It’s time for PR to take centre stage, says Lee Nugent, MD of PR agency Nelson Bostock

For too long now too many of us have accepted that it’s okay for PR to sit on the marketing sidelines. We’ve given the impression that we’re happy to doff our cap to our more mature siblings in brand communications, advertising and media, while still providing top-notch consultancy (often when the chips are down and there’s nowhere else for our clients to turn). And we offer this from a unique viewpoint, one where we stand 60,000 feet above the day-to-day issues our clients face. When we’re at our best, or even somewhere near our best, we offer incredible value to clients. Granted, the value perhaps isn’t always recognised. But is that their fault, or ours?

Whether we like it or not, to some we’re still seen as the wallflowers of marketing, staring enviously from our table in the bar at the cool kid in the arty glasses using his black pencil to jot down phone numbers of all the attractive people. Okay, so for years he’s had access to big budgets – and he’s got the ear of the marketing director. But you, and he, know things are changing. You own the relationship with the CEO these days and the cool kid’s budgets are declining. Now, he’s coming after yours. What’s more, his old-school ad agency is already recruiting your colleagues to help him …

So don’t you think it’s time to move from the sidelines? The blurring of lines between disparate marketing services practices has never been more obvious. We all know that the social significance of digital communications, the penetration of mobile internet and broadband, and an ever-more savvy audience have combined to begin the long battle to wrest the control of brand comms away from brands themselves.

This shift has left our industry at a crossroads. Can PR consultants and in-house practitioners seize the opportunity with both hands, bring their long-held skills in multi-way communication to the fore and edge towards that seat at the boardroom table? Or will we blow it by being too slow to adapt, miss our opportunity and let the traditional marketing strategists (and big budget holders) into our territory?

This debate is at the heart of marketing services, not just PR, and it’s crucial that the whole industry makes the most of existing experience, and talent, by understanding that the power lies in collaboration. The debate shouldn’t be about either/or, it should be about “and”. And it’s our responsibility to drive integration forward. We’re the ones with the 60,000 foot viewpoint remember. We can see the power of integration, so let’s sell it.

We know most clients don’t care where a great idea comes from, as long as it’s great (and workable) – but what we do sometimes need to explain is that these great ideas need to be refined and executed by experts in each of the relevant communications channels. And that means collaboration between different agency cultures, egos, approaches and business models. Some clients are already grasping this way of working and encouraging their agencies to adapt. And those that aren’t, will.

PR – if it wants to assert its natural role at the heart of the conversation between brands and buyers, corporates and stakeholders, businesses and customers – will need to take more risks. PR needs to get better at justifying and presenting ROI, as well as learn that you can improve by making (controlled) mistakes. We need to be more assertive and less like wallflowers.

PR has never been more important to brands and businesses, but the industry itself is at a watershed moment. Those agencies that can walk the walk, and talk the talk (and there aren’t too many) will be the ones that reap the rewards. It remains to be seen if the industry has the wherewithal and the confidence to seize the opportunity. It’s time for us to grow up and be demonstrably more confident about the value we offer.