Michelle Boag Blog

CONSULTANCY MOVES CONFIRM HIGH LEVEL OF ACTIVITY

2010-03-10T02:47:45Z

Confirming our earlier comment about the level of activity in the PR consultancy market, Australian public affairs consultancy Kreab and Gavin Anderson have appointed John Redwood (ex Creo and BBG) to head up their New Zealand office to open shortly after Easter. With a strong heritage in investor relations and financial PR, the new consultancy is likely to compete strongly in this market in New Zealand which some observers in the corporate world believe is seriously under-serviced at the moment.

Meanwhile the pr shop has announced that they are opening in Sydney next week to service their Trans Tasman clients. Directors Pippa Lekner and Sally Frewen opened the pr shop in 2005, specialising in consumer PR with clients in the food, beverage, retailing and not for profit sectors.

Their new Sydney consultants are Jane Stabler and Dana Edwards.

SPICE GIRLS SPLIT - AMICABLY

No, we're not talking Ginger, Posh, Baby, Scary and Sporty - we're talking Sarah Alexander Wilcox and her long time business partner Jackie Ellis (formerly Fairbairn) who have agreed to an amicable divorce. However there's a happy ending to the split - Spice Communications continues to exist in their new offices in the Textile Centre in Parnell under Jackie's leadership, and Sarah gets to go off to the Hawkes Bay where she has set up her new business PR ink , obviously drawn by the charms of her non-business partner, Labour List MP Stuart Nash.

Jackie Ellis confirms that in line with market trends, Spice has had an influx of new business calls already this year with projects that were put on hold by clients now being reignited. The revived interest in PR is apparently coming from brands and businesses in all sectors, corporate and consumer clients, still conscious of budgets and spending, but realising that now is the time to start building on their profiles and awareness using PR.

PR ACTIVITY STARTS STRONGLY IN 2010

2010-03-04T19:32:08Z

Judging by the number of PR jobs on the market in the early part of 2010, PR consultancies have started the year strongly. This demand is starting to reflect in the corporate sector where large organizations are recruiting again after many of them cut staff last year. It’s a good sign for the industry and the economy generally, exacerbated by the fact that many people in the highly mobile public relations and communications sector had a close eye on job security in 2009, choosing to stay put rather than look for new jobs. 2010 however shows a completely different picture. Some consultancies have had up to 50% of their staff looking at new job prospects, and it looks like a while before it is likely to settle down.

BIG MOVES AT WESTPAC

Westpac have reinstated the position of Director of Corporate Affairs and have appointed highly respected and well liked practitioner Sue Foley to the position. Sue was most recently Director of External Relations at Massey University but her previous career includes General Manager of Corporate Affairs at Kiwirail, Chief of Staff for TV3 and Press Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition. Sue starts on 22 March.

RECESSION GOOD FOR GLOBAL PR MARKET

The January issue of the The Economist reported that the Recession had created new opportunities for the Public Relations sector amongst the corporate sector, meaning not only new business but also enhanced influence around the Board table. The benefits were not universally spread however, with a global survey of the communications industry by StevensGouldPincus finding that 64% of participating companies saw revenues slide in 2009 while 23% experienced increased revenue.

However there’s a sting in the tail – PR’s growing importance is attracting the attention of regulators who are worried that some PR firms so not make it clear enough that they are behind much seemingly independent commentary on blogs and social networks. New Zealand companies active in this area include Vodafone and Air New Zealand, where staff and supportive consumers are quick to refute on-line criticism.

Nevertheless projections are that PR spending in America will surpass $8 billion by 2013. Public relations is clearly still a growing industry worldwide!.

AFTER ALL THE ANGST, HOW WAS 2009 REALLY?

2009-12-11T03:09:22Z

In Consultancy world, many companies are reporting a strong finish to the year. Lack of activity around the middle of 2009 meant there were a few reductions in size but the consumer world of consultancy PR seemed to hold up rather well and the corporate consultancies are finishing the year well. There were winners and losers of course - and some were in both camps, such as Porter Novelli, who picked up Southern Cross and all of Microsofts work (previously held by both Porter Novelli and Consultus) but failed to keep Westpac who are now using Star PR for some work going forward. Haystac added to their staff of one, having launched mid-year, and Eleven PR continues to show a strong performance with a net two staff added this year. BBG lost Southern Cross but picked up a major project for Eden Park. In a move reflecting the trend towards experiential PR, Mango appointed experienced Group AD Steve Kane to the new position of Creative director - experiential in what is probably a first for the world of PR consultancy.

So - all in all - a tough year, everyone has worked incredibly hard but most are happy with the way the year is finishing and are pleased it is coming to an end! It looks like the world of Corporate PR is loosening up a little as well as some companies realise that they have under-resourced the communications function and have had to resort to contract staff or supplementing existing resources after some pretty robust restructuring.

So how are things shaping up for 2010? Not bad if current demand is any indication, with many consultancies looking for experienced staff at a senior level, partly the result of people who avoided moving earlier in the year because of job uncertainty now being willing to put their toe in the job market to see what's out there now that confidence seems to be on the up.

A Merry Christmas to all you blog followers in PR land and for those who want to start 2010 with a sniff around the job market, don't forget to email me - michelleboag@momentum.co.nz or call on 021-940884. Have a great break - you certainly all deserve it!

TECHNOLOGY WIN FOR PEAD?

2009-09-09T00:31:47Z

Word on the street is that Pead PR has won the NOKIA pitch, although no-one is confirming or denying at this stage. Incumbent PPR, Draft FCB and Impact PR were in the pitch. Watch this space for confirmation.

GAIN FOR PPR

2009-09-04T05:08:17Z

Steve Fisher, former Managing Director of Baldwin Boyle Group has popped up at PPR (Professional Public Relations) a few months after his departure from BBG. An interesting senior acquisition for PPR, which surely must have a business development strategy behind it given Fisher's previous responsibilities. It will be interesting to see how PPR fares in the Microsoft pitch (see next item).

MICROSOFT PITCH UPDATE

2009-09-04T05:03:12Z

Expect a result next week from the Microsoft pitch which involved incumbent Consultus on the product side and Porter Novelli on the corporate business, plus PPR (Professional Public Relations) who were also invited to pitch. Likely outcome is one consultancy to handle both product and corporate - we'll let you know as soon as a decision is made. The X-Box business handled by Pead PR is unaffected.

THE WORLD IS GOING CRAZY!!!

2009-08-20T16:20:20Z

Don't know if it is something in the water but the PR recruitment world has gone crazy this week - 5 briefs from 4 consultancies and 4 new corporate briefs for communications people that have come into the Momentum offices in just a few days indicates a level of activity that is either a one-off blip or a good sign for the industry. Regardless of what it is, we at Momentum are now looking for very senior industry advocates in both Auckland and Wellington, account directors in both Auckland and Wellington, financial PR specialists, account managers in Auckland, a Communications and Event Executive in Auckland, internal communications specialists, comunications contractors and a part time senior practitioner in the energy sector in Wellington. Keep those CVs rolling in!

MEG LUFF IS THE WINNER!!

2009-08-20T16:14:50Z

Congratulations to Meg Luff of Meg Events (www.megevents.co.nz) who came up with the right answer for the question as to who is doing PR for Kids Can - turns out to be an in house person called Jan Clark. Meg herself helped out extensively with the sponsorship and event management behind the scenes on a pro bono basis so well done Meg and look forward to seeing you at the Rialto premiere!

FREE TICKETS TO "IN THE LOOP"

2009-08-17T04:07:59Z

Latest political/media satirical comedy is the already internationally acclaimed IN THE LOOP,a smart new comedy and Sundance Film Festival hit from theteam behind the award-winning BBC TV comedy series THICK OF IT. In the tradition of WAG THE DOG, THANK YOU FOR SMOKING and MONTY PYTHON. with razor-sharp, truly laugh-out-loud dialogue the film pokes fun at the absurdity and ineptitude of our highest leaders. Thanks to the good people at trigger marketing & publicity we have 6 tickets to give away to the preview screening at Rialto Newmarket at 6.15 pm on Monday 24 August. Email michelleboag@momentum.co.nz and if you can tell me who is doing PR for Kids Can you'll get put to the top of the list. I haven't seen anyone fronting up on behalf of the operators of the charity although I do know who was involved in the launch of the Telethon and they are not involved now! All around town PR companies are advising their chosen charity clients on proactive disclosure strategies so there is plenty of activity in the not for profit sector this week after revelations about how much of the Kidscan money actually gets to the programme end of the operation and how much is spent on administration and marketing staff on the way there.

Speaking of political and media satires, I enjoyed Tom Scott's Separation City, also at Rialto Newmarket last week. The experience was enhanced by the presence of the delightful and charming lead actress Danielle Cormack who gracefully answered questions at the end while the audience enjoyed a glass of wine. Sigh - so civilised! Best part about the movie for old politicos like me was identifying the "true bits" of the film which weren't down to Tom Scott's imagination at all but were genuine recollections of some of the more interesting parts of realpolitiks in the 70's and 80's. A must for past press secretaries and political advisors who will recognise many of the cameos and good entertainment for everyone else who doesn't.

CAANZ MOVES INTO PR

2009-07-30T09:49:07Z

The Communications Agencies Association of New Zealand has finally announced its worst kept secret - that it is setting up a "Marketing Communications" sub-committee involving the heads of most of the integrated PR consultancies around town, plus some "experiential" agencies. Chaired by Mango MD, longstanding industry practitioner and well respected head Claudia Macdonald, the group is charged with "highlighting and developing the value of PR and experiential" marketing. Deputy Chair is Kelly Bennett of ELEVEN\PR, part of TBWA Whybin with other integrated agency PR operations Ogilvy PR, Draft FCB, Spark Activate and Fuse. Independent agencies include AmbientX, Copper Brand Experience and Lassoo Media.

There is no doubt some in the public relations industry will see this move by CAANZ as an attempt to muscle in on the industry representation that has traditionally been the role of PRINZ (the Public Relations Institute of NZ). However, CAANZ points to the introduction of a PR category at Cannes for 2009 as evidence of the recognition of the value of PR in the marketing mix. No-one in the public relations industry can complain about that recognition, as many have advocated for some time the need for advertising agencies to move beyond using Public Relations as the "add on" and to integrate the PR function at the beginning rather than as an after thought to an advertising campaign. Interest in the future will focus on the role of the two organisations as industry advocates - will they compete or will they co-habit happily? Watch this space!