Old telephone next to iPhone

A little less PR, a little more communication, please

A few weeks ago, a fellow PR said to me, “no matter the problem, nine times out of ten, a PR agency will give you a PR solution.”

Papillon started out as a PR agency; press releases, media relations, slick campaigns, events, ideas and creativity in buckets – and this will be in Papillon’s DNA forever.

But a few years ago, we realised that PR was occupying a shrinking space on the marketing budget pie chart.

A PR agency’s return on investment was becoming harder to quantify, especially compared to the reams of data that advertising and marketing was now able to give.

With cookies, it became easy to track which advert worked on which customer, and which customer ultimately bought your product. This data can be collated on a massive scale to provide incredible insights into customer behaviour. In comparison, a killer piece of editorial which, in our opinion, is infinitely more influential than an advert, does not give up its return on investment so easily.

While businesses became more sceptical, the business of influencing opinion itself was changing. The rise of the social media influencer, and the decline in regional press coupled with dropping trust in journalism resulted in a maelstrom of forces for the PR sector.

Traditional print and visual media audiences continue to shrink, while journalists have access to a raft of content now every citizen has a camera in their pocket. This is an environment in which only the most agile agencies can thrive.

So Papillon PR became Papillon Communications.

The name change confirmed what had been the case for a long time – that Papillon was and is a full service communications agency that gives clients the best solution to their problem, not just the PR solution.

Whether you need a robust PR campaign, an email marketing solution, help with Facebook advertising or one-off digital consultancy and much more, Papillon’s creative team will provide the perfect solution – and this approach complements every part of the marketing spectrum.

Social media is at its best with the help of creative video and stunning photography, while PR campaigns sometimes work best when coupled with advertising. Not only does the client get the best solution, each marketing discipline works to its fullest potential.

While we still believe in the power – or the magic, even – of PR, being a full-service communications agency means we can deliver the very best for our clients.