The PRCA COVID-19 Taskforce panel discussed strategies for PR agencies to survive and thrive during the pandemic. They explained that the operating environment varies significantly by sector, with some like hospitality and travel hit hard while technology and pharma are more robust. Agencies need to focus on cash flow, people, fee forecasts, government support, and adapting services. While the future is uncertain, agencies that analyze situations well and demonstrate clear value to clients' businesses can still succeed. The panelists shared lessons from their experiences, including the importance of purpose, empathy, collaboration, and adapting offerings to focus on clients' current needs for driving revenue and keeping customers.
2. Today’s panelists
Richard Houghton – Agency Doctor , co-author Grow, Build Sell Live, UK
Crispin Manners – CEO, Onva Consulting, co-author grow, Build Sell Live, UK
Jurgen Gangoly - Regional President, Europe at International Communications
Consultancy Organisation – ICCO, CEO The Skills Group, Austria
Elise Mitchel, Three-time CEO | Leadership Strategist | C-Suite Consultant and
Coach | Keynote Speaker
Unable to join due to storms in Nashville which have cut off her power
Planning a separate session on leadership with Elise
3. What we will be covering today
Where we are and where we might be – Richard
Growing Fees during lock down and in a world with Covid-19 – Crispin
Real Life Lessons from an Agency Head – Juergen
Questions and Answers
4. Before we start
We believe that you CAN do more than survive
Those that:
Analyse
Make swift evidence based decisions
Execute robustly
Learn and refine
Clearly demonstrate the value they deliver to the client’s BUSINESS
Can do well despite the unprecedented operating environment
6. Operating environment
We are in the same storm but different boats:
Not all agencies impacted equally
Certain sectors hit hard:
Hospitality
Restaurants
Travel/holidays
Physical retail
Excluding food
Others more robust:
Technology
Pharma
Demand for service switched:
Up:
Crisis communications
Internal communications
Customer relations
Down:
Influencers
Events (!)
Media relations
7. Operating environment
NO Government has a full plan:
All planning as they go and responding to events as best they can
Those that had prepared in better place to act effectively
Most economies and jobs being ‘propped up’ by Government funds:
Big decision will be when and how to withdraw these funds
Business confidence is dropping:
Little or no visibility of future revenues and operational constraints
9. Short term actions
Cash really is king
Detailed monthly/week by week cash flow
Opening and closing bank balance
People, people, people
Lead
Motivate
Clarity and consistency
Review who is critical and who may not be post
lock down
Reforecast people costs accordingly in conjunction
with new fee forecast
Fee forecast:
Build a model for assessing the likelihood of clients
continuing to pay and at what level
Government support:
If you haven’t already become an expert become
one
Landlords:
Offices 2nd biggest fixed cost
If you’ve haven’t already get in touch and discuss
options
Good or bad best to know the reality
Look after yourself, times are tough:
Read v TV
Exercise that works for you
Moderate booze
Talk to your peers – work your trade association
Get outside if you can
11. A view on the new normal
Not impossible but it will be harder
Global shrinkage of economies:
PR tends to follow economic cycles
Nervous clients:
Growth in projects v retainers
Reduced number of pitches
Focus on demonstration of outcomes from PR activity:
Evaluation will need to be robust and outcome focused not just output
Client will be expecting and need business benefits for every $ of budget spent
AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework (free) - https://amecorg.com/amecframework/
Increased competitors:
New start-ups as a result of redundancies by agencies
12. A view on the new normal
Increased discounting:
Commercially illiterate agencies reducing prices to win pitches
Will need to demonstrate value to justify sensible fee levels
Growing demand for creative campaigns that make the budget work
harder
In-house teams
Smaller
Or bigger with growth in-sourcing
Depends on client culture and perceived importance of
Communications
Impact on earn-outs for agency sales
13. Growing fees post
lockdown and in a world
alongside Covid19
CRISPIN MANNERS
MAY 5, 2020
FOR FURTHER ADVICE CONTACT
CRISPIN.MANNERS@ONVA.CO.UK
#EMERGESTRONGER
15. The time to adapt is now
We need clients to see
that stopping doing things
will mean they emerge
weaker from the crisis
They need to make a turn
– adapt in a way that
makes them more relevant
to their audiences in
today’s world And with
stronger bonds for after
the crisis
16. Time to be ‘Progressive’
HBR article identifies 4
responses to a recession/crisis
Cutting your way out of trouble
doesn’t work
Promoting your way out of
trouble doesn’t work
Most successful is the
‘Progressive’ approach –
companies that become more
relevant and invest in smarter
ways to satisfy customers
18. The importance of Purpose/WHY
Now is the time to
refresh your Purpose
It explains WHY a client
should buy from your
agency
It shows your are
aligned with their
Purpose
It cuts through
competitor noise by
differentiating you
from the competition
It gives your people
reasons to join and to
stay
We want to change the world by
changing the way we eat
Our Purpose is to help to reduce the
obesity burden on the NHS by
helping food companies to inspire
consumers to adopt healthier
lifestyles
19. Understanding how buyer roles and
emotions impact the way you sell now
The ECONOMIC buyer – cares
about what you will do for the
business
With every cost scrutinised
NOTHING is going to happen
unless you help solve a current
business pain
USER buyers – care about what
you will do for their job
Unless you make their life easy
or make them look good – help
protect their job – they won’t
endorse your proposal
20. Demonstrating business value
When was the last time you heard a CEO say – what my business needs
right now more than anything is some great press coverage
Right now they’ll be saying things like
We need to kick-start our revenue
We need to keep our customers loyal
We need to keep our people motivated
We need to show we’re ready to meet post lock down demand
25. Then keep the connection alive
Deliver a proposal to work up the best
campaign
Make it easy to buy – no retainers just
a campaign to deliver the value they
need
Then seed in what needs to be done
to succeed in life ALONGSIDE Covid
26. Winners and losers in a world with
Covid19
Losers
Sell on WHAT
Slow to adapt
Sell on activity and time
Reactive sales process
Discount to try and win – race to the
bottom
Winners
Keep their best team together
Sell the WHY and HOW of the agency
Fast to adapt services AND campaigns
Sell on business value
Beacon of positivity
Proactive sales
Have a strategy for the 3 phases of Covid19
With lockdown
Alongside the virus
After the virus
27. Current landscape
1. The world has been changed forever
2. Businesses will not be able to operate as before for a long time – 12-18 months
3. By the time they can, a new reality will have emerged
4. Clients and prospects are choosing which of the 4 behaviours from HBR Roaring out of recession,
to adopt.
a. Many are choosing ‘Defensive’ and trying to cut their way out of trouble
5. Many client personnel have lost belief and think nothing is possible right now - so put a block on
ideas
6. Every cost is being scrutinised at the most senior level within clients
7. Unless activity EXPLICITLY delivers value to a client now, they won’t buy it
8. Services will need to be online and virtual for the foreseeable future BUT they can still be direct
9. Protracted period without vaccine changes what clients expect – moving almost everything online
– agencies could lose out to digital/online native agencies
10. More competition – who compete on price – new sole traders made redundant from agencies –
agencies struggling who cut price to win
11. The economy has declined – so more competition chasing a smaller pie
28. Jürgen H. Gangoly
25 years as Consultant in the communications industry
CEO & Partner, The Skills Group, Vienna, Austria (www.skills.at)
ICCO Regional President, Europe (www.iccopr.com)
Agency Management, Quality, Corporate Comms, Public Affairs, Crisis
Communications, CSR & Sustainability
Emergency proven: former Voluntary Firemen & Fire Dpt. Chief
Scuba Diver, Underwater photographer, Shark friend ;-)
30. How I responded to lock-down?
(Luckily) Early preparations for home-office
Enlarge internet bandwidth and server infrastructure
Additional security measures, Employee trainings and guidelines
Increase emotional client contact (more personal calls, less e-mails)
Offer technical support – for clients and employees (incl. their families)
Join forces with suppliers
Present new services (Zoom & Skype Interview trainings, home office camera equipment, consulting
and set-up etc.)
Additional resources and time for internal communications and employee facilitation (and animation)
Give perspective, be generous, provide a safety net
31. What I have learnt so far…
Clients
The bigger the companies, the less they
care (financially) for their suppliers
Industry Clusters in Agencies – and too big
single clients can knock-out entire
departments in a crisis situation
Diversity rules also when it comes to
Client structures
External cost-cutting will stay for
a longer time
Long-term planning in PR is gone – as
long-term budgets are
„The character
proves itself
in the crisis.“
32. What I have learnt so far…
People – three third rule of employees and home office
1st third: Works like a clock and as in normal agency life
2nd third: Shows special engagement and talents not even visible before
3rd third: Has severe problems with new working environment (technically,
organizational, mental)
Agency managers become „animators“ and „facilitators“
Take special care for the silent ones
Entertainment and Fun
Learning opportunities
33. What I have learnt so far…
Services
Communications Consultancies need to become – or team up with – technical
service providers (Cams, ISPs etc.)
Distant training and consulting services launched work and pay very well
Provide more information and offer direct „personal“ contact and support for
„private“ issues of client in home office (connectivity, schooling, supply etc.) – they
love you for that.
35. How I am collaborating with peers?
Daily team (video) calls
Weekly management video calls
Weekly all-agency jour fixes with room for personal issues (home situation etc.)
Bi-weekly calls of CEOs / PR agency managers (CMS quality-cerfified) – very openly
talking all business issues, legal etc.
„Agency Experts“ as future consulting offer at the market – coming soon
Very important for the mood: 3-times a week „virtual pub“ meetings with friends and
befriended clients and business partners
36. How I am collaborating with peers…
Daily team (video) calls
Weekly management video calls
Weekly all-agency jour fixes with room for personal issues (home situation etc.)
Bi-weekly calls of CEOs / PR agency managers (CMS quality cerfified)
„Agency Experts“ as future consulting offer at the market
Very important for the mood: 3-times a week „virtual pub“ meetings with friends and
befriended clients
37. How I am preparing for a post lock-down
world?
38. How I am preparing for post lock-
down world.
Developing new working models for employees. Home office demands and
needs will not go away.
Positive: Growth limits and expensive agency office space will never be a
problem anymore
Push digitization and digital client integration into agency system (less vice
versa)
Plan and live with de-centralized PR and networking events
Always think about stakeholder‘s living and working conditions
New PR strategies, PR stunts and creativity needed
41. Freedom in a framework
Create a framework within which team
thrives
Feel they can take ownership
Have necessary resources
Aim is to drive:
Morale
Culture
Commercial success
42. Management v Leadership
Management Leadership
More logical More emotional
About today About tomorrow
More detailed More big picture
Control Empowerment
More cautious More bold
Avoiding risk Taking (controlled) risk
‘Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success;
leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against
the right wall.’
Stephen Covey
43. Leadership model to consider
Model the
Way
Inspire a
Shared
Vision
Challenge
the Process
Enable
others to Act
Encourage
the Heart
Kouzes & Posner: 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership
- The Leadership Challenge
45. A final thought
“…the industry that survives this will stronger,
smarter, leaner, more agile and more creative…”
Maja Pawinska-Sims, Associate Editor, EMEA at
Provoke Media (Holmes)
46. If you would like copies of the slides please
email:
richard@agencydoctor.biz
Start by thinking about the difference between management and leadership
Most of us will be adept at management but leadership demands a different mindset and skills
Next – Exercise 1
You can learn to be a good leader
Measurable, learnable, and teachable set of behaviours
This model started to be developed in 1982 and refined over the years
Developed by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner in the US
Five fundamental practices common to extraordinary leadership
Five key behaviours
www.leadershipchallenge.com/home.aspx