Under Strict Embargo

There are a many things which inspired the launch of Diffusion, but perhaps the most important was reading back in May ’07 a now famous article by Paul Holmes entitled “A Manifesto for the 21st Century Public Relations Firm”. It was a seminal analysis of the opportunities and threats facing the PR industry from consumers empowered by online and Social Media. Above all it was a wake up call and in many ways confirmed what I had been thinking for a while. Diffusion is really the answer to the question the piece finally triggered – ‘What are you going to do about it?’ – so cheers Paul :-)

Almost a year since it was published, it is debatable whether as industry we have really grasped all the manifesto’s core messages. There is some brilliant and innovative thinking and amazing online work being done, much of it by the people listed to your left. But a bit like the board of Kodak saying ‘that digital photography thing is all hype, it’ll never catch on,’ vast swathes of the industry remain blind to the new realities. There is an inertia grounded in inflexible business models and working practices and the limited skill sets of staff, which many agencies lack the energy to overcome.

Much has been written about the threat facing PR from other marketing disciplines, but I agree with those that argue that it is PR which is the real threat to the hegemony of advertising as the ‘owner’ of the brand. The skills required today to help clients create two-way conversations, listen and engage with audiences and harness the power of word-of-mouth are part of our territory and it’s onto to this ground that marketing as a whole is moving. Do we really want to be evicted from that space now by failing to adapt?

If I am being honest I was very tempted by the offers to develop my vision for the future of PR inside the comfortable and reassuring corporate structures of some amazing agencies. Call me brave, or call me stupid but I was attracted more by the blank sheet of creating an agency from scratch. I wanted to build an agency with amazing media relations skills where digital, Social Media and Search expertise are part of the DNA and don’t just sit in a separate division or practice. Something tells me it was the right move.

I’m very privileged to be working with Ivan Ristic and Barney Jones again, two of the most talented individuals I know. We are also lucky to already have some great clients and we’re looking forward to building a brilliant team who will do amazing work for many, many more in the years ahead. It may have become a cliché to say it, but that makes it no less true - this really is the most exciting time to be working in PR!