The Agency Advisory

A momentous week as the US goes to the polls. I don’t know too many Republicans but quite a few vocal Democrats and I’ve been following this election with more interest and trepidation than at any time in my life. And so in a break from the normal Agency Advisory introduction, I flag up this excellent piece of writing from Paul Holmes of PRovoke Media who explains why it is so important to support Kamala Harris and the Democrats in this election. For anyone in communications, Paul’s analysis and message should resonate deeply. Read it here:

?Elsewhere, the UK finally heard the facts about the Budget from Rachel Reeves, putting to an end the weeks of frankly damaging speculation. There is a huge amount of analysis out there – one that neatly wraps things up from a business perspective is this blog from Sarah Waddington CBE CDir ChartPR – What’s in the budget for scaleup businesses?

Despite both these huge political moments dominating our thinking, there’s still a lot to highlight from the past week on LinkedIn. There’s a new report on the pitch process from the PRCA that’s required reading; why new business generation is an underdeveloped skill; a dive into world class client service thinking; and the existential threat internal misalignment poses for agencies principles.

Pitch Forward – The PRCA report on pitching processes

Just as last week’s Agency Advisory was published, the PRCA came out with a detailed report that’s intended to highlight and address the many issues agencies have with pitching for new clients. The findings are both illuminating and concerning with a significant percentage of respondents citing experience of clients taking IP, a lack of budget transparency, problems with ghosting, and unrealistic pitch timelines. Combine that with the number of agencies being invited to pitch, lack of access to senior decision makers, the role of procurement, and you can see why pitching is such as stressful and time-consuming pastime. The upshot is that the PRCA is calling for a voluntary code of pitching conduct. Quite how that will be implemented remains to be seen but, in the meantime, the very fact this report captured the attention of the industry, should serve for further discussion and hopefully change.

Download the Pitch Forward Report here:

?Yes, new biz generation is an underdeveloped skill in agencies

?A helpful post by Charlotte Bradshaw who poses the question of whether new business generation is an underdeveloped skill. And my answer is in the title – yes, it is. Charlotte makes the excellent point that network agencies can enjoy quality inbound leads whereas smaller founder led agencies must hustle for leads, relying on reputation, word of mouth, the quality of the personal network, and in rare circumstances, an excellent biz development resource. The fact is that all too often new biz falls to the founder (s) with the net effect that skills are not passed on. And this undermines the resilience and ultimately longevity of some agencies.

Read Charlotte's thoughts here:

What is best in class client experience?

When we were discussing the desired brand personality for my old agency, we talked about providing a boutique hotel experience. We wanted to become the best agency clients have ever worked with. And this went much further than ‘just’ being smart people who provided great counsel and delivered impact. It was about the way clients talked about the experience of working with us to others when we weren’t in the room.

Matt Pensinger has captured this ambition so well in his post where he poses highly relevant questions every agency should be asking as they evaluate the experience they deliver. And this is especially so as we come toward year end. Matt talks about the full client journey and highlights all the touch points where the client experience shows up. It provides for a useful checklist.

Check out Matt’s post and advice here:

The threat of internal misalignment

It’s one of the horrible management phrases - “are we all on the same page?” – but it’s an essential question every agency leadership team should take seriously. According to Luk Smeyers , internal misalignment is the silent threat to boutique consultancies. As he points out, “if left unchecked it can jeopardise growth, morale and client outcomes.” And that’s why I have no hesitation in sharing his post and the attached carousel which contains his critical takeaways on why alignment isn’t optional. It’s essential.

Read Luk's post & view his carousel here:

October M&A and pitch landscape

?The month has flown by and so it’s time once again to highlight Andrew Bloch ’s useful round-up of the M&A and pitch landscape here in the UK on the PRmoment podcast with Ben Smith . Some big account moves by the look of it – Honda to Exposure Primark to 万博宣伟 , Formula E to Soapbox London , and ASOS to @The Earnies (who also won Typhoo).

Link to Andrew's roundup

This month in PR

Another great newsletter to subscribe to if you don’t already. Richard Bailey Hon FCIPR curates a thoughtful round up of news from the PR industry and publishes once a month under the PR Academy Ltd banner.

Find This Month in PR here:

PR Moment – The Agency Growth Forum

The Agency Growth Forum organised by PRmoment , proved hugely successful last year so don’t miss the chance to attend either remotely or in person on November 12th. The line up of 13 experts will deliver short sharp 20-minute masterclasses based on their experience. Join in to hear what Rachel Bell , Andrew Bloch , Rachael Marshall , Ngozi Emeagi , Andy West , Paul Hender , Lucy Linthwaite , Darshna Kamani , Addy Frederick MIRSoc , Joe Walton , Jim Donaldson , Sharon Bange and Anna Wilson , have to say about every aspect of growing your agency in 2025.?

Full details & booking information here:

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Many thanks.

Andy