The North/South PR Divide

5th May

You might want to go and make yourself a brew for this one, it’s not going to be short.

This week saw the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) launch Corporate Affiliate, a new corporate membership scheme aimed at recognising and supporting the professional standards of in-house communications teams and PR agencies across the UK and overseas.

One of the key benefits put forward of becoming a Corporate Affiliate is that affiliates will save a minimum of £450 when compared to individual membership fees, in addition to receiving substantial discounts available on selected CIPR training courses.

Now, CIPR training courses are not cheap, so the phrase ‘substantial discounts’ drew my eye.   However, further down the launch copy it said Corporate Affiliate membership was ‘available to teams of 10 or more.’ Huge sigh. Yet again, the CIPR has missed an opportunity to develop an offering to support the smaller PR agencies that really need it.

A few months ago a former colleague posted an interesting blog addressing the north/south PR divide, which you can read here: http://bit.ly/1K0Suil. He touched on the beliefs held by some that to have a fulfilling career in PR you have to have worked in London and posed the question: Will we ever have a northern PR powerhouse?

You might be wondering what the link is between these stories. For me, it is that our own professional body sometimes acts as if it is the one of the biggest proponents of this north/south divide. Why? Well, let’s look at training. As an agency that cares about standards, we are keen that every member of our small team is given the opportunity to develop their skills as PR practitioners. If you use the CIPR training calendar as a guide, in the first six months of this year there are just two training courses being held in the north of England. TWO. And those two courses are on shooting and editing footage on iPhone and Android. Useful, yes. Core skills? No. The really meaty courses on stakeholder relations, improving writing skills and strategic PR management are all in London and this has been the case for as long as I can remember.

Despite the stereotypes, regional agencies are not afraid of leaving the ‘shire. Going to London isn’t the issue; we’ve got national clients. However, when you factor in that the average price of a CIPR training course is approximately £450, then add to that the cost of train tickets, you’re looking at a bill of £600 plus per employee. And, in their wisdom, the training organisers have decreed that the majority of courses must start at 9am. So, it’s a peak time, early bird train or the cost of a hotel the night before and a full day out of the office. To me, this could be perceived as financially penalising agencies outside of London.

Understandably, the courses available through the CIPR are more expensive if you’re a non-member, but the reality of the situation is that not every small agency can afford membership for each of its team, which begs the question, why, in the development of this affiliate scheme, has the CIPR missed an opportunity to alleviate the financial pressure that the cost of membership and training places on smaller agencies?

The current reality is that regional agencies, who have national clients and are increasingly holding their own at national PR and marketing awards ceremonies, find themselves effectively ‘frozen out’ of professional development opportunities – the same professional development opportunities that you’re encouraged to undertake as part of CIPR CPD.

The general feeling amongst the regional agencies that we mix with is that the CIPR does not do enough to support agencies outside of London. And yet we all pay for membership – why? Because regional agencies are afraid that ignoring the CIPR will put them even further on the periphery.

Rob Brown FCIPR is the newly appointed CIPR President for 2016 and a founding Partner at Rule 5, a well-respected agency we were shortlisted alongside in the Outstanding Small Consultancy category at the Excellence Awards. It’s encouraging that the new president is from a small agency background and will presumably have an understanding of the financial pressures on small businesses, but I also hope he is willing to address whether the organisation’s mission statement applies – AT ALL – to businesses north of the Watford Gap.