Whiteoaks

How would you sum up 2009 for your agency?

We started 2009 in a confident but cautious mood. By the mid-point of the year we were feeling considerably more optimistic; having retained all our major clients and won several new ones. The second half of 2009 then exploded – in a good way – for Whiteoaks. We were delighted to win several blue-chip technology clients including Salesforce.com and LG Electronics. By the close of 2009 our fees had increased by more than 40% (versus 2008).

What was the high point of 2009 for your agency?

Seeing our unique proposition, with a focus on transparency, performance commitments and tangible sales outcomes really resonate in the market. We were invited to participate in several high profile pitches, the majority of which we won. We beat our new business target by almost 300% in 2009 and we have already secured more high profile clients in 2010, but we're not allowed to talk about them just yet...

What was the low point of 2009 for your agency?

Just a few growing pains. We increased our staff numbers by approximately 15% in 2009 in order to ensure our growing list of clients receive the service they expect from Whiteoaks. We have very high standards and we know exactly what we want from our people. As a result, our commercial director in particular has spent a lot of time reviewing and interviewing candidates. We're still actively recruiting so it looks set to continue...

Please give an overview of your staffing through 2009, including significant hires and internal promotions.

In addition to recruiting new people (please see above) our growth has created several opportunities for members of our existing team to develop and move up the organisation. This has happened at all levels of the business. Most notably, we were delighted to promote both Jane Rigg and Jenny Tandy to account director roles in 2009.

What was your best client/account win of 2009 and why?

LG Electronics. We started by delivering a large-scale campaign to launch LG Electronics' new Business Solutions Partner Programme in the UK. This involved a mix of traditional public relations activities and broader marketing communications services, including channel engagement programmes. As a result of this successful campaign, Whiteoaks was invited to pitch for all of LG Electronics' Business Solutions work in the UK. We were delighted to win the account and now represent one of the world's leading technology brands on an ongoing basis.

What were your three best campaigns of 2009?

Firstly, for Autodesk we increased our scope of work from being the Northern European lead agency to managing the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. We now lead 19 agencies representing Autodesk in more than 30 countries. Our Infotainment Team represented clients, including Technicolor and The Vitec Group at the world's two major broadcast technology shows: IBC in Amsterdam and NAB in Las Vegas. Activities ranged from one-to-one journalist briefings to major press conferences with more than 100 media in attendance. Finally, as mentioned above, the launch of LG Electronics' new Business Solutions Partner Programme in the UK. We exceeded all of our communications performance targets and helped the client to beat all of its business performance targets for the project.

How did the recession affect your performance in 2009 and what trends did you notice throughout the year – e.g. clients taking longer to sign off budgets etc?

We believe the economic environment actually helped our proposition to resonate more strongly in 2009. We focus on transparency (clients know exactly what we're going to deliver), performance commitments (clients know exactly what results we will achieve), service level agreements (we put our money where our mouth is) and linking PR performance to sales outcomes (demonstrating that our campaigns positively influence purchasing behaviour). In a tough economic environment, where companies are even more focused on demonstrating tangible return on investment and driving sales, we believe clients are looking for something different to the traditional 'smoke and mirrors' approach favoured by many of our competitors.

Of which achievement in 2009 are you most proud?

There are actually three: we retained, and in many cases grew, all our major clients. We converted several high profile technology clients. And finally, we retained and added to our team of highly skilled PR professionals.

Describe your agency in five words

Forget Fluff. Deliver Great Results.

How have you embraced social media in 2009?

With the Whiteoaks eTree proposition we continue to develop and implement a growing number of proactive social media campaigns for our clients. These range from managing entire social media communications and dialogues through to utilising new media to reach non-traditional target audiences.

What are your plans for 2010?

We will continue to challenge the out-dated beliefs promoted by many within our industry. There is a new, different and better way for clients to buy and receive PR services. It is possible to be transparent and it is possible to commit to PR outputs and sales outcomes. Our main goal in 2010 is to champion the concept of totally transparent PR with proven sales success.

If your agency were an animal, what animal would it be and why?

An owl. We're intelligent, we can see in the dark and we have a 360 degree view of what clients really want from public relations.