Turning PR Into a Commercial Growth Tool
For agencies, growth isn't simply about winning more clients. Increasingly, it's about finding the right clients – and building relationships that have the potential to deliver greater value over the long term.
In this episode of Inside the Growth Engine, Jessie McLaren Webb explores the evolving role of PR in agency growth and why communications needs to do more than simply generate visibility.
In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, one of the biggest challenges facing agencies is standing out. With so many businesses talking about the same trends and competing for attention, Jessie discusses the importance of finding a credible white space that an agency can genuinely own.
The conversation also explores the changing role of earned media and why it is becoming an increasingly important part of agencies' wider growth strategies.
For Jessie, effective agency PR combines fame and fortune. Fame ensures an agency is visible and understood by the market. Fortune takes that further, using commercially minded thought leadership and sector-specific media to put an agency's expertise directly in front of the brands it wants to work with.
Ultimately, the strongest PR doesn't just create interesting content. It demonstrates an understanding of the challenges brands are facing and gives prospective clients a reason to believe that an agency could be the right partner to solve them.
Key takeaways
- Growth is about finding the right partners, not simply more clients. Alignment between an agency and brand creates the foundations for stronger, longer-term relationships.
- Differentiation is becoming harder – and more important. Agencies need to identify a credible point of view and white space they can genuinely own.
- PR should contribute directly to commercial growth. Combining visibility with targeted, commercially minded thought leadership can help agencies reach the brands they actually want to work with.
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