It’s remarkable that folk still hesitate when it comes to splashing out on PR

As Sir Alan Parker pockets £70m from selling just 10 per cent of his PR agency’s shares, Chris Blackhurst reflects on some of the big beasts of the business and banking world who now regret eschewing the often dismissed benefits of good PR

Saturday 26 June 2021 00:39 BST
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Sunk tycoon? Sir Alan Parker in 2007
Sunk tycoon? Sir Alan Parker in 2007 (Getty )

On the end of the phone was a familiar voice. That of a well-known businessman, now fallen on difficult times.

He’s not broke; in fact he’s amassed a huge fortune. There’s no doubt, though, that his star has crashed. Sure, he’s got his money, but he’s bitter and angry. What he would not give to be swaggering and barking, and have people jumping to his command, again.

Coincidentally, he had barely rung off when news broke that Sir Alan Parker had sold 10 per cent of his Brunswick public relations agency and that the firm was valued at £500m. Parker pockets £70m from the deal.

If anything illustrated the worth of PR it was my caller. He did not employ a specialist communications consultancy, preferring to handle the media himself. By the time he did concede he required assistance, and went outside, it was too late. His reputation was unsalvageable.

The sunk tycoon always thought he knew best, that he could deal with anything that came his way. What advice he did receive he tended to ignore. That was fine when he was on the rise – although he never built up a sufficient bank of popular goodwill, feeling there was simply no need.

If only he’d had experts helping him sooner. Although it’s possible, even then, that things would not have been much different. As I say, he was not one for listening, let alone heeding and following.

But when I am asked to explain the benefits of PR he comes to mind. There are others who also eschewed advice, who believed they could handle the press, in the same way they successfully managed everything else, only to come an almighty cropper. There was one banking boss who could never understand why he never enjoyed warm, positive coverage while his company was doing so well. Sure enough, when his organisation suffered a blow, the knives came out and he was finished. Again, he always paid scant attention to PR.

It’s remarkable that folk who would not think twice about hiring a lawyer or an accountant still hesitate, even now, when it comes to splashing out on PR.

Of course, the law and the financials matter. Yet often it’s how they and their organisation are regarded that also occupy them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked: how will they be judged, how are they viewed, how does society view them?

Today, Brunswick advises more than a fifth of the FTSE100 and employs 1,300 in 27 cities across the world

There will be some traditionalists who will shake their heads at a price of £500m. For a PR agency! They see Parker and his ilk as parvenus, not members of a proper profession, not to be taken seriously.

Parker, the son of Sir Peter, the former British Rail boss, founded Brunswick in 1987. His cheeky chappie persona masks a fierce determination and energy. He can bound in, be hail-fellow-well-met one minute, cracking jokes and wearing a toothy grin, then be serious and intense the next. He’s a prodigious networker, personable and empathetic, always seeming to have time, invariably striking the right note. Business leaders adore Parker because when they’re under stress, confronting a crisis or involved in a major deal, and the media and City are on their case, he supplies a calming, reassuring voice.

Having a famous, well-connected father (whom he adored and revered) served Parker well. He grew up around powerful people, unafraid to voice his opinions, not fazed by their presence. He learned when to show respect and to listen, when to step in and speak his mind.

Two events boosted Brunswick. One was the recruitment of David Brewerton, City editor of The Times. Until then, only a few journalists had crossed the floor, as it were. Brewerton’s appointment, maintains Parker, sent a signal – to journalists who could no longer mock when a senior member of their own had gone across, and to corporate titans and to Westminster and Whitehall, for whom The Times was the establishment paper.

The other pivotal moment was when Brunswick was seen to play a critical role in scuppering Hanson’s 1991 plans to attack ICI.

Few in the City gave sprawling, tired ICI any chance against the hitherto all-conquering, razor-sharp Hanson. But a skilful media campaign, highlighting, among other things, how the racehorses of Lord (Gordon) White, the late Hanson boss in the US, were being paid for by the company, did for the predator. Brunswick fought hard, and in some respects, dirty, but ICI won.

Today, Brunswick advises more than a fifth of the FTSE100 and employs 1,300 in 27 cities across the world. It’s true that Parker’s own standing took a battering and he was forced to resign earlier than planned as the international chairman of Save the Children in 2018, following a scandal surrounding sexual harassment complaints lodged against two senior members of staff.

There was speculation that Brunswick might suffer. Not a bit of it. The firm does not appear to have lost clients as a result. Based on the sale and the fact he is very much remaining in charge, the episode did not do him or Brunswick lasting harm – proof, possibly, of the merits of savvy PR.

No, if there was one surprise from the news it was that I thought Brunswick might have commanded more than £500m.

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