Press power

Why should professional firms such as accountants, actuaries or lawyers choose to spend time and money on public relations? After all, such businesses are inherently risk-averse. Dealing with the media not only involves the sacrifice of billable hours, often by senior fee-earners, but also requires them to surrender control of the facts and rely instead on the journalist’s understanding and interpretation of the conversation.

They do it because positive press coverage is a powerful tool – but the benefits are undoubtedly difficult to quantify. At the business consultancy Watson Wyatt, the head of public relations, Bruce Wraight, observes that the firm gets at least a mention in the Financial Times around 150 times per year. ‘Some coverage we would get anyway because of who we are, but I’d guess around two-thirds is the result of stories we pitched to the press proactively, or expert comment we provided.’ And the value of such media exposure? ‘It identifies Watson Wyatt as a reliable authoritative source for journalists; it’s a tacit third-party endorsement.’

Part of the push for PR is simply a response to the question of what would happen if the firm’s name were not appearing, according to Paul Gray, head of business development at commercial property consultants King Sturge. ‘Cynical members of the firm would probably say they couldn’t give a damn,’ he admits, ‘but the fact is that press coverage puts our name in the arena alongside those of competitors such as Jones Lang and Knight Frank.’

Moreover, as Isobel Williams, an ex-Fleet Street journalist turned independent PR for City firms, emphasises, it is more effective – and cheaper – than advertising. ‘The objective endorsement of positive editorial coverage can’t be bought, whereas everyone knows you pay for advertisements yourself,’ she says.

The impact of a raised profile may extend well beyond the obvious target of direct new business. As well as reinforcing the brand image, it may reach potential recruits, professional referrers of business, compilers of league tables and other journalists who, in due course themselves, come to the firm for comment. ‘Professional spokespeople may also lobby opinion-formers about matters of legislation of regulation – for example, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners included the media in its campaign to modify the Finance Bill in regard to inheritance tax and trusts,’ continues Williams.

Critical role

Given that professional firms have not historically been terribly concerned about putting themselves about in this way, there is clearly a critical role for the PR or marketing department in the whole process. On the one hand, says Gray, PRs are busy ‘data-mining’, looking for business achievements, findings or statistics that may emerge from the staff and partners at the business coalface. On the other, they are busy packaging it up in a user-friendly format to present to the media. They are also putting journalists who approach with specific enquiries in touch with appropriate spokespeople.

Clearly, however, not everyone in a professional firm can be – or wants to be – a media spokesperson. Wraight estimates that around 200 of Watson Wyatt’s UK staff of 2,000 were quoted in the press in 2005; ‘but a relatively small number of people covered the great majority of cases’. The firm runs in-house media training for anyone identified as possibly needing to talk to the press, including those appointed to head up a new or existing service line, as well as specialists. That exercise gives a good idea of who is well suited for the job, says Wraight.

‘In the past we had a long list of spokespeople who would talk on their specialist subjects, but just a few senior people doing the broader comments. The trouble was that, in practice, they would be tied up with clients all day, by which time it was too late,’ he continues. ‘What’s needed is a small band of spokespeople who understand the importance of even a five-minute phone call with a journalist and are willing and able to make that a priority.’

Chris Marroni, head of PR at accountancy firm Grant Thornton, explains that although the PR department generally works with the heads of practice in the first instance, ‘there’s no hierarchical system [of selection] at all – it’s a matter of who’s best suited. Clearly you need experience as an accountant, but we’re also looking for certain skills. Most obviously, for the national press particularly, this will involve the ability to convey complex information in accessible language’. For more technical comment, he continues, a specialist may be drafted in alongside a partner, in order to give a view not only on the details of a case but also, more broadly, on what it could mean for the future.

Talking chief

Some professional firms, including both Watson Wyatt and Grant Thornton, have taken that philosophy a step further by nurturing a ‘chief’ talking head, whose role within the business specifically encompasses building relationships with the media and making time to talk to them. In Watson Wyatt’s case this is Stephen Yeo. ‘A big part of his job involves getting to know the media, and it has helped hugely in building our profile,’ observes Wraight.

At Grant Thornton, senior tax partner Mike Warburton is a particularly familiar name in the national press. ‘Personal finance is an opportunity-rich area for commentators because it affects everyone’s life and there is so much coverage these days,’ explains Marroni. ‘Mike is extremely experienced, and he devotes maybe a quarter to a third of his working week liaising with the press office to develop ideas. We feel his time is best used in developing the reputation of the tax practice in the marketplace.’

But as Williams points out, not every expert is comfortable holding forth on demand. ‘A good PR should field commentators according to their individual strengths,’ she says, ‘so a shy boffin might hate the phone but write good articles, while another member of staff loathes writing but loves giving punchy phone interviews.’ Media training should help staff members and press officers establish where those strengths lie, and how to make the most of them.

The bottom line for professional firms is that dealing with the press may seem scary, but journalists generally come to them for ‘expert witness’ comment on wider issues, not to catch them out. Establish yourself as a reliable voice of authority – of whom, in most areas of expertise, there are never enough – and you are likely to find your firm clocking up the column inches.

Faith Glasgow is a freelance journalist, writing mainly on property and finance. She has contributed to a wide range of publications, including most of the broadsheets, Vogue, Country Life and Investors Chronicle.