that win many more new fans rather than those that keep their cards closely guarded.
“Personally, I’m really pleased that the stigma of working at home (“how do we know they are working?”) has been lifted and the use of technology has proven the case for working efficiently and safely at home.”
We talk about the move to hybrid working elsewhere in the issue. Does that fill you with joy…or dread?
BG: Back in the 1990’s I worked at BT where, for over 16 years, I never had an office location. Back then, it was called “agile working” but it was almost exclusively the construct of technology firms who understood that employees could still work effectively when not in the office. Personally, I’m really pleased that the stigma of working at home (“how do we know they are working?”) has been lifted and the use of technology has proven the case for working efficiently and safely at home.
PJ: At Myddleton, we now all work from home and the transition has been successful and we achieve more for our clients. However, we meet face-to-face as a team once a week at our old offices and this has been a great success. I do think the return to work for large companies or indeed law firms is not going to be a simple as many of the numerous press articles on the subject from sudden experts would have you believe. Major financial institutions and large law firms are not in the end going to have the workforce dictate the future of the business despite how publicly “user friendly” they wish to appear. This will present another major challenge for PRs and marketers advising leadership on internal and external messaging and keeping clients reassured that their work will be handled as they require.
And, finally, what gives you cause to be positive as move on from events such as COVID and Brexit and into the future?
BG: Personally, I have been impressed by the adaptability and resiliency of everyone I work with and the way in which people have genuinely cared about the health and wellbeing of each other, so I have to be optimistic about how we can all come through this together. Looking purely at the markets, many of my clients still have ambitious growth plans in 2021/22 (and unspent budgets to invest) and, after you’ve just finished a meeting with your client whilst their cat has been sat on their desk, our relationships are closer than ever!
PJ: Global economies have been shaken like never before. Even in wartime, the usual comparator, governments have not taken such drastic powers to control the movement of people and effectively close-down international travel. PRs in professional firms are going to have to consider over the next couple of years how to communicate with new client groups as technology, healthcare, retail and many other winners and losers in the pandemic need access to professional advice to manage the changing fortunes of their businesses. Overall and without too much cynicism, professional services firms have done well in the last 18 months as they’ve responded to their clients needs with speed and reassurance.