LRR’s Yannick Ondoa with Vlaze at our Summer Showcase
Little Red Rooster is a unique PR, influencer, and social media agency for a variety of reasons, but one of the most telling is that three members of the senior team used to be clients. It’s hard to think of any stronger endorsement for the way we go about our business.
We graft hard, and the trio in question witnessed this first-hand, so the fact they then had the desire to get stuck in themselves feels almost perverse, but let’s digress because the point of this blog is to get their insight into what makes a great PR agency.
Read for our findings, but if this topic interests you, please also check out our blog on what makes a great PR agency from the perspective of a journalist… and funnily enough that involves some familiar faces too.
Be unrelenting and passionate
Lynnette Abbott was head of brand and marketing at mobile phone accessories company Proporta, and subsequently global marketing manager for brand partners at fashion label Ted Baker. She hired us for both companies. An extra gold star goes to Lynnette.
LRR’s Lynnette Abbott with Loewe at our Summer Showcase
“For me, it’s the high-energy, passion, and relentless thirst to achieve not-just-average results,” says Lynnette. “A black book that’s not an anonymous Excel spreadsheet of names, but built on genuine relationships with the press.” We love making friends and building meaningful relationships with the media and influencers, so that’s a given, but ‘The Way of the Rooster’ is to go that extra mile to make things happen for our clients.
“Strong KPIs, a team that cares and knows your brand inside out, and creative ideas against the norm are also crucial,” says Lynnette. We work to completely transparent and pre-agreed KPIs with a ‘no hit, no fee’ guarantee. That means if we don’t hit our targets, a client gets its money back.
We don’t want to tempt fate, but it hasn’t happened yet. If for some reason it does, we’ll own it, and that ties into Lynnette’s next observation: “Honesty, integrity, and modesty are key,” she says. “Let’s call it non-wankiness. I’ve worked with a few agencies over the years who too easily slip into pretentiousness, especially when it’s for luxury brands.
Be an extension of the brand
Clare Newsome was head of marketing and PR for major tech distributors Exertis Unlimited when she hired us. Before joining Little Red Rooster she was head of PR for Naim Audio and Focal. Given both brands are now clients, she also gets an extra gold star.
“Some agencies only pop up once a month to send a report and their invoice rather than being with you every step of the way, providing transparent reporting, cracking ideas and a constant drive to deliver results,” says Clare, who makes a valid point that great PR agencies become an extension of that brand or business.
“Whether it’s traditional PR or social media marketing, you need an extended in-house team that truly gets you, and what you need to achieve,” she adds. Being attuned to a brand’s aims might sound obvious, but some require constant cultivation, so great PR agencies stay in close contact with their clients helping to push the agenda rather than going missing.
Take the work we did for the classical music streaming service Primephonic. We were set the challenge to gain the attention of streaming giants and attract investors. This meant executing a long-term strategy to build authentic interest over time – no lip service here thank you very much. The result? Bought by Apple.
Be nimble and knowledgable
James Day was Editor in Chief of experiential retail start-up Situ Live when they needed a PR agency to help launch the proposition to the press. He only gets one gold star, but we love him nonetheless. “Situ Live represented a completely new way of shopping for UK consumers that involved live storytelling,” says James. “We needed an agency that could communicate this to the press, and we needed it done in an inordinately short time frame before launch.”
PR by its very nature is a fast-paced, high-pressure industry, but the trick is to deliver your very best work even under pressure. When it came to Situ Live, being naturally curious and excited by something new was important because the client needed to know we didn’t just understand the business model, but we believed in it too. They also needed to be sure we could communicate a complex message in a simple and effective manner.
“I think what was important at Situ Live is that we needed a certain amount of validation,” says James. “We were pretty sure we had something special brewing, but we needed an agency with the cajones to call out the bullsh*t if we were wrong, or give us the confidence to follow through with our convictions.”
Be adaptable and constantly curious
So, a PR agency should also act as a consultancy, providing wise and trusted counsel to its clients, be brave enough to step in when called for, and advise against a move if it’s in the brand’s best interest. This is equally important with the established brands we look after, like Smeg, Pantherella, Cambridge Audio, Loewe… the list goes on, as it is with brands at the very beginning of their journey and hungry to prove their concept to the market, such as Nothing.
We’ve just helped to launch the tech brand’s Phone (1) handset. You might have heard of it; it’s the Android smartphone from a British start-up taking on Apple, and to date, we’ve secured over 650 pieces of coverage. The curveball here is that a former member of the coop is now part of their PR team. Step forward Little Red Rooster alumni Lewis Hopkins.
“A top drawer PR agency is gold dust for any company, large or small,” says Lewis. “I recently moved in-house and onboarding multiple global agencies has given me a perspective on the hunt for press office experts. A PR agency should know the media landscape inside out, know what makes each journalist tick and cater for their needs in terms of story angles, images and product review expectations.
“As well as knowledge, energy and ‘the right fit’ is key. You need a committed team agency side to genuinely have an interest in the product, flex their coverage muscles, adapt to each task, and be a safe pair of hands who can get the job done.” Wait a second, that sounds like us! So if you’re wondering what a great PR agency can do for your brand, please get in touch.
