The Rise of Boutique Communication Agencies Offering ‘In-house’ Solutions
Tianwei Zhang
5 min read
LONDON — The recent wave of closures of fashion PR agencies comes as little surprise to the new generation of communication professionals who saw the sector’s systemic problems from years of training at major firms.
Big players like Karla Otto and Purple are now operating on a global scale and forming part of their respective creative alliances — The Independents Group and Together Group — to offer 360-degree creative and strategic services as they target big accounts that can afford a handsome monthly fee.
Small to medium-sized players, however, are finding it harder to compete, especially at a time when many of their clients are cutting costs, if not shutting altogether, in the face of stalling demand for luxury fashion.
In July, MGC London — an agency whose clients included leading designers such as Richard Quinn, Temperley, Galvan, Demellier and Taller Marmo — revealed its closure after eight years in business. Last October, ScienceMagic.Inc, the communications agency cofounded by Daniel Marks, Julietta Dexter and David Pemsel, current chair of the British Fashion Council, went into voluntary liquidation, a self-imposed windup that has been approved by shareholders, after losing millions of pounds.
At the same time, boutique-size communication agencies that position themselves as an extension of the companies they serve with tailored-made solutions are blossoming. Many of them have been able to expand their small businesses in recent years, taking on more clients and even expanding internationally.
Amelia Shean, founder of Shean Communications, a boutique PR agency and consultancy with clients such as 111Skin and Chāmpo, contended that some of the more traditional agencies’ approaches — where senior members focus on business development while junior staff take on multiple clients regardless of how thinly stretched they are — are unsustainable for having long-term clients.
“Success today means being more malleable in your approach. You can’t just draft a release and pitch it out and think it’s going to work. You’ve got to nurture your network and come up with impactful messaging and pitching alongside fun brand partnerships,” said Shean, who has helped 111Skin set up a dedicated space in the buzzy activewear brand Alo Yoga‘s first U.K. store on London’s Regent Street, where customers were able to come in and enjoy facials and masks provided by 111Skin, as well as receive skin consultations during their launch.
111Skin offers facials and masks as well as skin consultations during launch at Alo Yoga’s Regent Street store.
“This is a good example of working as an extension of the in-house team. I’ve been in touch with Alo Yoga for over a year, laying the groundwork for the London launch. You’re not just working with the client for a project. You’re thinking years ahead with them,” she added.
“From our perspective, we’re trying to use our expertise gained at the big agencies and use that to offer something that feels a bit more flexible, agile and adaptable, more of an in-house feeling for the brands that we work with,” Merritt said. “At the same time, we’re trying to identify brands that have growth potential, and hopefully the brands also see that they can grow with us.”
Cost control is also key to keeping boutique-size operations afloat. “I think maybe one thing that was holding back these agencies that sadly have had to close down is that with traditional PR, you have these big showrooms, central London offices and having big overheads to do heavy sample trafficking. We tried to lighten the burden from our side and streamline everything,” Merritt added.
“A few of our clients came from huge agencies. They felt lost within the mix there. Brands want reassurance from us. They want to know that someone is behind the case all the time. When you’re a huge agency with over 100 clients, you can’t be as proactive with every one of your clients. I think this is why there’s been a surge in the boutique PR agency market,” said Benezra, who tends to a mostly European clientele that includes brands such as Alexandra Miro, Edge of Ember, Charo Ruiz, Rouje, Boteh, Jia Jia, Oceanus and more.
“PR has changed massively since I started. When I used to work at Browns, our main focus was being featured in fashion editorials, or getting a big interview, which still matters. But right now, having the right people wearing the brand is getting increasingly important,” she added.
Case in point: Benezra worked with Beyoncé’s stylist on a potential placement for her client Charo Ruiz. In June, the pop icon ended up wearing a $490 white dress from the brand and did two posts on Instagram, amassing close to 5 million likes and generating more than 36,800 research results on Google.
