David Fraser made great waves in the PR industry last year when he left the established Frank PR after 12 years at the agency, having worked up the ranks from an entry-level role to the position of Deputy Managing Director. He has worked alongisde Andrew Bloch, Founder & MD, with whom he also served as personal publicist to Sir Alan Sugar for over a decade. He left for a good reason though, to set up his own Ready10 operation in Islington, which has been going from strength to strength since it launched last June. One of the main talking points of the new venture, besides the fact that the agency planned to “unite the ultimate media power couple” of PR and SEO, was Fraser's bold claim that he was going to offer his staff 13 pay days a year, with two dates in January designed to keep people afloat following the typically lean period after Christmas and New Year. This is a plan he refers to, with tongue-in-cheek abandon, as “Goodbye Skint January,” and it's this scheme that we wanted to learn a little bit more about when we sat down with David earlier this week.
If the 13 pay day scheme works out, would you ever consider upping it to 14 pay days a year or even more?
I think we need to be alive to the needs of our staff and that means being flexible and open to doing it in other ways. 13 pay days a year seems to work but I wouldn’t rule out changing it to 14 or more. It’s possible even that at some point down the line we would move to paying staff on a weekly basis, if we believed this was going to serve them best. I am a firm believer that young people coming into the workforce – and all of our staff apart from me are under 35 - have it harder now than any generation in recent memory. It’s a time of huge economic and political uncertainty and they are saddled with crazy, eye-watering student loan debts whilst earning less than their predecessors did. So if this initiative makes things a bit easier, a bit more certain and a bit more manageable then I think we’ll have happier staff who are able to focus on advancing themselves and their careers.
You have said the GSJ scheme is optional. Would you be able to disclose exactly how many Ready10 workers opted in? Or if any opted out at all?
Roughly 60% of our staff have opted to take the additional pay day. The one thing I want to emphasise with our scheme is that it is about choice – some are happy to wait until the end of the month as normal and have elected not to receive an early pay day and that’s fine. But if we can help some of them out by doing this in a different way then I am happy to do so.
Do you believe that it's almost as important 'when' we get paid as 'how much' we get paid? Or do you believe it depends on the industry and the specific individual?
I think for many people the ‘when’ factor is extremely important. If you are on a low wage and have a lot of direct debits going out each month, the actual date you are paid can be critical.
Do you in some ways worry that initiatives such as GSJ might have the side effect of encouraging staff to spend more frivolously over the festive season by acting as a kind of safety net?
I don’t believe it will and there is probably a stronger argument to say that an early December pay day is a more significant factor in people spending frivolously. The fact of the matter is, the wait between an early pay day and the January pay cheque is a long one and it comes over what for many is the most expensive month of the year. So instead of making a judgement on how people should and could spending their money, we are simply saying – “this is an option for you”
Ready10 is a company that positions itself as an agency that will unite PR and SEO ("the ultimate power couple"). Can you elaborate on this?
We always use the analogy of the Beckhams or Kim and Kanye (at the time of writing they are still married!) – on their own they are powerful individuals but their brands went stratospheric when they teamed up. That’s the same with PR and SEO. The very best search result for a brand is driven by good content that is liked, engaged with and shared. And that’s what PR can do better than anyone. The most creative, insightful stuff drives conversations and attention – and that attention (typically in the form of earned media on authoritative, trusted publishers) is a big part of what delivers on a brand for Google.
Can you tell us about your time at Frank PR, what you feel you learned there and what you have brought from your time there to Ready10?
I had a ball! Frank is a brilliant agency with some of the most talented folk in the industry and having been in that environment for 12 years it is impossible not to be influenced. I learnt so much, in particular how creativity can drive the best PR and by extension, a meaningful connection between a brand and its consumers. They also have a fantastic agency culture which rewards young, hungry talent and that’s something we also strive to do at Ready10.
Are there any industry trends that you personally see taking a greater hold in 2017?
Since we launched last summer there has been huge interest in the PR-for-SEO work we are doing and we have been approached by some huge brands who want to know more. Towards the end of 2016 we were seeing a trend where clients were saying “Hang on a minute, having our SEO and PR functions totally disconnected makes no sense” and they were issuing more and more briefs that were looking for a joined-up solution. The way that the Google algorithm works now is a gift to the PR industry in that it’s now completely accountable. As a result, I think 2017 will see more and more clients thinking in this way and issuing PR briefs that require an SEO result.
Finally, what with the undeniable success of Donald Trump last November, can you see your old client Alan Sugar taking a detour into politics? Or is he a little too smart for that game?
Over the ten years I worked with him, this question came up a lot and I think it’s a big compliment to Lord Sugar that people think he could represent them in politics. I can see why: He speaks up for what he believes in, has the common touch and lives his life with good business and family values. Alas, I think he has said many times that it’s not the route for him. He has dipped his toe in the political waters with the good work he does for business in the House of Lords but I think that’s enough for him. He is far too content with his businesses, spending time with his family and having a pop at Piers Morgan on twitter!
We think you'll agree that David was a great sport, and if you enjoyed what he had to say and wish to read more about the specifics behind the Goodbye Skint January scheme, you can do so in our news piece HERE.
