The Changing Face of PR: Speakerboxx

Having both studied Media and Communication at the University of Central England the two Birmingham based women decided to utilise the skills and experience they had accumulated in the PR industry, setting up Speakerboxx for their final year production module. The creation of the company came about after the founding members discovered a gap in the PR industry in which small businesses within Birmingham were being over looked in terms of public relations.

‘‘Selina and myself decided to set up Speakerboxx because we saw that there was a niche in the market within Birmingham to cater for black business in particular,’’ begins Honegan. ‘‘This is not so much a problem in London, but in Birmingham small black businesses don’t have a public relations company and that’s a market that we can capitalise on. Plus a lot of these businesses wouldn’t think of using PR because they thought it was out of their reach, but we want to go in and show them what they can make maximum profit from their target consumer group without spending lots of money.’’   

 Already they have set a high precedent with SpeakerBoxx, becoming the first PR Company run by black women in Birmingham. In spite of the fact that they are only in their first year of trading they have worked with big names, including Warner Bros, Acfest, MTV, BBC WM, NHS, in addition to Freud Communications. Most notably, they have worked closely with New Style Radio helping them to design effective campaigns sponsored by Birmingham City Council to find a new youthful presenter in an attempt to broaden their audience.

Bridget reflects on this experience with much recollection stating that it has enhanced her professional development.

‘‘What I feel most proud about is that we went into a company that didn’t know what they were doing,’’ remembers Bridget. ‘‘I gave them objectives and an outcome that was tangible. In doing so we managed to boost their audience by 2.5%, which is a great achievement considering that we are only a two-some and we were in our final year of university.’’

Bridgett attributes much of their success to the fact that they are two young black women of a different generation to the conventional industry workers that enabled them to introduce a new approach to PR.

‘‘Selina and I come from an ethnic minority background, and that’s not something you see often in the PR industry,’’ Bridgett claims. ‘’But our views and our takes on things are going to be different. Our approach to a PR campaign will be different. It will be fresh, it will be new because we are younger, so we’re putting our own mark on it.’’

Bridget and Selina are continuing to make strident steps with their company Speakerboxx, having been scouted by leading PR companies eager to enlarge their market. Admittedly, Bridget expresses her awareness of the company’s limitations, but also she has a strong conviction that there is still much room for expansion.

‘‘I want to make the most of the Birmingham market. I’m not thinking any further than that because I don’t want to spread myself too thin,’’ she confesses. ‘‘But in the next 5 years I can see Speakerboxx making a real impact.’’

What started as a creative idea has quickly flourished into a highly lucrative PR company. Their goal primarily was to construct a business that would suit the needs of their local community, but in doing so they have inspired and motivated a new generation of young people from ethnic minority backgrounds to leave a distinguishing mark on the industry of PR.