In PR, Bigger May Not Be Better

Here is what all those big PR mergers of the last two years were supposed to achieve.

1) Greater international footprint. International conglomerates wanted PR firms that could advise on what was happening everywhere, not just the UK.

2) A wider pool of expertise for both the PR firms and the clients.

3) Synergies.

4) Make a bunch of money for the founders

They may well have achieved all of those things but I think there are headaches.

For one, the smart, nimble UK operator may find it frustrating suddenly being part of a clunky worldwide group. The risk is a loss of the entrepreneurial spirit that made the business attractive in the first place.

Second, for every synergy, there is a conflict of interest. The bigger client base must mean that the PR firm is working for rivals.

For both M&S and Tesco, say. Neither M&S nor Tesco are hugely pleased by that and may decide to shop around.

In fairness, this is an issue for most professional services firms, not just PR.

Last October, Deutsche Bank bought UK broker Numis to boost its City presence.

Great idea. Except, I hear, the client that was very happy to deal with Numis suddenly finds German interference on the line and wonders for whom that merger was good.

All of these things may straighten out in time. Just for now, there’s a bit of tension in the ‘hood.

And opportunities for smaller players to perhaps grab some big accounts.