In the final blog of our three-part series, Shimon discusses the future of PR and PRO.

DREW: What makes PRO different from other agencies?

SHIMON: I think that we’re different because we absolutely love what we do right the way through the company. What I mean by that is that certainly in many companies that I know, the more senior you are, the less day-to-day client work you do. We do not hold by that at The PR Office. Everyone is working and speaking to clients everyday. Pride in what we do is also something unique in the way in which we do it. We have the most remarkable team here at The PR Office and because of that, we have exceptional results, terrific clients and great repeat business. I think there are many things that make us different, but the main ones are our enthusiasm and expertise.

DREW: Looking at the industry as a whole, what would you like to change over the next fifteen years?

SHIMON: That’s very interesting because, to a large extent it really isn’t what I would like to change because the industry in itself has to be reflective and respond to change. For instance, the advent of social media meant that the PR industry had to respond to that creation by finding out ways of working using platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. We have to be quite responsive to change. On the one hand, we’re going to be ‘changed’ as society changes.

However, if you want to get a micro-answer to what I would like to see change, I would like to see more people come into the industry with a passion for the industry. I’ve had some experience recently with recruitment whereby people come in because they need a job. There isn’t the same passion and excitement that there has been in the past. We need a passion for PR, messaging, the news and helping clients get their messages out.

DREW: What do you see as some of the key areas of opportunity for an agency like The PR Office over next few years?

SHIMON: I think that the term ‘new opportunities’ is about a definition. Does it refer to new opportunities or further opportunities? The difference is that I actually want to get better at what I’m good at. And so, the opportunities that I look for are the ones that are further opportunities. The work that we do, the areas that we work in. I think that one of the mistakes that you can fall into when running a business or certainly doing business is that you can be looking for new things all the time and take yourself off focus. It’s not about new things, it’s about being bigger and better at what we do. That’s really what I want to look at over the next couple of years.