In our twice-yearly review of the UK PR market PRmoment founder Ben Smith catches up with Warren Johnson.

Warren founded W Communications in 2009. It now has global revenues of £25m and a headcount of 200, with 120 in London at W, 40 at its travel PR specialist Lotus, 25 in Singapore, and 15 in New York.

Do check out the agency and in-house programmes for our new education programme PRmoment Leaders.

PRmoment Leaders is our new subscription-based learning programme and community, built by PRmoment specifically for the next generation of PR and comms leaders to learn, network and lead.

Thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

1. 30 mins Warren reveals why and how he has just sold his business, W Communications, to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT.)

“It’s a government-backed business structure designed to help business owners pass on their business, realise some value from it…and pass it into the hands of the next generation.”

11 mins Warren discusses the performance of the PR market for H1 2024.

“It’s a bit of a slog. The economy is still pretty weak. There is a lot of nervousness client side.”

“Productivity is poor. The Brexit impact is ongoing.”

“We (the UK) are managing our decline not very well.”

“A lot of the top agencies are doing a great job of land grabbing from other industries.”

20 mins Why Warren worries about UK PR’s productivity.

“Hybrid working has run its course…10% of the UK PR industry lost their jobs last year. If those people were all productive I just don’t believe they would have lost their jobs.”

“I don’t know a single agency which hasn't reduced their headcount in the last 12 months.”

“Hybrid working reduces productivity…in specialist roles, I can see how it can boost productivity in generalist roles, I question its value.”

“At pace is how I build my business…I just think not being around each other breeds legacy behaviour. All businesses need to re-invent themselves at a quicker pace and if you can’t work together to do that, you will become obsolete.”

Welcome to our H1 Recruitment Year in Review PRmoment Podcast, where we discuss the PR job market with Dean Connolly, founder and PR recruitment director at Latte.

We look back at the talent trends in PR for the first half of 2024. The last six months have seen a significant change in the PR recruitment market. Dean tells us the top 3 reasons why PR people leave their jobs and reveals the latest PR salary bands.

If you’re interested in keeping an eye on the best jobs that are out there each week, do make sure you subscribe for free to PRmoment’s Top 10 PR Jobs updates each week.

Finally, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

Here’s a summary of what Dean and PRmoment founder Bes Smith discussed:

2 mins Dean updates on the state of the PR talent market right now.

“There’s still a shortage of talent…agencies are still struggling to hire.”

“We’ve (Latte) had our best two quarters ever.”

“We’re up 6% on the number of jobs coming through, year on year.”

“PR tech talent remains really in demand.”

“We’re seeing a real decline in the volume of tech PR talent pool at account manager level.”

10 mins The top 3 reasons PR people leave their jobs: 1. lack of career progression, 2. Salary, 3. company culture

Dean reveals Latte’s PR salary bands for 2024 (To confirm this was a London-centric survey.)

16 mins “Consumer (salaries) have caught up with corporate in the past few years and that’s really a sign of the fight for talent.”

“PR salaries in tech have remained steady.”

“There are a lot more redundancies happening in-house…they don’t (tend) get absorbed into the agency landscape.”

20 mins A discussion on the demand for greater specialist talent within PR firms.

On the PRmoment Podcast, we interview UK public relations leaders, and today, we’re chatting with Alec Samways, CEO and founder of Splendid.

Splendid is an independent consumer PR firm based in London. Its fee income is over £6 m. Splendid was launched in 2004 and so celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Also, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors the PRCA.

Here's a summary of what we talked about:

2 mins Alec reflects on the consumer PR market in London at the moment.

“We’re seeing way more opportunities at the moment.”

“The process has become really, really protracted. We’re waiting on ten decisions at the moment.”

6 mins Alec tells us when the UK consumer PR market started coming back.

7 mins Splendid is one of a handful of independent PR firms in the UK that has made multiple acquisitions in the last couple of years. Alec tells us why Spendid decided to start buying other businesses.

“We won 3 big pitches in one year, all in one year…So I said to my head of finance: ‘Is there a better way?’”

“It was a reaction. It was about controlling growth.”

15 mins Splendid has bought Riot, Kingdom Collective, and DIY. Alec talks us through how those deals come about.

“Intuitively, PR has to be the authentic channel because we are the ones that earn it. We don't buy it. Do (outside) people see us that way? No.”

“I’ve always felt the answer is strategy and measurement.”

28 mins Alec talks us through the life cycle of Splendid. Where did it start, what have been the ups and downs and where are you now?

“The last five years (for Splendid): Rock & roll with a plan.”

29 mins Splendid has had a good couple of years. It has outgrown the consumer PR market over the past five years.

30 mins Was the COVID period a necessary step to allow Alec to simplify his business?

37 mins Alec describes himself as an inverted snob. What did you mean by that?

41 mins How does Alec look back on 20 years in business?

44 mins How many people has Spendid employed in the 20 years?

47 mins “Praise in public, constructive criticism in private.”