Co-founder and director Rob Baird spoke to media update’s Adam Wakefield about the agency’s beginnings and the lessons they have learned along the way.

The beginnings of PR Lab

PR Lab co-founders Baird and Kirsten Hopwood met in 2007 while working on various brands together. The pair soon realised they shared the same vision and ethos for brand building. Three years later, PR Lab was born.

“We launched our boutique agency to offer something that many traditional agencies didn’t; evolving communication strategies and an owner-run agency that was hands-on,” Baird says.

“This may sound like ‘the usual’, but we found that far too many agencies were not evolving as communication was evolving. Our focus was on creating an agency that remained ahead of the trend as much as possible, particularly in the digital space.”

Baird’s PR background is primarily in business, finance, property, and tourism, with Hopwood’s in lifestyle, fashion, and wine. The sectors they focus on, as a result, are property, predominantly online retail, wine, and tourism.

As PR Lab has progressed, Hopwood and Baird have always sought to reinvent the agency so it keeps pace with the industry, especially within the digital environment.

“We have continually evolved not only our client’s campaigns, but also the way in which we as a company operate. We had to,” he says.

In PR, your staff and results tell the story

The pair learned quickly that building an agency is difficult. The environment is very competitive, with networks and correct staffing being very important.

“We made sure that our deliverables were nothing short of exceptional, with fine attention to all detail, and, as a result, for the first three years 99% of our business came via referral,” Baird says.

“We also learnt that finding the right staff is really difficult. We knew that our reputation would ride on what we could deliver, and so we have had to be very specific as to the type of person we would welcome to our team.”

The results hired staff produce had to be in line with what Baird and Hopwood could personally deliver, with results being what PR Lab is measured by.

“We also had to learn quickly that we have to be specific in the type of clients we work with. After one or two tough client experiences, we made a decision not to engage in areas we did not know, or if the gut feel wasn’t right, as again this would impact our results and our reputation,” Baird says.

“We have slowly moved into other areas, but this has been a strategic approach. Technology moves incredibly fast and so we try to keep our finger on the pulse wherever possible, without losing focus on what our core offering is.”

Modern public relations and new clients

As noted by Baird, PR Lab places a premium on being at the cusp of developments in PR. Therefore, it follows how Baird and Hopwood define PR itself.

“As communication has changed, so has PR. With social media and the general digital environment growing so quickly, it has created a wonderful opportunity for the PR industry”, Baird says.

“In fact, I believe there has never been a greater demand for PR, as communication has never been so instant, and today online reputation is everything.”

A key differentiator for PR LAB in terms of how the industry has changed is the way the gap between SEO strategy and PR strategy has drawn ever closer.

Baird says many believe PR agencies are not going to become the new SEO agencies, but he believes they already are. PR Lab recently launched a digital division dedicated to exactly that, integrating SEO strategy into all of their client content strategies.

“To be honest, this wasn’t because we suddenly ‘found a gap’ – it was driven by client requirements and interest, and so we moulded ourselves around that need by integrating the two. It has proven very effective,” he says.

The rewards of their client-driven approach show through recent client acquisitions such as the Botanical Society of South Africa, Spear REIT Limited, and MiWay Life. Baird believes they were chosen, even as a boutique agency, because of the extensive experience they have gained within their primary focus areas.

“PR is all about thought leadership and primarily taking control of your online reputation. PR, for us, is also about creating genuine conversations between brands and consumers, driving public opinion, and effectively managing online reputation,” Baird says.

Separating the best PRs from the average

As an agency that has continued to grow since its founding, what separates the best in public relations from everyone else starts with three keywords PR Lab focuses on: relationships, creativity, and awareness.

“Long-term relationships are critical. You have to be creative, especially in the digital environment,” Baird advises.

“Awareness is critical to allow you to act quickly in terms of how you communicate, and how you react to communication related to your clients.”

Baird says that moving with the times may be obvious, but many agencies do not do it properly.

“It’s not only about embracing digital trends, it’s about identifying and anticipating what is coming up next and incorporating that into your offering. Sometimes you need to be bold,” he says.

For more information, visit prlab.co.za

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PR Lab has embraced digital, which has upended how communications works. Read more in our article, Digitisation has changed the rules of the game.