More chutzpah required – making your mark with International media

In between I have worked in consumertech before it was sexy, and in art & entertainment when it was. Now? I focus on a small but perfectly formed niche – international creative companies.

Amsterdam is a hotbed of digital bureaus, ad agencies, design companies, architects, branding consultancies and designers. Year on year more companies from around the world are attracted to set up shop here due to a heady combination of helpful tax breaks, a cultural heritage of great Dutch design, art and architecture, a rich source of local talent, and easy access to the rest of Europe.

Like any sector, there are issues, trends, challenges and celebrations specific to creative companies, especially if your focus is European/International rather than a single local market. Companies are looking to stand out head and shoulders above the competition in a fiercely competitive arena.

Generally speaking, I am approached by companies for one of three main reasons: to launch a new company or European office; to re-position a company which has gone off the boil, or is embarking on a new focus; and to help consolidate a reputation. Either way, it is all about international reputation management and client acquisition. If a company is not using PR - in its broadest, most eclectic, sense - to support business development, then it is just PR puffery. Which is a waste of money.

When working strategically with a creative company HQ’d in Amsterdam, concerns such as the media landscape raise their head time and again.

The creative industry in Amsterdam rests upon a lily pad in a huge sea of European competition. It can often take a PR consultancy more chutzpah to stand out from the crowd – a harder fight, a louder shout, a better pitch. Why? Because of the way the news media works.

The UK, Germany, the USA, these are countries with a well-established media industry which is recognised in and outside of the local country. Such countries influence the media landscape – especially that of the ad/design/branding news – because they play on both local and worldwide lily pads. Whilst the Netherlands has a healthy local news industry, it often has little relevance to, or particular influence on, other countries. Dutch media, for the most part, appeals to no one but those within Benelux. To benefit your client, a PR consultancy needs to be extra-good at getting attention from both the pan-European and International media.

Of course, I don’t advocate the conveyor-belt style of PR, involving the lowest-common-denominator ‘press release machine’. Yes, a creative agency wants the industry to know about the great work they have achieved on behalf of their clients. But this creative flag-waving must have a purpose. Without a strategic approach to brand positioning, media relations activity fails to truly hit the target of strengthening creative repute, appealing to potential employees, or taking ownership of industry debate.

A cultural melting pot and an International perspective bring their own challenges to any agency, but, great gods, they certainly inform the work. Now, don’t get me started on creatives’ egos.