A SEAT AT THE TABLE
In April this year, SPECIAL PR opened its doors as a PR extension of Special’s signature creativity and impact. Seven months in, the match made in heaven is going from strength to strength.
In 2020 Kelly Grindle started talking with Special CEO and co-founder Tony Bradbourne about what increased PR capability could look like at the agency. The venture was launched in April 2021 with Kelly taking on the role of Head of PR & Influence at Special PR.
Half a year later, they’re happy they took the plunge.
“We had no idea how quickly we’d grow,” Kelly says. “We started with no clients, and no team, we had to build the whole operation from scratch. What we did have was a very clear vision of what we would offer, and how it would be better than what was currently available. Since then, we’ve been blown away by the number of clients who are interested in our services.”
“We’re now at two dozen clients and a team of four. That’s an incredible result for a first year, let alone the first seven months.”
When Special PR launched, Tony said the time was right to give PR more prominence at the agency. Now he knows the venture has proven to be a natural extension of Special’s offering.
“Everything we do is driven by effectiveness,” Tony says. “The outputs might seem pretty incredible – like a 40ft inflatable yellow rubber duck in Auckland’s viaduct to launch an entertainment channel, or putting 60,000 lights on Auckland Harbour Bridge for 2degrees for the first time ever, or a film a day for an entire year for Tourism New Zealand – but each campaign starts with a clear strategy designed to drive effectiveness. “PR has been criticised by some for having a scattered approach, and a lack of measurable results beyond just headlines. Special PR is designed to be different, with creative thinking and a tightly refined strategy at our core which we think is the only way to do things.”
It’s this strategic approach that has given Special PR an edge since launching in the midst of repeated lockdowns and a global pandemic. The four-strong team have exceptional skills in PR, media relations, social media, activations and influencer engagement.
And keeping the team skilled across all disciplines is important to Kelly.
“We’re one of the first creative agencies that is truly integrated. We are a creative PR agency and we’re also plugged in at the senior table [at Special] working on major projects. We think the set-up we have is unique to this market, and it works for us,” he says.
“Special’s success and recognition locally and globally is a testament to their strong creatives and strategists – when we can harness that specialism on top of our PR talents that’s really effective.”
Entering the market while the pandemic and lockdowns continue to disrupt businesses globally has added another layer to getting Special PR off the ground. Yet the flexibility of the PR industry and the enthusiasm on Kelly’s team have meant they’ve managed to ride the changing tides effectively.
“Lockdown has had its drawbacks, but there have been benefits too. We’ve been able to be nimble with our work through influencers and media relations,” Kelly says.
“Having to delay work or push out deadlines also comes with benefits. It means more time to finesse projects, resulting in a really exciting pipeline of work for next year.”
With both Special and Special PR based in Auckland, all the more care needs to be given to look after the wellbeing of staff and clients during this extended lockdown.
Tony likes to look at this adversity as an opportunity.
“If you’ve got an existing sponsorship for an investment that can’t happen, we can discover something more effective and powerful to replace that. The great thing about PR and ideas is that they flourish in times of difficulty,” he says.
In recent years Special has enjoyed an unrivalled period of success, including being named by industry bible Campaign UK as ‘Best Agency in the World’, snapping up the
‘NZ Agency of the Year’ title from B&T, Campaign Brief and Campaign Asia and most recently being named ‘ The most effective agency in Asia Pacific’ and ‘NZ Agency of the Year’ at the APAC Effectiveness Awards.
Launched 14 years ago in Auckland and now operating in Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles, Special Group offers Kelly a global network he is keen to tap into.
“We’re definitely domestic and global,” Kelly says. “The wider Special network allows us to service big global accounts – and we see that growing significantly in the future. But crucially, first and foremost, we’re a New Zealand PR agency – with the best strategists, creatives and publicists to help shift opinions and change behaviour right here at home.”
Part of Special PR’S unique appeal is its ability to tap into talent in the wider agency to deliver the work their client’s need. Special PR is currently working with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise alongside Special, on a brief that includes stimulating sustainable investment in New Zealand.
On the one hand, if a pure-play PR brief comes across their desks, the team can be quick and nimble and execute it with ease. If it’s got a bigger budget or a bigger role for that client, Special PR can collaborate with all of the market leading skills at Special.
From a client’s perspective, it’s just another string in Special’s bow.
“We’re flexible around what clients need,” Tony says.
“Some clients use Special for design or just for PR or just for strategic or social needs, other make use of all these skills combined. Why PR is really important for all of Special’s work is because fame-generating brand platforms and campaigns are our absolute goal.
“Campaigns need to be spoken about, so PR is a vital ingredient to any successful modern campaign. We use Kelly and the team to make all our work better. Or clients can come uniquely to Special PR and get pure unadulterated PR thinking. That’s a brilliant opportunity.”
The Special PR team is also preparing a major campaign this summer for Jaguar Land Rover – an opportunity to pivot work in the wake of 2022 ASB Classic’s cancellation, of which Jaguar was a major sponsor.
“That event was going to be huge in terms of eyeballs on their brand,” Kelly says. “We have to put our strategic hats on and think about ways to match that impact with a different solution.”
Other accounts include Red Bull’s ‘Flugtag’ event in March 2022, Lion New Zealand, Contact Energy and Education New Zealand.
All in all, there’s a lot going on. Not even a year in, Kelly knows they’ll have to grow to match the demand. By next year he believes they’ll need to bring more people on deck to complement the specialists they currently have in their ranks.
“We have just hired Sarah Prigg, a phenomenal PR Director who has recently returned from London – she will be instrumental in fuelling our growth plans and is already on the hunt for more staff. How and when we grow will be organic, and largely determined by what our clients need.”
The sudden growth is exciting and gratifying for Tony, whose only regret is that he didn’t launch Special PR capabilities 14 years ago.
“When Special launched, we wanted to break down the silos between design and advertising thinking,” he says.
“We could see that many brands were using separate advertising, design, digital and PR agencies – each with a different point of view, and not in a good way. We wanted to work with clients from strategy, NPD, naming, packaging – everything from shelf through to screen – to provide that same consistent high level of thinking at every touchpoint. And to achieve that you need to have PR at the centre, not in another silo.”
For Kelly, leading the PR capability at Special Group was a no-brainer and he was attracted to his role by the sheer ammunition and possibility that Special offers.
“One of the reasons I wanted to join Special is that their thinking has always had PR at its heart,” he says. “PR no longer operates in a silo – so being part of an integrated team where our work can influence a variety of channels and disciplines is the way of the future. Tony and the rest of the partners have such a huge drive and sense of ambition – which matches what I want to do. The opportunities to create a PR agency from scratch and take it to the world doesn’t come along every day.”
“PR now has a seat at one the world’s most creative and effective agencies; and I can’t wait to show you what we’re going to do.”