AI Issue 5 2017

Acquisition International - May 2017 43 An Appealing Line of Work Paul’s own role in the firm is leading the firm’s strategic corporate finance work, supported by journalists and account managers, but they are a very flat team and work across clients in small teams, ensuring that their senior consultants get to know clients well and get a fantastic understanding of their business objectives. Paul tells us more about the firm’s relationship with their clients, and the importance of the team in supporting them. “Our typical client relationship is six or seven years, and our longest standing client is over 12 years and still growing. Only with that degree of continuity can we earn the trust and respect to become an extension of the client’s own executive team, and we are often seen as just that. “AppealPR’s team is paramount to the work we do. We are only as good as the relationships we have, and the quality of the work and results our consultants produce for clients. We really strive to provide true consultancy and we often push back and offer some challenging advice to clients if we feel it is in their best interests. “While this can be difficult, in the long run as media relations and digital marketing specialists, we are trusted to know what will or won’t result in the desired objective. That doesn’t necessarily mean generating media coverage - we only use the media as a means to achieving the desired end result. When we issue press releases about a business that is about to go into a corporate finance process, we might be aiming to attract overseas trade buyers’ interest, or to show expertise in a niche sector that has a premium value, or to refresh the market perception of the business growth path. “If we are publicising the sale of a firm, we might be looking to reassure staff, customers and suppliers that the new owners will be investing to grow the business, or communicating messages about a repositioning strategy. The point is that our team understands why clients want media coverage and what the end result of that message delivery is, and, therefore, can ensure a better outcome. That is the key difference between the approach of Appeal consultants and many other PR people who focus on the coverage rather than the impact the media has on target audiences.” In terms of keeping up with industry trends, Paul believes that Appeal PR Ltd benefits from the latest media targeting software that, “thankfully, has a relatively low entry level and so there isn’t really a vast difference between the resources available to small agencies like us and the global players” he explains, before elaborating his interesting observations in the role technology plays in the firm’s work. “We keep an eye on the market for new applications and web resources to ensure we offer clients the smartest use of time tracking trends and monitoring coverage which in itself can be a significant use of resources. We also benefit from being in a business-to-business niche that is less impacted by the trends in social media and consumer platforms where change is more rapid and disruptive than in B2B. “That said, as a business that innovated in B2B publishing when we diversified in 2007, we always have an eye on the media market for the most significant changes in the sector. These don’t always come in the form of new technology, but rather in the way you use existing platforms and blend your use of the web with sponsorship and content generation. “The most fundamental way we are keeping ahead of the trends is by having our own Google accredited PPC and SEO consultants in-house, so we can develop and deliver bespoke techniques that wring the online value out of press releases, and generate surveys and other content that gets the dual benefits of high profile visibility by humans in print and on media websites, but also brings technical search improvements. “This strategic blending of search and PR has to be the future evolution of every media campaign, influencing robots, crawlers and Google to leave the long-term benefits long after the news value of activity has ebbed away, and publications have archived coverage and content.” Paul then tells us about his future aspirations for Appeal PR and where he sees himself in five years’ time. “Five years is a long time in this sector, especially with the global economy showing such uncertainty. Our aim is to keep innovating in the way we bring together search, media relations and traditional PR to deliver a holistic approach to influencing key audiences. “We will also continue to target professional and financial services as an area of specialism as the key skills needed in this area are hard to replicate; what’s more, our reputation is well established and we love work that involves us in the strategic deal making activity. “Another area of focus is international work. There is a big opportunity for us to assist firms exporting goods and services overseas who don’t want to commit to the prohibitive entry level fees of global advisers, but who need smart, savvy marketing. We launched our US specialist agency, Great British Marketing, in 2014 and that has gained traction, particularly in the months since Brexit. Our initial projects have delivered great results for clients in both the US and the UK and we see this as a massive area for growth.” Finally, there are indeed opportunities and challenges ahead in terms of the wider industry Paul believes. The ongoing trends away from qualified journalists to a more ‘noisy’ and less respected spread of content focused non-news websites will give the media industry headaches he underlines. It will also widen the gap between Google’s credibility and, therefore, value for differing media coverage he adds, before elaborating on this interesting point. “The Guardian’s move to requesting ‘support’ from readers to contribute to the cost of producing news rather than demanding subscriptions, is interesting, and there is a political dynamic that could see this succeed where a harder line capitalist stance has had limited returns. As a digital-only publisher, I experienced first-hand the need to maintain quality and reputation to attract commercial success, and the media as a whole is still facing a watershed as printed products continue to fall away. “The challenge and the key opportunity is to keep a close eye on which channels deliver value for money and bring either increased value, or new customers and fees. If we operate media campaigns in isolation to paid content sponsorship, or lead generation web activity, we will not be able to deliver the best campaigns. Keeping ahead of what works best for various professions, sectors and businesses will be our biggest challenge, but one that will keep us on our toes.”