Pictured L to R: David Wiles, Ross Neil
Through an approach of ‘Living Brands’ and 'Living Ideas' that touch all aspects of an audience’s life, we chat with Ross Neil, Deputy Executive Creative Director of VCCP, and David Wiles, Executive Director of Business & Client Development at Good Relations, about how the agency taps into earned media and culture to create impactful integrated campaigns.
How would you describe the functionality of the partnership between an agency and its PR counterpart?
RN: It’s funny how definitions change over time. Remember when briefs used to say, ‘it has to work in digital’? Now everything is just, well, digital. I think the same is organically happening to traditional and PR agencies. We both get briefs from clients; we both create ideas and we both execute those ideas. It’s the same language, just that we speak with a different accent. Long gone are the days of PR being the polish at the end. I also don’t think the creative journey is a linear one anymore. It's intertwined, less like a game of pass the parcel down a line and more like a dance, with some fancy footwork in perfect synchronization.
Back in the day, PR was about protecting a brand and its reputation largely through earned or free media: Press releases, statements, stories and crisis management. What has led to the PR function becoming more creatively oriented?
DW: Firstly, whilst it’s true that PR has always been intrinsically linked to brand reputation, I would argue that the discipline has always been creative. Historically, PR budgets have been lower than budgets for other marketing disciplines focused on paid media and these restrictions have forced the industry to be more creative with their resources. It has always been common in the PR industry to see creativity within account teams but thankfully most agencies now, like our own, have their own creative departments. This greater focus on creativity as a craft is likely to be due to the fact that all agencies have become more diverse in their offerings and PR agencies could see other disciplines ‘muscling in on their patch’.
PR used to be seen purely as media relations but with media becoming more disparate, it’s easier to see the impact that earned-first thinking can have on integrated campaigns. Indeed, most of the case studies you see at Cannes demonstrate a campaign’s success through its impact in earned media and culture. We focus on creating ‘Living Brands’ which means understanding the touchpoints in all elements of our audience’s lives, not just in earned media - this could include brand partnerships, Influencer relations, experiential and even clothing.
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How are you leveraging modern tech and/or social media in client work, and what value does it add to the creative process?
DW: We are much more data led than we ever have been before. Being part of a large multi-disciplined group like VCCP provides us with resources and tools that many other agencies don’t have. We have a data team of over 20 people which provide us with unique insights into the audience, brand and sector that would previously have eluded us. Our approach is to create ‘Living ideas’, ideas that permeate all aspects of an audience’s life and get shared and passed on. To do this, we need to know and understand all of their touchpoints in order to design ideas that can be shared easily and built into their lives.
Social media is a natural forum for ‘earned-first’ creativity. Despite the social giants’ best attempts to encourage paid promotion, the potential for an idea to ‘go viral’ when it strikes a chord with an audience means social and PR will likely always be bedfellows.
What kind of projects does your agency call on a PR counterpart (in-house or external) to get involved in? In what ways have brand communications evolved in light of having a more integrated partnership?
RN: A big idea will always be king. How that idea manifests itself will all depend on audience, reach and of course budget. Changing shape and size is all part of the process. Like an octopus squeezing through a tiny gap; you have to adapt, speak with that different ‘accent’ depending on the job at hand. Having PR specialists in the building is priceless because you can ask how else you’d get the idea out there that isn’t necessarily familiar to you. Vice versa, having their own creative capabilities means that it’s not always the traditional ad agency that calls on the help of the PR agency, it works both ways.