Intermediary services: The rise of the intermediary

Holding a pitch is daunting, while winning new business can be time-consuming. Can intermediaries ride to the rescue, asks Suzy Bashford.

Typically, research has shown that PR firms are less focused on new business than other types of marcoms agency. However, according to co-founder of new business agency Reardon Smith Whittaker (RSW), Adam Whittaker, this is going to change. With today's tricky economic climate, agencies will have to fight harder for work.

'On the other side of the fence, the current market conditions are frightening,' he says. 'The financial markets are in turmoil, consumer spending is down, inflation is up and advertising expenditure is suffering. PR budgets are under pressure. Where budgets remain static, clients are expecting more and where budgets are less, clients are still expecting more.'

So, in Whittaker's opinion, client reliance on intermediaries, which help them find agencies, will increase. This is why his company, RSW, has just launched a sister company called Agency Finder that specialises in agency search and selection.

PR pitches handled by intermediaries over the past year include Allianz Insurance, 02, Boots and Sky.

Tom Wells, managing director of procurement consultancy Gyroscope and author of the recently published Choosing and Using PR Agencies, agrees that intermediaries are good at getting value for money for both the client and the agency: 'Probably fewer than 10 per cent of agency hires involve an intermediary.

The longer clients receive poor value from agencies, the more damage it does to the standing and growth of the industry. I'd like to see a world in which 100 per cent of clients use a professional intermediary. As it is, remarkably few clients are good at buying PR services.'

There is sometimes a perception that only inexperienced junior clients benefit from intermediaries, and although Christian Cull, director of customer comms, BSkyB, believes 'no intermediary can provide universal truth', he does say they can 'provide access to a fuller picture'. He adds: 'If any clients think they know what is going on out there without help, they're giving themselves a limited view.'

With this in mind, on the following page PRWeek has listed some intermediaries to consider for agencies pitching for new business, or for clients looking for an agency.

CLIENT HUNTING - New business services

There are several firms that help PR agencies find new business. One of these is business intelligence firm Pearlfinders. It produces daily reports, based on news stories in the trade press and business sections in newspapers, identifying potential new business opportunities.

This could be a new PR director or forthcoming product launch that could signal the need for extra PR support. Pearlfinders then interviews senior brand decision-makers at these companies to find out their communications plans, relaying this information back to clients. It also provides advice on how to approach the decision-maker.

Former new business and marketing director at Weber Shandwick Sophia Ahrel-Macdonald, now an independent business growth consultant, used Pearlfinders extensively in her old job. 'The information was really useful and it saved a lot of time. It was great to get client contact details with the information. I used to pick up the phone or drop the client an email,' she says.

Reardon Smith Whittaker, Agency Finder's sister company, runs a similar service. Its primary aim is to identify qualified leads for clients, set meetings up on their behalf and help them position themselves in the market. It currently works with around 15 PR clients and has helped them acquire 30 new clients over the past year.

Ahrel-Macdonald would recommend these services to any PR agency, but particularly smaller-sized outfits without a dedicated new business manager. Cost depends on the number of users and to which parts of the service PR agencies subscribe, but for single users fees start at £950 per year.

For companies that need even more support, Pearlfinders' sister company Rainmaker can provide an entire outsourced new business function, from identifying opportunities to acting on them. Monthly retainer fees start at approximately £5,000 per month.

creativebrief

What it offers: Clients can search creativebrief's online database of agencies, after filling out a briefing form. Agency new business directors regularly update their entries. After receiving the results of their search, clients create a shortlist and contact the agencies directly.

They can also use creativebrief's consultancy service to construct the brief, come up with a shortlist and organise pitch meetings.

Rough costs: Agencies pay £2,500-£5,000 per year for inclusion in the database, depending on how much content they want to display. Client costs vary but a straightforward online search is likely to start at around £2,000 and an entire roster review could be five times this price.

Contact: Charlie Carpenter, director of agency management, 020 7478 8200, [email protected]

Recent PR clients using the consultancy service: RBS, SAB Miller, BBC, Superbrands, Travelodge and Sportingbet.