THE arrival of Scout Creative, bolted onto local public relations outfit Atticus Communications, will introduce a new player into the fight for marketing clients.
But it might not be a welcome arrival for an industry that’s struggling through the media recession and a slimmed down public purse in WA.
Scout Creative continues the literary theme, introducing yet another character from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
The creative design company is bolted onto Atticus Communications, allowing it to pursue marketing clients and deliver creative solutions for existing clients.
Headed by UK designer Steve Horton, Scout Creative will operate as a separate company to Atticus, despite being co-owned by Mr Horton and the principals of Atticus.
Atticus principal Paul Plowman said Scout Creative would introduce new skills in multi media and web-based advertising and publishing to the market.
“This has been something we’ve been considering for some time now,” Mr Plowman said. “We’ve found we’re creating a lot of strategies and then outsourcing that work.
“This allows for faster turnaround time, which is very important.”
Scout Creative also will address issues of creative control for Atticus clients.
Mr Horton, who has only recently arrived from the UK, where he worked for both advertising agencies and design houses, will allow Atticus intimate involvement in the design process.
But perhaps more importantly it enables Atticus to offer a new product to the market and attract dedicated marketing clients and small advertising clients.
This push into the shark pool may not be greeted with much enthusiasm by the existing players, some of whom are struggling to keep their heads above water.
“A lot of clients are not only looking for creative and effective public relations solutions, they’re often also looking for the creative execution,” Mr Plowman said.
“Steve brings to the business some creative solutions and we will look seriously at all options, and that includes advertising, Internet, web-based and electronic commerce.”
To begin with, however, the serious work will be in establishing an identity for Scout Creative separate to Atticus.