10 Yetis Insight – Integration and The Not-So-Little Agency

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a little PR agency. It came from humble beginnings, but the agency had big dreams and knew that there was something bigger out there, something… better… that would make its campaigns reach successes that its clients had never even dreamt of.

This pioneering spirit made the PR agency take a grip on online PR, turning its attention to digital before anybody else woke up and smelt the SEO. Suddenly the agency became the first of its kind to embrace the digital media world, and it became a kind of expert – and, in turn, something of a ‘big deal’.

Other agencies followed suit; some quickly, some slowly, some not at all (those didn’t usually last too long). Some are still trying to get their heads around followed links. But thankfully this isn’t a story about those agencies.

The little PR agency grew addicted to being a ‘big deal’; it won awards, the clients got bigger and more interesting, the range of sectors grew so they had a whole heap of experience in almost everything. But what was next, it wondered, desperate not to lose momentum; what could make even more headlines, get more attention for the clients and deliver more results? Now the agency and its clients had a taste of fame, it wanted more. But how?

This is where integration stepped in. The old models of PR, the agency realised, were not enough. There was more that could be done. A press release alone was just words on a screen; there were so many other ways to communicate, to entertain, to inform. If that wasn’t the job of PR, then what was? After all, wouldn’t journalists like something new to ping into their inboxes on a dreary Wednesday morning, something beyond the realm of Arial 11.5? Variety, the agency reasoned, was the spice of life; could it not become the spice of PR?

And so the agency began to develop off-shoots. A little graphic design, to add illustration to the words and convey the information in new, more visual ways – infographics were born; a little web development, creating funny or quirky sites to entertain readers and lure in more traffic to the client’s site – microsites came next. Video paved the way for social experiments and made company news more human, illustrated instructions and new product launches, and kept readers’ attention spans.

And then, the birth of social media; it was a phenomenon that caught on like wildfire, spreading quickly through networks and platforms, consuming hours of users’ time as they trawled through neighbours’ pictures of new kittens and ex boyfriends’ new girlfriends. There was more to this, the now not-so-little agency knew, social media could be so much more. In fact, it could be a whole other channel in its own right, another vehicle for brands to communicate with their audiences; providing the content was right. After all, nobody wanted to read a press release on Facebook – but they might be keen to take part in a competition, play a game or even engage with funny jokes, quips and advice suggestions.

So the not-so-little agency grew again; and now it could cover anything and everything without having to seek help elsewhere – it had all the experts it needed to create huge, meaty, holistic campaigns that could engage with an audience like no other.

The other agencies again looked to grow too; they saw the success of these campaigns that came with bells and whistles, and wanted a slice of the coverage pie. But the other agencies often had to outsource their work, because they didn’t have all the experts under the same roof like the little not-so-little agency did. Their ideas suffered, because they didn’t have input from all the experts at the same time working together and, even when they managed to come up with a good idea for a cross-platform campaign, their reliance on other companies or freelancers meant that they couldn’t control the quality, and it was less integrated. The not-so-little agency had beaten them once again, by growing with the trends and always looking for that next big step.

Nobody can tell what’s coming next, but the not-so-little agency is waiting and watching for the next big thing, the next step on its integration journey. Whether it’s a new trend to jump on board, a new platform, a new media channel or a new form of media consumption – the not-so-little agency is ready and so should you be.