On this episode of Word On The Street, we have the pleasure of discussing the extensive experiences of c-suite level, PR, communications, and marketing expert Sarah Shilling.
Sarah started her career working with global PR agency Ketchum and then went on to apply the skills acquired to provide brand marketing and communications counsel for organisations including the likes of Sainsbury’s. During her time at Pernod Ricard as Head of Communications, Sarah helped define the role of the corporate brand as well as a global strategy for the portfolio of luxury brands including Perrier Jouet and Chivas. Remaining in-house, Sarah joined FTSE 100 and global hotel giant IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) as their Global Communications Director to help further define the premium IHG brand, strengthen global brand communications, and support across investor relations. She is currently EMEA EVP at Porter Novelli, an agency that helps their clients uncover the rapidly changing expectations of their stakeholders.
So as you can tell from the above, Sarah has over 20 years in powerful roles and she definitely has a huge level of experience that can be of value to listeners of this show whether they are in-house or agency based.
In today’s episode you will hear:
- Why you need to understand your value proposition
- Closing the ‘say do’ gap
- Living in the ‘audience era’
- Stress testing a value proposition
- Launch a new proposition
- Defending your value proposition
Links & References
Katie Street: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiestreet/
Sarah Shilling https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-shilling-93127811/
Series 5 of Word on the Street is sponsored by Tanba, The Agency New Business Academy, is a brand-new initiative aimed at equipping agencies of all sizes with the knowledge, content, partnerships and opportunities needed to accelerate agency growth by optimising their new business ‘engine’. Tanba is an on-demand and affordable solution for agencies looking to upskill their team via training courses, content and insights delivered by our panel of industry experts, leaders, and partners.
The academy is all about empowering agency teams to get noticed, attract opportunities, increase conversion rates, and reduce the costs associated with the sales process. Visit https://tanba.io/ to find out more and start empowering your agency.
“They recognise the need to inject a bit of energy and difference into their proposition” – Sarah Shilling [06:49]
“Ultimately as agencies, we have to behave like brands” – Sarah Shilling [08:48]
“When you’re an agency you don’t really understand the complexity and the pressures that clients are under” – Sarah Shilling [15:41]
“We can, as agencies, really help the people we’re selling to” – Katie Street [17:45]
“I’m always talking about overcoming problems and this is not necessarily the businesses problem, but it’s the individual’s problem” – Katie Street [18:34]
“We have a really in-depth process that we go through to help other agencies find their value proposition” – Katie Street [19:58]
“It feels as though we’ve got this new action economy and our research revealed that 75% of people are now looking for an action-orientated goal coming out of lockdown” – Sarah Shilling [22:47]
“I have struggled with this, much more when I was employed and trying to drive an early proposition forward” – Katie Street [26:05]
“You’ve got to be persistent, you’ve got to be consistent, you’ve got to show you care” – Sarah Shilling [28:51]
“Wherever you hang your hat or pick a lane, just be consistent in that lane” – Sarah Shilling [35:35]
“If you don’t look at the market you could end up, by accident, looking like you’ve copied someone else” – Katie Street [39:16]
“It’s all about scene-setting at the highest point of the business” – Sarah Shilling [42:23]
“Honestly, I cannot tell you how much better that will make your agency perform” – Katie Street [46:00]
“Marketing I think is slightly different for PR and Comms, because you’re selling consultancy and people” – Sarah Shilling [51:52]
“If you’ve done that research and you’ve asked the right questions in that research, it really helps you so much with the next stage, which is the go-to market strategy” – Katie Street [55:28]