Palmer-Tingley, LLC

THE POWER OF PR PROVES ITS METTLE FOR BARRATT ACQUISITION
February 6th 2007.

It's nice to know that something we have achieved in the past has had a significant bearing on the future - regardless of how small its extent.

So it was with some warmth that I heard this week of the acquisition of homebuilder and property developer Wilson Bowden by leading UK housebuilder Barratt Developments.  Why? Well, up until about ten or twelve years ago, it was l'il ole me who was responsible for a not insignificant amount of media relations activity on behalf of Wilson Bowden.

I have no idea of the worth of the company during the eight years or so I was working with them, but the quoted figure which Barratt Developments is reported to have paid for Wilson Bowden is around £2.2 billion (approx $4.4bn).

Which just goes to demonstrate the power of PR.

Now, I am not for one moment suggesting that PR was solely responsible for the company's success - I am sure the high-quality product and a host of other factors played far more significant roles in the company's successful development. But what I will say is that PR helped to create a significant awareness of the fine points of the company and its products - not only to its customers but also to its suppliers, competitors, and subsequently to its investors.

When I started as PR consultant to Wilson Bowden it was for the housebuilding arm, David Wilson Homes. And even then it was for only one specific region. As it was, I was taking the helm from Mrs David Wilson herself, who had been doing a fine job, let me say.

Happily, success led to success and my portfolio of work with the company had grown to incorporate all the then regional housebuilding divisions, as well as the commercial property arm, Wilson Bowden Properties, and some other operating divisions of the company (I should make it clear that the financial PR was, of course, extremely well-handled by a City PR firm).

And the time came when, indeed, rarely was there a day when David Wilson Homes did not appear in some publication somewhere.

So, such elevated awareness can only have been good for any company - and so it has proven with the erstwhile Wilson Bowden plc. May I congratulate David Wilson and all of his team through the years on the success of the company and, although I rowed only one of the oars, not only am I delighted to have been part of the crew, but it is heartwarming to see that PR really has proven its mettle.

Stephen J. Smith.
February 6th 2007

Why go to New York, LA or London when your company is based elsewhere...? AND when excellent PR resources are available outside the "big cities"

So, why do some of those same companies persist with the notion that “the big cities are best” for their public relations and marketing communications support?

To those who are intent on that notion: take a look at your partners in commerce to see that there truly IS life outside London's M25 noose or LA's or New York's infamous traffic jams – and especially in the marketing services industry.

According to one media publication in the UK, in excess of £2 BILLION a year (that converts to over US$4bn) is spent by so-called “Northern-based” clients in the UK on marketing communications; incorporating PR, advertising, direct mail, and market research.  Agencies and PR consultancies outside London comprise some of the best talent in Europe and are renowned, by clients especially, as being only too capable of constantly delivering the highest quality of service to clients. the same is true of similar services in the USA outside of New York, Chicago, and Los Angles.

Editorial personnel, too, have become increasingly aware of the high standards of service which PR consultants outside the big cities in particular, are providing for them. As an example, our own PRess-view online press office is a perfect example of how consultants are becoming more and more effective as a ‘bridge’ to link clients with media, rather than the erstwhile ‘barrier’ which was the popular misconception which many businesses have had of PR people.

PRess-view (currently under construction on our new website) provides a 24-hour easily-accessible source of information on all of our clients, without the need for passwords and logging-in, to help editorial personnel with the kind of background they need once they have received a press release or specific feature article.

And costs of PR consultancy services of course stack up favourably against the big-city counterparts. Compare the fee-structure of any PR resource in the big cities with any in the so-called provinces. Add to that the add-on charges, not to mention costs in terms of time spent by the client in servicing the agency! Here at Palmer-Tingley, you pay no hidden charges, and any additional items are only undertaken only once an agreed budget has been determined with the client.

Retained clients of Palmer-Tingley are also refreshed to find that THEY don’t need to drive the consultancy – the consultancy drives them and without the need for lengthy time-consuming (and costly) meetings.

Which all adds up to a better service all round, at an amazingly lesser cost, and with a darned-sight less hassle.
Stephen J. Smith
November 2006