We love to get tongues wagging…so have a read of Brazen PR’s ‘Mind The Gap’ report in PRWeek UK today 😉.
Did you know that while only 13% of the UK population lives in London, 43% of PR pros work in the capital? This geographic bias must have an impact on both brand marketers and industry talent, right?
As the ‘Best Agency Outside London’ (thanks PRWeek), we thought we’d find out, so surveyed the UK’s senior brand marketers and London-based PRs, to see if we could uncover any interesting nuggets in the ‘London Bubble’ v ‘The Regions’ (ie everywhere else) debate.
And we did. We found 4 key trends: London-centricity, national disconnection, inflated costs & nepotism, which you can read all about in the article or by downloading the report in the comments below 👇🏼. The results are definitely eye-popping 😊.
For me, our report highlights the need for more social diversity in the industry. Consumers trust brands who understand them and reflect their real lives the most. So, PR agencies should do the same, but do they?
And the Government’s Levelling Up strategy may be a LONG way off becoming a reality, but as agency leaders, we should be leading the charge. Opening up opportunities to non-University educated students; improving our financial support packages; ensuring social mobility through our recruitment drives; making the work environment more flexible and inclusive, and generally creating a culture that champions diversity, not perpetuates stereotypes.
And finally, as a proud Manc, I’m very happy to reveal that North-west based marketers are the MOST in tune with the fact that brands don’t need to look to London for talent, creativity or success….which have never been defined by a postcode, have they? 😊.
Is it time to pop the London bubble? I think so. Let me know if you think so too.
#MindTheGap #BurstingTheBubble #Diversity #BreakingStereotypes #LevellingUp
PS Big thanks to John Harrington, Siobhan Holt and Evie Barrett at PRWeek UK and to everyone who helped make this report happen; Sasha Makel (née Marks), Peter Burling, Ben Brooks-Dutton, Adam Moss, Sophia Stewart, Corey Kitchener, Alex Thomson to name a few...
Co-Founder/Director of Speak, the award-winning content agency▪Host of 'Good Corp, Bad Corp' podcast ▪Ex-Journalist (Guardian, Evening Standard, BBC)
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