Co-author Claire Bridges explores findings from five years of the Holmes Report's landmark study, analysing what they mean for the future of the PR industry.

1. The War For Ideas
Presented at Euprera 2017 Congress by
Claire Bridges, Study Co-Author, Founder, Now Go Create
5 Years of The Holmes Report,
Creativity in PR Study

2. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
Overview
• Initiated 2012
• Key topic areas
• Business value of PR agencies
• Perceptions on the quality of ideas
• Barriers to creativity
• Drivers of creative work
• Definitions of creativity
• Tools and process
• Talent and investment

3. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
Methodology
• Polled between 350 - 650 people each year
via online questionnaire
• Majority UK & US respondents
• Contributions from more than 35 countries
• In-house, agency practitioners & suppliers respond
• Range of industries and sectors covering:
consumer, corporate, healthcare, technology,
digital and public affairs practices
• Qualitative and quantative study

4. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
Creativity is notoriously
tricky to define
• The ability to outthink the competition, rather than
outspend them (earn it)
• The novelty or ‘newness’ of the idea
• The emotion that the work evokes
• The influence and impact (recommendation, media
coverage, fame) delivered by the creative work
• The value of that influence and impact (profit, behaviour
change, enhanced reputation)
• Creativity in PR is context-dependent

5. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
Budget emerges
as biggest barrier
Industry embraces creative role as
client demands rise
?
2012
2013
Headlines by year
Big ideas and creative
quality are key concerns
Creativity in PR on the rise
despite client concerns
Does the PR industry have what
it takes to win the war for ideas?
2014
2015
2016
2017

6. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
We have all the big ideas.
It's just nobody will pay for them.
UK agency executive, Digital
2012: big ideas and creative
quality are key concerns

7. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
How would you describe the quality of
creativity in the PR industry?
Inspirational 6%
Good 40%
Ordinary 38%
Unsatisfactory 10%
Poor 5%
Non-existent 1%

8. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
2013: all the b’s…business value, barriers,
budget
• Creativity valued by in-house marketers and
communications as a genuine business priority
• Yet PR firms struggle to prove their worth
• Only 18% of clients consistently were happy with
agency’s creative output
• 50% sporadically happy
• 29% find it a constant challenge

9. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
PR agencies are not structured to
provide creativity as a service. To do that you need
have a creative team that is paid solely to think and
create. Not account teams who like to think they are
creative but spend the majority of their time
managing projects and clients. Until PR agencies
shape themselves like creative agencies they won’t
be creative.
PR Agency, UK

10. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
2014: creativity in PR on the rise
despite client concerns
• 49% said quality of creativity in PR campaigns had
improved over the past year, a significant increase on
last year, when 61% disagreed with this contention
• 72% said they had a creative process in their business,
another improvement on 2013
• Creative Director hires up by 10% since 2012 to 42%
• But PR agencies rank behind ad and digital agencies
when clients weigh them according to creative quality

11. We are building a new planet.
Taking the best of the ad agencies and their process (and
their staff!) and the best of the PR account teams (and their
business nous and media specialism) and creating
shareable, earnable ideas with strong creative teams.
Jackie Cooper, Edelman

12. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
2015: industry embraces creative role as
client demands rise
• 63% of agencies think the quality of creativity in PR
campaigns has improved over the past year,
compared to 49% last year
• 56% of clients agree
• 40% of in-house respondents rate creativity as
'fundamental' to their decision to hire and retain an
agency, up 21% on 2014
• 70% of all respondents believe that clients are
demanding greater levels of creativity from their
agency

13. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
• 48% of agency respondents said PR agency has been
designated as lead creative agency
• 21% said it had been considered
• 74% of clients would consider PR agency for this role
2016: The War Of The Worlds
Are PR firms leading creative on behalf of their
clients, ahead of advertising agencies?

14. Yes. It’s still as rare as an albino buffalo but it
has happened.
Pete Marino, Chief Public Affairs and Communications Officer, MillerCoors
Has your PR agency ever been
designated as lead creative agency?

15. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
Payment structure of PR firms vs ad/media firms.
Get PR involved too late in the process, the default is to ask the ad
agency. When PR is involved from the beginning and asked to
provide creative concepts, we are often head and shoulders above
the rest! We just need to be given the chance.
By and large, PR firms don’t understand creativity or have
processes in place to develop or capture it.
Prejudice and preconception. Clients still believe that only the
advertising agencies are truly creative.
What do you think are the barriers to PR agencies
becoming the lead creative agency?

16. The W ar For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PRStudy
W hat ’s
changed?
1. More resources devot ed t o
creat ive t raining & educat ion
2. Creat ive Direct or role well-
est ablished (40 %have one)
3. Creat ive leadership emerging
on t op t eam agendas wit h
more f ocus on creat ive cult ure
4. Creat ive conf idence is
high leading t o brave,
impact f ul work t hat cut s
t hrough
5. Compet it ion is f iercer t han
ever
1. Crit ical areas st ill lacking
rigour (like idea evaluat ion)
2. HR not well-connect ed t o
driving creat ive pract ices
3. More f ocus on creat ivit y but
lit t le real innovat ion in PR
indust ry
4. Diversit y of t hought - t he
indust ry is not meet ing t he
challenge
W hat ’s
t he same?

17. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
• How can PR agencies prove they can devise
creative ideas that travel & does it matter?
• What does the PR agency/business model of the
future look like?
• How to win the war for talent
• How will PR firms be impacted by the circling
management consultancies?
Questions this raises for the PR industry

18. The War For Ideas 5 Years of The Holmes Report, Creativity in PR Study
What’s missing?
What’s next?
How would you like to see the study develop?
claire@nowgocreate.co.uk, @nowgocreate
arun@holmesreport.com, @holmesreport
www.nowgocreate.co.uk
www.holmesreport.com/ranking-and-data/creativity-in-pr
Take part in the 2017 study here
www.surveymonkey.com/r/createPR2017
Talk to us…