Manifest founder and CEO Alex Myers on the PRmoment Podcast

This week on the PRmoment Podcast I’m pleased to welcome founder and CEO of Manifest Alex Myers.Manifest is a self defined brand communications agency and has a fee income of £3.5m.   Manifest has grown by 70% in the last financial year and has offices in London, New York and Stockholm.   Here is a summary of what Alex and I discuss:   How Alex got into PR PR outside of London and the burgeoning Huddersfield PR scene! Why Alex, a northern lad, set up his PR firm in London How the start of Manifest London came about through a mixture of naivety and bravado Whether Alex regrets initially having two other partners in Manifest Why Alex enjoys managing a business How, unwittingly, Manifest has taken a creative approach to building the business – from deciding what computers to use, to developing an appraisal system, to hiring new staff. How having children has changed the way Alex manages Manifest Why Alex found having a boss more stressful than being a boss How the hierarchical structure of large businesses can prevent a collaborative approach How Alex learnt the importance of brand communications over product-focused communications What was the genesis of Manifest’s approach to communications? Why communications is now the product for brands – and will define whether your customers buy your product Why modern communications is about building communities around brands How did Alex grow Manifest by 70% last year Why Manifest seeks out brands that will allow it to do the type of work it wants to do Why hires from outside of PR are vital to how Manifest has grown Why Manifest pays new employees £1,000 if they want to leave in the first three months How finding out new ways to think helps Alex come up with new ideas. Why a mix of cultures in a PR firm is vital to coming up with relevant ideas Why Alex believes everyone is creative – some people have just had it taught out of them Alex discusses his views on a “Shoreditch” approach to creativity How the Manifest offices in New York and Stockholm came about