“Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.” – Anthony Robbins
As part of a special series, we reached out to a public relations agencies across the country for our 2021 Half Year Report, what are some of the key learnings, what is working (and not), what does the future of marketing look like and more. Here is our interview with bicom [TCO] as we look at how the agency performed during the first half of 2021.
Has your agency launched any new services/ offering for brands over the last 6 months?
We launched a new brand promise. After nearly fifteen years mastering the consumer and lifestyle verticals, we now offer our clients a results guarantee. Recognizing the reality of small and medium-sized enterprises’ investment in public relations and the added value communications represent in their recovery and growth in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we commit to achieving objectives, with key performance indicators (KPIs) and timelines jointly determined with each new client.
In a space where agility is a prerequisite to play, the new brand promise embraces bicom’s founders’ entrepreneurial spirit. Marie-Noëlle Hamelin and Vicky Boudreau have always honoured achieving results, however necessary, either extending a project, pivoting mid-strategy, or amplifying an offer through other avenues like digital, influencer marketing or traditional public relations. bicom’s new business offering minimizes client risk, protects investments and, depending on campaign results, can mean revisions to a final invoice.
Also, our b nation community is more popular than ever! We have increased the number of participants and the size of our campaigns. Also, in the last 6 months we have more clients for which we provide our services in the United States.
What has worked really well for you and your team as you moved to work from home model?
In moving to the work-from-home model, we have experienced more inter-team contact. In fact, the flow of communication between our Montreal and Toronto teams is stronger than ever.
What has been the biggest learning for you over the last 6 months? For your agency?
Our biggest learning over the past 6 months has been in human relations. We are becoming increasingly aware that we are a human business and the fact we have kept all our talent during the health crisis without layoffs or salary reductions is an achievement we are very proud of. As a result, we can count more than ever on the loyalty of our employees and their dedication to the success of the company.
How has communications changed as a result of COVID-19?
Today our internal communications are more organized. We have put in place an ad hoc system, which shares information from the executive management to the teams on a daily basis.
We have also maximized our team meetings in a relevant and consistent way. On another level, we have more closer relationships with our clients. We are much more in touch with their reality, which is constantly changing.
How can marketers grow their brand post-covid?
The way specialists can develop their brand after COVID is by conducting a survey fist with consumers, to evaluate out if they are still looking for our products/services in the same way.
We can no longer take for granted that the strategies that performed best before the pandemic will have the same impact. There is an exercise in reopening a conversation with the target audience, to ensure what we are doing is remains relevant.
In addition, it is now more than ever important for brands to be authentic and have a purpose, as consumer are increasingly conscious of the repercussions of their purchasing habits on the environment, as well as societal issues. Marketing must be true, transparent and showcase the positive steps brands are taking towards these issues, all the while addressing their weaknesses.
Consumers and brands all around the world have become more vocal and involved in various social issues, what does this mean for communication?
The first challenge would be to have an internal discussion before publicly addressing these issues in the public arena. If a brand promotes a policy that it doesn’t actively promote internally, consumers will find out and the brand may experience more blowback than if they had kept silent.
Also, everyone is under the radar (whether they take a stand or not) – there will always be someone saying it’s not enough or it’s not done right. But the most crucial thing we need to do is walk the talk and make sure that no matter what the initiatives might be, to look back internally and say, “Where do we stand today regarding this or that issue? – Then, when we implement policies and new projects that build towards real change. Symbolic gestures must be avoided as they will do more harm than good.
These are issues that benefit from working with specialists on different topics. Brands should not be afraid to seek external expertise to take and express a position on sensitive issues.
How can brands earn consumer attention in this new world?
Brands can earn the consumer’s attention in this new world through an ultra-personalized approach; there is so much noise/information to which consumers are exposed on a daily basis. The information needs to be personalized and the content needs to be highly relevant. It needs to be seen as value-added content. It’s not about traditional promotion and pushing the brand, but rather bringing something interesting to the audience.
There are many agencies offering various services, what makes your agency different?
What makes our agency different is our integrated approach. Our teams are tailor-made for each mandate and the different disciplines collaborate directly on the mandates. In addition, our exclusive community of nano influencers, b nation, that has been created and is actively engaged by the agency can be leverage to maximize our clients’ visibility among their unique tailored demographic. It’s not an automatic application, it’s a real community of highly committed individuals.