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Finsbury In-house Marks & Spencer

M&S cuts ties with Finsbury to bring PR in-house as it seeks greater efficiencies

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By Jennifer Faull, Deputy Editor

March 17, 2017 | 2 min read

Marks and Spencer (M&S) has cut ties with its PR agency of four years, Finsbury, as it looks to bring the function in-house in a drive for greater efficiency in both cost and how the team works day-to-day.

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencer ends PR contract

Finsbury has acted as M&S’s full-service PR firm for the past four years. After several months of discussions, the contract – reported to be worth in the region of £250,000 to £300,000 – will end at the end of the month.

“We’ve had a great relationship with Roland and the team at Finsbury over the last four years and they have supported us through several significant announcements,” said an M&S spokesperson in a statement.

“However, we are moving to a new way of working from the beginning of April and will no longer be working with a full service city PR agency. Some day-to-day services will be brought in-house and we are bolstering our roster of independent external advisors to support the in-house team.”

M&S currently has nine people working on its corporate communications team. The Drum understands it will not be looking to make any more hires and will instead lean heavily on the roster of advisors it puts in place. It’s hoping the new way of working will make it more adaptable to the demands of journalists today.

However, it’s also part of a wider push by chief executive Steve Rowe to streamline the business. Last year the company restricted the London head office and cut around 525 jobs.

Finsbury In-house Marks & Spencer

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