Daniel and Imogen of AD Communications joined us in the Podcast Booth to talk about how a print and packaging PR agency has changed over 40 years
The Podcast Booth was fighting the Knowledge Zone next door for volume, but we still had a good chat with Daniel Porter and Imogen King from AD Communications. Imogen is an account director at the agency and Daniel is the client services director.
AD has been doing PR in this industry for a long time, so we started by asking where it focuses. Daniel says, “We’re a specialist comms agency working with companies across the print and packaging sectors. We’re not exclusively in print and packaging, but that’s absolutely our heritage and where the majority of our clients are in some capacity.”
From PR agency to integrated comms
The agency has changed a lot since it started. “We turned 40 a couple of years ago, and we had a little birthday party to celebrate. So we have been around for a time, and we’ve certainly changed a lot over that time. A lot of people still describe us as a PR agency, and that’s very much what we were once upon a time. But technology has changed the way communications happens. There are so many more channels available now and we’re across all of them, so we’re very much an integrated PR and marcomms agency,” Dan explains.
We asked when that shift started. “It’s a gradual process. I’ve been with AD just about eleven years, and it was certainly changing then. We have had a specialist creative function for probably eight or so years. Even before all of that, integrating the earned and paid sides of communications was a big part of what we did, and we’ve been doing that for a long time with specialist media buying.”
Working with the media has changed too. Dan says, “Thinking back to when I started, most of the time when you were working with the media you were working to a hard deadline because it was going to be printed. That’s still the case sometimes, but often now we’re dealing with the media over a podcast, a webinar or a website article, and the way you work with all those things changes.”
Imogen has seen the same thing. “What we’re seeing is an increase in formats. Historically we would have been focusing purely on print advertising. Now a lot of the media are doing podcasts and video interviews, and we’ve noticed that shift significantly.”
Running PR and media buying under one roof means AD deals with publications from both sides. “There’s such a close link between the two. If you want your media buying to work hard, the editorial side needs to support it. But equally it goes both ways, and it’s important that you’re supporting the publications from that perspective as well,” Dan adds.
AD Communications’ clients include Fujifilm, who were at the show. “Fujifilm is a client we’ve worked with for a long time. We’ve worked with a number of clients right across the industry for many years. We’re always on the lookout for new companies to work with, and we’re hugely appreciative of the ones that have been with us for many years.”
Growing people from within
AD is known for retaining its staff for many years. Imogen has been there nine and a half years, so we asked how the agency recruits. Dan says, “Being a relatively small company, there’s not a regular pattern to it. It depends on whether new clients or new work are coming in. We’re looking for someone who’s going to fit in with the company culture, be a team player, and have the skills or experience necessary for the role. Imogen and also Aimee [who was watching] joined us straight out of school.”
Imogen picked up the development side. “We do a lot of external training but also internal training. Some people have been with the agency for a long time, and everyone has different skill sets, so we learn a lot from each other. I joined straight out of school in an admin role and worked across different clients and different parts of the agency. There was a time when I supported on the media buying side in a small capacity. The key is the support from the team, everybody sharing their skill set and learning from one another. Coming to events is a huge part of the development side as well.”
Why podcasts work for thought leadership
Since we were sitting in a podcast booth, we asked whether AD recommends podcasts to its clients. Imogen says, “Something that’s been really prevalent in the conversations I’ve had today is that a lot of companies are in a bit of a transition phase. They’re trying to understand what’s next for their business and how legislation is going to affect it. Formats like podcasts are really helpful for getting that knowledge and hearing from people who have been in that position and progressed their business, or from people looking at it from a slightly outside perspective.”
Dan sees podcasts as part of AD’s thought leadership work. “That’s about being an authoritative and unique voice. AD Comms is putting out a report on exactly that, about being heard amid the noise. A key part of standing out is having that authoritative voice, and podcasts are a really useful way of doing that because you have the opportunity to dig a little deeper, ask questions and really go in depth.”
To finish, we asked what they had noticed around the hall. Dan concludes, “There certainly seems to be a buzz about the place. I got to play with a digger earlier on the stand across the way, so there are some fun draws on the stands to get people along. It’s interesting to see the new technology people are talking about. Automation and AI are certainly conversations that are going on, and I noticed there was a talk earlier about robots in print. That’s been a big conversation over the last couple of years and it’s continuing, so I’m interested to see where that goes.”
AD Comms will be joining The Guide very soon.