✅ PRCA pitch framework aims to fix ‘broken’ pitch process
Corporate communications, public relations, media and management insight
The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) has published a new management framework to improve procurement in the public relations industry. The framework was developed through collaboration and research with agencies and clients.
It addresses the findings of the Pitch Forward report published by the PRCA last year and includes both agency and in-house perspectives. The report concluded that the procurement process for public relations was ‘broken’ and called for an end to budget uncertainty, opaque processes, ghosting and intellectual property misuse.
Agencies describe being caught in a demanding pitching cycle, participating in an average of 14.4 pitches per year. Half of agencies pitch monthly and some pitch weekly.
The average investment in a pitch is more than £7,000 and up to £20,000.
The average pitch process typically takes two to three months and the win rate is one in three.
The new framework sets out five steps for a pitch process based on the acronym FRESH, which stands for Fair, Realistic, Ethical, Structured and with a Healthy conclusion. It states four conditions for the basis of a pitch: clear objectives, an agreed budget, an understanding of the potential of public relations and an equitable process.
While the framework's adoption remains voluntary, the PRCA will actively advocate for its implementation within client procurement processes and integrate it into membership requirements.
By embracing the FRESH framework, the PRCA argues that the public relations industry will take a significant step toward a more efficient, ethical and effective pitch process that benefits both agencies and clients.
Have an excellent week.
Management
🗣️ CORPORATE ADVOCACY: A new study challenges organisations to rethink taking public stances on social and political issues. While increased polarisation can drive engagement and showcase organisational purpose, the research emphasises creating structured conversations rather than dodging difficult topics or remaining neutral. Source: Wadds Inc.
📱 YOUTH TRENDS: According to a new Thread & Fable report, Gen Alpha is experiencing unprecedented early digital immersion, creating wider disparities in education, health and opportunities within the cohort. It recommends organisations move beyond demographic targeting to focus on interest-based engagement strategies. Source: Thread & Fable.
📰 MEDIA BALANCE: Studies show that increased news consumption correlates with higher anxiety, but experts recommend strategic interaction rather than complete disengagement from current events. The key is to be intentional about news consumption by setting specific times to check updates and choosing reliable sources. Source: Harvard Business Review.
💡 RIOT REALITY: Youth involvement in the summer 2024 riots was driven by opportunism and community disconnection rather than social media influence or racial tensions. A Children’s Commissioner’s report highlights how evidence-based research can challenge prevailing crisis narratives and prevent misguided communications responses that fail to address root causes. Source: Children's Commissioner.
Social media
⏰ WEEKDAYS WORK: The optimal time to share content on LinkedIn is between 7am and 4pm on weekdays with Wednesday and Thursday seeing peak engagement. Use carousel posts for peak engagement which outperform other content types almost six-fold. Video content is showing strong growth, with platform-wide viewership up 36% year over year. Source: Buffer.
🏷️ TAGGING STRATEGY: A community discussion concluded that tags in LinkedIn posts should be limited to individuals directly involved with the content, such as authors or speakers. The approach aligns with LinkedIn's algorithm, which reportedly penalises posts tagging multiple users (especially more than eight) or repeatedly tagging the same people, as these patterns may be interpreted as artificial engagement tactics. Source: Wadds Inc.
🖼 INSTAGRAM INSIGHTS: An analysis of 250 public-sector Instagram posts finds that carousels lead engagement at 0.96%, followed by Reels (0.73%) and single images (0.72%). The study shows that traditional video and toolkit content significantly underperforms while highlighting Instagram's current limitations with emerging formats like GIFs and AI-generated content. Source: Dan Slee.
Artificial intelligence
💫 AI FREE ACCESS: Microsoft has made OpenAI's advanced model freely available through Copilot. It was previously priced $200/month via ChatGPT Pro. It excels at detailed analysis and code generation, though its knowledge is limited to October 2023. Source: PC World.
🇨🇳 CHINESE CHALLENGER: DeepSeek, the Chinese-developed AI chatbot tool, launched earlier this week. Developed at a fraction of the cost of other models, it benchmarks favourably for research and writing tasks with OpenAI ChatGPT and Google Gemini. Please be careful of data security and privacy issues. Source: BBC.
⚖️ LORDS CHALLENGE: The House of Lords has dealt a significant blow to government plans by requiring AI companies to respect copyright law and notify creators when using their work for training. The amendments, which passed by 145-126 votes, challenge proposed copyright exceptions for AI training that critics claim would damage the UK's 2.4 million-strong creative sector. Source: Graham Lovelace.
Events
🤝 MANAGEMENT INSIGHTS: I’m looking forward to leading a CIPR Scotland discussion on the alignment of management and public relations from 1 to 2 p.m. on 20 February 2025. I'm halfway through my PhD research, and this will be a welcome opportunity to share my research and arguments and get feedback from the community as I start my fieldwork. The free event is open to members and non-members. Source: CIPR Scotland.
📊 DATA MASTERS: We’re fans of PR Moment’s Masterclass events. The upcoming Intersection of Data, Planning, and Measurement, on 6 February, features speakers from agencies such as Applause Consultancy, Burson, CommsClarity and Golin and organisations such as the Information Commissioner's Office, Meta and the UK Government. Wadds Inc. readers can get 15% off virtual and in-person tickets using the code EXCLUSIVE15. Source: PRmoment.
Thank you to Tricia Fox, Graham Lovelace, Rebecca Roberts, Carole Scott, Dan Slee Alan Morrison, and everyone who shares and debates the stories in the newsletter via our Facebook and LinkedIn communities.
Sarah Waddington CBE is a director, Wadds Inc. and Interim CEO, PRCA.
Thank you for the mention!
Welcoming so much in this piece today! Pitch frameworks and icky LinkedIn tagging x