Page 30 - AdNews April 2020

Feature
organisations and governments navigate heightened scrutiny and transparency, and are experiencing an increase in expectations around their role in the world.”
All disciplines work best when they are aligned and collaborative, says Moore. opr (Ogilvy PR) works closely with Ogilvy on a number of clients, including KFC where cam- paigns such as KFC Weddings and Michelin Impossible were developed by both teams working together.
“Both of these are great exam- ples of effective earned-led think- ing that works across multiple channels,” says Moore.
“I would say the toughest job cre- atively is to get an idea that is truly able to earn its place in popular cul- ture. That is often a very different brief to an effective ad which can often have a job to deliver awareness, so advertising agencies increasingly have, and need, PR people to work with their teams with that storytell- ing, earned-first approach.”
However, all marketing budgets are being squeezed with a frag- mented media landscape and new platforms emerging
Moore’s experience is that these budgets have always been under pressure.
“Advertising, because of the media buy, tends to have a bigger share of the marketing budget, so might see more scrutiny,” she says.
“One of the challenges PR has traditionally suffered from is poor measurement, meaning CMOs and CEOs struggle to see its overall effectiveness, but this is changing.
“This rise of PR agencies win- ning Cannes Lions last year demon- strates this, and as companies like us continue to invest in measure- ment systems, it means this will be less of a challenge in the future.”
Skye Lambley, group managing director, Herd MSL, says clients are looking for external experts to support marketing function and to provide a different perspective on the barriers and opportunities for their brands.
“Advertising and PR are a pow- erful combination that can tell the same story in different channels, in different ways,” she says.
“Consumers are overloaded with content, so the more oppor- tunities there are for consumers to
“It’s harder and harder, and more exciting than ever before ... ” Richard Brett, CEO, opr agency.
see a message or hear a story, the more memorable it becomes — if the story is right for the audience.”
Herd MSL, part of Publicis Groupe, has teams for diverse areas in the marketing mix, such as commerce, performance, data science, content, production and influence.
“We are seeing more opportunities for us to partner with ad agencies to amplify campaigns and drive results,” she says.
An example is Tourism and Event Queensland’s campaign scUber, co-developed by Herd MSL and Publicis Worldwide out of Queensland.
“To ensure that campaign was successful in reaching a global audience, we worked hand in hand with their creative teams to bake the earned component right into the idea,” she says. “At the end of the day, the right solution comes from understanding the challenge and the opportunity.”
Unique
A renewed focus on content can be seen in the changing roles within the PR sector. Common job titles include head of digital, digital strategist, insights and analytics specialists, and content specialists. These people work on creating unique content.
“It’s the work that is emotionally impactful, culturally impactful, that really matters to clients, and that’s what we tend to deliver,” says Roberto Pace, managing director, Eleven & FleishmanHillard at TBWA.
“We always say to partners, respectfully, please don’t come to us with the PR brief, come to us with a business problem and let us look at how we can solve that with you and your partners through the lens of culture, because culture is very powerful in terms of how it can resonate with your audiences.
“We have specific ways, and processes, and systems, and thinking, and people who can work within the realm of culture to make it beyond the expected.”
Question: Why does an ad agency need a PR business?
“The bigger question is: why do we need each other?” says Pace.
Public Relations (PR) Agencies - Australian Market
HOLDING COMPANIES / PR AGENCIES INDEPENDANT PR NETWORK AGENCIES
PRODUCED BY
INDUSTRY ORGANISATIONS