Juggling the workaday demands of a busy marketing or PR department in the cultural industries often takes the idea of multi-tasking to the extreme, observes Vivienne Francis.
From selling tickets to cajoling journalists and developing ways of finding new audiences, little time is left to look ahead or tackle a specific, burning issue. Drafting in a consultant to grasp the reigns of strategic planning or take charge of a large-scale project can be a good way to alleviate mounting pressure. By bringing in outside specialists you can feel reassured that someone is tackling a particular issue on your behalf and giving it all the time and consideration it needs.
Annie Lloyd, of Leeds Metropolitan University Gallery and Studio Theatre, hired the marketing agency Anita Morris Associates (AMA) to fill the gap between staff for three months. The fact that a high-profile multi-media installation project was looming helped shape her decision. ?It was because of that project that we knew we had to get some marketing help. Otherwise, we would have just managed in-house. There is a real benefit in taking on a consultant to focus on one important project? she said. A second advantage of using outside help is that it can ?swell the ranks for less?, by putting a full team of marketing and press specialists at your disposal. Annie believed they really got value for money. ?We would have had one marketing officer and we got three people. There was the strategic ability but also the willingness to do the nitty gritty press and marketing and that really made a difference.?
Defining the scope and targets of a particular project, and getting this right at the beginning, is key to the success of the relationship. ?The quality of the brief is vital? says Anita Morris. ?In PR, for example, sometimes a company will tell you it needs a new logo or a higher media profile; but that might not be the key issue. It is coming to you with the solution and not letting you examine the problem. We work with the client to make sure our response to the brief will move the company in the direction it wants to take.?
One potential concern that clients may have is that a consultant will behave like an ?outsider?, called in to tell existing staff what they already know and receive a fat pay cheque for their trouble. Becoming an integral part of the in-house team is crucial to overcoming these barriers. ?It?s not rocket science, it?s chemistry? says Anita. ?What makes the difference is a really good relationship and communication systems that enable you to deal with issues before they become problems. The best work you do is when the relationship with the client is really strong and you feel part of their team.? Nicola Stephenson, Artistic Director of The Culture Company, agrees. She has worked with AMA since 1999, and thinks of them as an extension of her company. ?It isn't just about marketing. Working with one agency there is a consistency,? she said.
The same suspicions can be overcome and strong bridges built in more traditional consultancy situations. Arts Consultant Roger Lancaster, who has worked with the National Glass Centre (NGC), in Sunderland, believes it is all too easy for consultants to talk too much on their own terms. ?Their most important skill is listening. Most of the solutions have already been thought of within the organisation; they just haven?t surfaced. It is the organisation that is going to have to produce the result. The NGC is now re-establishing itself. We started the process but they are implementing the proposals.?
Hiring a consultant, it seems, can be an energising, positive process allowing a company to find a fresh way forward without losing its own agenda or identity.
Vivienne Francis is freelance journalist and PR e: viviennefrancis@yahoo.co.uk