Great news in Friday’s PR Week (which I must confess to have only just read and it’s Monday morning!). Vodafone has shifted the bulk of its public relations business to ten-person agency Paratus, which has a core team of permanent staffers supplemented by specialist freelancers. http://tinyurl.com/386rg4g
So, why am I so happy about this? Perhaps the scales are falling from the eyes of many businesses, which see how much more value can be gained from working with smaller agencies and freelancers.
Swapping Goliath for David, you get senior PR staff that have heaps of experience working on your account every day. Many, not all, larger agencies hand over an account to a junior team once it’s been won. You might never see the directors again after the pitch. While you see the account director at meetings, who is it that’s actually trying to do the work on your account back at the office?
Not only do you get an experienced team, you will also get them at a lower cost. It’s a bit like working with the Queen, but only paying the day rate for the prime minister (whoever that may be!). Why wouldn’t you?
