Marketing budget on the chopping block?
Enter Creative PR

Mid-November, we got together with some of our favourite brands and brightest industry minds at 180 Strand to discuss all things creative PR, with a focus on how you don’t need to sacrifice creative brilliance when your marketing budget and resources get chopped. Introducing…

LESS BUDGET, ​MORE BRILLIANCE: ENTER CREATIVE PR

With marketing budgets being cut quicker than you can say 2025 industry predictions, creative PR can provide a much-needed, cost-effective solution.   

But why?  

A recent Marketing Week study shows that 75% of in-house marketers say their company’s strategy is placing a focus on brand marketing, which, as we know, drives long-term brand success. But this comes at a cost, and with a need in the industry for quick ROI there’s not always a clear solution.

A decorative graphic of a chart with the words Enter Creative PR

From Les Binet and Peter Field’s study – “The Long and the Short of It”- PR has been proven highly trusted by consumers and is one of the most effective channels for building brand equity. ​ 

​​On average, PR (green) creates larger brand-building effects than channels such as TV or OOH, plus higher activation (or performance) effects too.​ Online video content (which we do a lot of through influencer marketing) also outperforms high-spend ATL channels.  This is why we’ve seen successful brands inverting a traditional paid media model in favour of an earned-first approach…

Why is PR not taken seriously?

Why is PR not taken seriously? 

Perhaps it’s the history of fluffy metrics or the exaggeration seen in Emily in Paris – your marketing budget is being cut, and you don’t want to take advice from a Netlifx show. But maybe you do? 

Here are our top 5 proof points as to why creative PR is the saviour to your marketing budget-induced sleepless nights. 

When done creatively and strategically, it has the opportunity to show up authentically in more channels than ever ​ 

 

It works alone but plays better with others

  • As part of a multi-channel campaign, PR can really shine

 

A good PR agency can deliver what an ad agency would charge ten times for

  • And this is all about preserving your marketing budget right? Check out our PizzaExpress Earn Your Strips results if you don’t believe us!

 

Culturally salient campaigns significantly outperformed on business metrics​

  • Guess where PR can get you… in culture.

 

PR is the Mr Worldwide of practices

  • If we can tap into global insights and use these as a catalyst for Creative PR ideas, we can flex across markets and maximise reach.  

 

And it stands up for itself in the boardroom, what’s not to love?