Hitting the right notes

The public relations and marketing plan is fast becoming a key feature of brokers' business strategies. As brokers continue to face competition from all angles, many are turning to PR to raise their profile and get their messages across to target audiences. However, is it working? And how far are some brokers still concerned about the required investment of time and money?

According to Lyndon Wood, chairman of Moorhouse Group: "PR and marketing has always been important for any business that wants to grow and evolve and build a reputation." However, there is also a view that the need for public relations has grown in recent years, as brokers have had to compete with entities such as banks and building societies that have long had sophisticated marketing capabilities. Vic Dhillon, group sales and marketing director for Broker Assistance, points in particular to the growing complexities of the market, and the need to use marketing and PR to make the broker's varied audiences aware of the services they offer.

Brokers must also think carefully about the type of publication or website their customers are most likely to access. As Dhillon observes: "We now live in a 24-hour cycle of news availability - information is no longer limited to monthly or weekly trade journals, or even daily newspapers. There are so many more different media routes to target audiences - websites and blogs, for example - and it pays to build this awareness into your marketing or PR strategies."

So, have brokers taken on board this growing need for an effective PR strategy, which responds to an increasingly media friendly society? According to Ian Barrett, head of PR at FWD, awareness is definitely increasing but there is still a reluctance in some quarters to invest in marketing and PR.

Anecdotally, there do seem to be many more brokers now who are willing to pick up the phone and chat to journalists. Gill Nichol of Mosaic Communications is optimistic. "Everyone in the UK is more aware of the role of PR and marketing these days. The larger brokers will have almost certainly invested significantly in both PR and marketing, and I imagine that 99% of the smallest brokers will either be committed to PR and marketing, dipping their toes in the water, or aware that they should be," comments Nichol.

Effective strategies

Some brokers continue to be cautious about the potential investment required to implement effective strategies. However, the message from most who have successfully established PR plans, is that it can be more a question of personal commitment than financial outlay. Grant Ellis, chief executive of the Broker Network, asserts: "You can do it on a very limited budget. The key is to be aware of your target market and be aware of what your customers might be reading."

Simon Brocklebank-Fowler, deputy chairman of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations corporate and financial group and chairman of Cubitt Consulting, agrees that a PR strategy does not necessarily have to involve significant investment, commenting: "It can simply involve harnessing domain expertise already extant within a broking organisation and sharing it with the trade journals, through the medium of educative commentary, bylines and trends analysis."

Brocklebank-Fowler adds, however, that: "If you want to move your brand forward, your PR and marketing strategies need to be joined up and handled professionally."

For smaller insurance brokers, who may not feel they have the funds to invest in employing a PR agency, the question remains: is it advisable to formulate a PR strategy in-house, or is it dangerous to delve into PR without specialist expertise? Brocklebank-Fowler responds: "Many smaller brokers have an in-house PR resource which reports to a marketing director or the CEO, and rightly consider strategic communications a Board level issue which ultimately has to be controlled by the company. However, the resources and experience of a specialist consultancy or an expert freelancer in the sector may well end up saving the broker both time and money if managed properly."

Again, however, a willingness to invest time can be just as important as the ability to invest financially. Ellis emphasises the importance of making yourself available to journalists. "If journalists want information, they tend to want it today and if they find it hard to get hold of you then they will inevitably stop trying." It is also important to build up a relationship with journalists over a period of time. "As with all areas of business, journalists like to work with people who they know and with whom they have built up a level of trust," observes Barrett.

Workshop pilots

In addition to turning to PR agencies for advice, some insurers are also willing to help. Most recently, Groupama has piloted PR workshops with its healthcare brokers, and is now planning to open this up to its commercial insurance brokers throughout the year. Lynn Harris, Groupama's head of customer proposition, reports that brokers have been keen to attend and that the initiative has been very well received.

As far as the 'dos and don'ts' of PR are concerned, Ellis points to the importance of taking a firm view point and risking some controversy. "You have to be prepared to take a position and express an opinion." He warns, however, that: "Occasionally, you will get burned - you may upset someone you don't want to upset but that unfortunately goes with the territory."

Overtly promoting yourself or your company is also a big 'don't' - most PR professionals agree that if you submit an article for publication, it needs to be a piece which allows you to come across as an expert in your field, rather than an attempt to publicise a product or service. Steve Manton, chief executive of M Consulting, agrees: "One of the biggest pitfalls is a lack of awareness of the needs of the press and the reader - it isn't just about self promotion or biased comment - you have to look at it from the reader's point of view."

Wood's top tips on PR for brokers include making sure you have plenty to say that is newsworthy; taking time to meet and build relationships with the press, and again, not being afraid to be a little controversial. He also advises expressing your opinions on a wide variety of subjects, and keeping customers at the heart of what you say and do. As far as working with an agency is concerned, Wood advises: "Go to a PR agency that is recommended by someone and that has a proven track record. Fix the monthly hourly time spent on your PR from your agency so you can control costs - and direct your agency to where you want to grow your business to maximise the value from them."

Many also recommend some form of media training. "As people are embracing marketing and PR and exposing themselves to the press, they are becoming increasingly interested in media training," observes Manton, adding: "A lot of it is about teaching them not to be fearful of the press, and how to get their message across."

There is an old maxim that there is no such thing as bad publicity. However, most brokers and PR professionals disagree. "Do not underestimate the power of press, good or bad," observes Wood, who points out that bad publicity has been known to destroy businesses and people, "sometimes unnecessarily." However, it can also be true that a good PR strategy can reduce the impact of bad press. Dhillon adds that negative news coverage is often the result of badly handled communications, commenting: "I am convinced that almost all stories can be turned around and made more positive if, when the bad news hits the news desk and the journalist calls for the lowdown on the situation, the company involved gives that journalist immediate access to the chairman, managing director, or equivalent, who responds to the story/allegations with openness and honesty."

There are many ways to receive press exposure, from sending out press releases to providing expert commentary for publication. In addition to avoiding the self-promotion pitfall, Manton also says brokers must be aware that the press is inundated with material and that, "what you may think is interesting, might not be of interest to the rest of the world". Manton emphasises the importance of differentiation when looking at media relations, and of considering what will make one broker's story stand out from the rest.

Most brokers find that implementing a PR and marketing strategy pays dividends, although it is not something that should be seen as having an instant impact on the bottom line. However, as Harris points out: "Ultimately, if you are investing time and perhaps money, you are going to want to see a return on it and there are genuine returns available from having a proper PR strategy in place."

Excellent results

So, what exactly are brokers looking to achieve through their PR strategies? Barrett comments: "Brokers in our experience use PR to either sell more policies, grow their businesses through encouraging strategic partnerships or to entice possible suitors. Media coverage can sell products and services, as clearly demonstrated by the direct writers, but often PR is simply used to warm up the sales lead before the broker secures the deal."

In general, brokers who have committed themselves to an effective PR strategy report excellent results. The Moorhouse Group is a case in point. Wood explains that two and a half years ago Moorhouse was rapidly growing and evolving but was not very well known in the market. Having taken the decision to raise brand awareness within the industry, and to appoint a PR agent, Wood asserts: "Now our profile could not be better. This was purely due to PR."

UK PR INDUSTRY

In November 2005, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations launched the results of the first major study in to the size, nature and composition of the PR industry. Key points from the research showed that:

- On a global scale, the UK PR market is second only to that of the US

- The UK PR industry has a turnover of £6.5bn. The profession contributes £3.4bn to the UK's economic activity and generates £1.1bn in corporate profits

- The annual turnover of PR consultancies is £1.2bn

- 82% of practitioners work in-house and 18% work in PR consultancy

- The UK PR industry employs around 48,000 people

- The health, public and not-for-profit sectors are the biggest employers of PR, together accounting for 36% of turnover for PR consultancies and employing 51% of in-house practitioners

- 25% of PR practitioners work in London

- 6.5% of the profession comes from an ethic minority and 2% describe themselves as disabled

- The majority of employees are graduates

Source: The Chartered Institute of Public Relations - http://www.cipr.co.uk.