In this week’s director profile, we speak with Helen Nowicka, Managing Director of Shiny Red about the agency’s USP, specialist subjects and where she sees growth within an extremely vibrant industry.

RO: What is Shiny’s story? How did it start?

HN: Shiny Red is the digital arm of The Red Consultancy. Back in 2006 I was a director at Red where I‘d worked with web brands like MSN and Expedia and seen how people were spending more time online, radically changing traditional media consumption habits. Launching a digital team was a logical next step, and our timing was spot-on because social media was really starting to take off – Facebook and Twitter were just getting off the ground then.

RO: What’s the key USP for Shiny Red?

HN: We specialise in creative work for big brands, whether in the consumer/FMCG, healthcare or tech sectors. This is down to our heritage – Red has always worked with household names and in fact just picked up PR Week’s best technology campaign award for McAfee.

RO: Do you have any ‘specialist subjects’ as a team?

HN: Yes, and this has developed quite organically around people’s personal interest areas. So for instance we’ve got people who are particularly passionate about Twitter, know a lot of bloggers and have their own blogs, or love playing around with web video. We’ve also built up expertise by client sector – a good example would be healthcare, where all communications are subject to intense regulation, so a couple of the team have more detailed knowledge of that area.

We try and share our knowledge with clients at regular intervals. Last week we had a session at Shiny Red specifically for brands that want to talk to mothers. We presented some research on the UK’s increasingly influential “mummy bloggers”, and invited a couple of them to talk directly to our clients about what they do.

RO: How’s the Habitat account going?

HN: We were very proud to be asked to relaunch Habitat’s Twitter profile in September. Since reactivating the account, there’s been a really positive response from the Twitter and blogging community, so it’s clear that consumers genuinely want to hear from brands they’re interested in, as long as the information is relevant.

RO: How do you deal with ‘bad press‘ regarding the Shiny Media network, does it affect you?

HN: It hasn’t affected us, no. Shiny Red is a majority-owned subsidiary of The Red Consultancy. A small stake in Shiny Red is held by Ashley Norris and Chris Price, and this stake is entirely separate from their other business interests which include Shiny Media. (Note: Shiny Media is a blogging network that went into administration in the summer.)

RO: Where are you seeing growth within the industry at the moment?

HN: I’d say the market sector that’s growing the most rapidly is consumer brands, and that’s been consistent over the last 9-12 months. In 2007-8 there was still a sense among some in-house teams that social media, particularly YouTube and user-generated content, was an uncontrollable “wild West”, and potentially highly damaging to a brand. As people have gained more knowledge, and seen a broader range of campaigns, there’s much more of an appetite to engage in social conversations.
We’re also seeing an increased demand for creative social environments. Marketing budgets might be tight, but clients still want innovative, cost-effective activity, and online offers so many routes to deliver these, whether it’s web or mobile apps, social microsites or managed social media profiles.

RO: It’s been suggested that Shiny is more focused on team achievement than other agencies – is there a theory behind this?

HN: Interesting question! I guess I encourage everyone to think about how we can be doing innovative work, and to build their knowledge of the digital landscape. It doesn’t matter if you’re the most junior person in the room – if you have a good idea, share it. We’re a pretty flat hierarchy in that respect. We also reward and promote people on merit, so if you’re good you’ll progress quickly here.

RO: How did you personally ‘get into’ PR?

HN: I started life on the other side of the fence, as a journalist. After working on regional titles in Derby and the North-East, I moved to London to freelance for the Times, Observer and Guardian covering news and features. Through a friend of a friend I was offered a stint at a PR agency called Beer Davies (which became part of Kaizo), tried it, liked it, and was offered a job. I haven’t looked back since!