'If you can't share it, then it's less valuable'

Gideon Spanier
14 Nov 2011

We are at a pivotal point for the public relations industry." So says Tim Dyson, boss of PR group Next Fifteen Communications, who claims many agencies will struggle to survive unless they make a far greater effort to embrace digital and social media.

Given the fact that Dyson's company specialises in technology PR for clients such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and IBM, it is hardly a surprise that he is a digital evangelist.

But he argues that many UK agencies are stuck in a "legacy" mindset and remain too focused on top-down, command-and-control communications and traditional media.

It is no longer about retaining control, he believes. Instead, agencies and their clients must encourage and participate in conversations that consumers can share. That means creating original content, building communities and improving the digital experience.

"If you can't share it, it's less valuable," says Dyson.

Agencies that recognise this will prosper. "There's the old, traditional PR market, which is price-competitive and difficult to operate in. It's essentially a commodity market and it's dying a pretty slow death. And then there's the digital and social PR market, which is competing with advertising budgets and that is growing well."

He adds: "It is the same challenge which is being thrown at every area of marketing. How do you make this brand more social, more engaged, more measurable?"

He highlights two recent campaigns. Next Fifteen worked on the launch of Nest, an innovative digital thermostat that had virtually sold out within days in the US. "What was notable was how 'social' the launch was. Facebook and Twitter lit up with people talking about Nest and sharing content that was relevant." There was also an initiative with Coca-Cola, where it got rock band Maroon 5 to record a new song in 24 hours, based on fan suggestions in real time on social media.

Next Fifteen, which was founded 30 years ago, is now made up of six main agencies including Bite, Text 100 and Lexis and is valued at £48 million.

Profits rose 42% to £7.5 million in the year to July, with like-for-like revenues up 11% to £86 million.

Dyson, 50, is a lifer who has been chief executive since 1992. Serious and measured, he is not a swashbuckling character like some PR men. Despite running a London-listed company, he is based in Palo Alto in Silicon Valley.

He admits Next Fifteen has struggled to grow in the UK, which is responsible for a fifth of turnover. British and European business leaders "want to play it safe" and are lagging behind the US and Asia. "Chief executives in America completely get the value of Twitter and Facebook and all the other social tools and that they are at least as important as Fortune and Forbes magazine."

Living in the Valley is invigorating. "It's not all boom-boom," he says. "There's a lot of failure. But they deal with failure in a very different way. They accept it as a natural part of the business cycle. In America, people embrace entrepreneurs - it's a badge of honour. When you say you're an entrepreneur here, people think, 'Oh s**t, they're going want me to lend some money'."

Next Fifteen's rise has attracted Lord Bell's Chime Communications and Lord Chadlington's Huntsworth, which both made approaches in 2009.

Dyson, who owns 10%, says there are no plans to sell. But when he gets out his smartphone during our conversation to pull up Chime and Huntsworth's stock market details, he appears to have them programmed in as quick-keys. "At some point, somebody will offer us so much money we'll have to go."

However, he fears being part of a giant such as WPP might stifle entrepreneurial spirit. "We'd fit in very logically into a digital advertising-led group."

Dyson may be mad about social - "Facebook has nowhere near peaked" - but he still values mainstream media for its content. "Previously, generators of content controlled its distribution. Now the generators of content are just generators. It's up to others to distribute it."

For PR agencies, that's a big opportunity. "It's up to us to care how many people see that content."