Standing still, flatlining, not getting heard, P&L insight & AI in PR book launch
Issue #87
So much to cover in this issue. And despite the gloomy headline, there’s much to get into and much great advice to be gleaned from a highly knowledgeable cohort of contributors on LinkedIn this past fortnight. Find out why profit is king and how to use that profit to invest your way out of flatlining as an agency. Regarding numbers, hear why a good accountant is essential to any agency regardless of size. These are important topics when you hear that there’s a growing number of transactions in the sub-$10m mark according to US data.
Add to this the latest in LinkedIn posting advice plus the launch of the eagerly awaited AI in Public Relations book, and you have issue #87 of the Agency Advisory. Please take a moment to follow those who have given their time to post on LinkedIn.
Enjoy issue #87 and thank you for reading.
Revenue vs profit
I’ve been following Gareth Healey for several years now and read his posts with interest. He has a single minded focus on explaining what it takes to build a standout agency. His latest short missive reflects on why the fastest growing agencies are not always the most profitable. It’s worth a quick read because he highlights several symptoms that combined lead to low profits. In his words: “Growth without margin improvement isn’t success. It’s just an expensive way to standstill.”
Does this resonate with you? Follow Gareth and comment on his post. Find it here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/garethhealey_growing-revenue-is-not-always-the-same-as-activity-7457326315503984640-ETO8?
What to do if your agency is flatlining
While on the subject of profitability, M&A advisor, Dom Hawes, shared a post based on two blogs that look at how to avoid flatlining in tough times. The choice, as Dom sees it, is to build or buy, with the premise being that agencies that keep adding assets (be that through talent, marketing, innovation, acquisition etc) keep growing. Those that don’t decline.
In his blog on building assets, I was drawn to his conclusion which states that the route out of flatlining involves doing less, not more. Along with many other advisors, Dom recommends that agencies go narrower rather than broader; to ignore the inner voice that says add a new service line, a new office or to chase a new sector; to feel comfortable with doing less; and to pass on the next pitch if it doesn’t fit your ICP. And finally, he leaves with the wise words that “the answer to the flatline isn’t more activity but better focus.”
Dom’s LI post can be found here. Check it out and head over to the two blogs for more detail on the build and buy options open to flatlining agencies: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dominichawes_its-been-a-tough-few-years-in-agency-a-activity-7457383225502453760-9Vxb
Are you still relying on your LI company page?
LinkedIn strategist Richard van der Blom has recently published his latest research and has been drip feeding the results through his own feed and newsletter. In this issue, Richard states that your company page is doing nothing for your business and goes on to give four reasons why they fail. The key mind shift that he highlights is to stop posting to people and start activating the network between them. In other words. Standard employee advocacy is for the company to post and to expect the employees to share it. The new mindset is to think horizontally - think employee to employee to employee.
Richard shares his VIBE model and explains how it can be used in an organisation to build an internal thought leadership community. He states that businesses need a network of activated voices and not a list of approved corporate spokespeople.
Check out Richard’s newsletter and his VIBE architecture here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/56-stop-selling-your-company-page-richard-van-der-blom-tkaee/
Everything the P&L doesn’t tell you
If you are an agency without a Finance Director or a good accountant that understands the agency world, then Rachael Marshall should be top of your list to call. Here in a great interview with Maddy Bergen for the Behind the Books newsletter, Rachael shares an anecdote from an agency founder who could recite their profit margin but had no understanding of the balance sheet. And using this example, she draws a sharp line between accountants who file returns and accountants who can tell you what’s happening in your business.
Rachael goes on to explain how month-end reporting need not be complicated; why cash flow statements are critical; and why the balance sheet must be reviewed on a monthly basis. And that’s where a good accountant comes in. An individual who doesn’t just report the numbers, but who can analyse, explain, and advise on the right financial management approach.
If you are an agency leader with less than detailed insight into your numbers, give this article a read. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/everything-pl-doesnt-tell-you-maddy-bergen-ehv4f/
Small is beautiful in agency M&A land report says
An interesting post from US based M&A lawyer, Michael Lasky, Chair of the PR Practice Group at Davis+Gilbert LLP, which suggest that while the large deals are grabbing the headlines in PR agency land, there is strong volume of smaller deals taking place. Q1 2026 has seen roughly the same deal count as the same period in 2025, but with a greater concentration of sellers under the $10m mark.
Michael’s firm publish a monthly PR and Earned Media M&A Activity Tracker which takes a closer look at these trends. The link is in comments https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michaelclasky_mergersandacquisitions-prindustry-activity-7453083051540115456-V5ME
When to post - the results are in
I shared Katie Street‘s original post when she announced her experiment aound the timing of LI posting so I’m pleased to share the results as they are very helpful to all of us who post regularly. Unlike Katie, I am not disciplined enough to schedule my posts other than this newsletter, which drops every other week at 08.00 on a Monday. And based on Katie’s findings and advice, I won’t be changing that even if LI feels I should.
Check out what Katie found, it makes for interesting reading, and her advice about not abandoning your existing window completely is worth heeding. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/katiestreet_i-tested-the-new-optimal-linkedin-posting-activity-7457336678303555584-eY56
Book launch of the week (year?)
We can’t ignore the publication of Stephen Waddington and Ben Verinder new book ‘AI for Public Relations’. My copy is ordered and I am looking forward to reading the 12 chapters submitted by a great range of experts including Andrew Bruce Smith, Gay Flashman, Richard Bagnall, Hon FCIPR, FPRCA, FAMEC, Paul Hender, Farzana Baduel, Antony Mayfield, Jeff Beringer, Jonny Bentwood, Amy Mollett, Anne Gregory, William Julian-Vicary, Swati Virmani.
If your copy is yet to arrive, head over to Amazon or to Kogan Page and get it ordered. There’s a good review out on the Chartered Institute of Public Relations mag Influence (link below) and both the good Editors have been interviewed on Tony Garner‘s excellent podcast ‘PR in the Real World’. We’ll be hearing a lot more about this book in the weeks to come including an event the CIPR Greater London Group is planning for the end of June. Details to follow.
The CIPR’s Influence review is here: https://influenceonline.co.uk/2026/05/01/book-review-ai-for-public-relations-by-stephen-waddington-and-ben-verinder
Viva PR and Tony Garner podcast interview can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vivapr_it-started-with-a-phone-call-and-an-idea-activity-7457350259279552512-W7ZO