Richard Rawlins, CEO and founder, of Finn on the PRmoment Podcast

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On the PRmoment Podcast this week we’re talking to Richard Rawlins, CEO and founder of Finn.

Finn was founded in 2005, it has a turnover of approximately £3 million and 35 employees. It is based in Leeds and focuses exclusively on the FMCG sector.

Here’s a flavour of what Richard and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:

01.40 mins Why as a 21-year-old Richard enrolled in The British Army.

04.10 mins Why Richard left the army.

05.35 mins Is it surprising more ex-service personnel don’t work in PR?

07.10 mins Why PR’s lack of visibility as a career option for people leaving the army, for graduates, for those leaving school is a big problem for the sector.

08.45 mins Richard talks about Finn's “Next of Kin” scheme that goes out to local schools, academies and youth trusts to tell them about a career in public relations.

10.30 mins Why originally Richard wanted to be an ad man.

12 mins How Richard had become “a bit institutionalised” in the army and it took him a couple of years to adapt to a career in PR.

13 mins How a spell at Cohn & Wolfe in 1995 defined his approach to PR.

15 mins Why Richard believes the sector is too focussed “on being good at PR and not (being) good at client”

16 mins  “Good PR thinking is the foundation of great communications but too often it's restricted to the earned channel”.

18 mins Why in the FMCG sector, the PR agency is now “very often the lead agency” says Richard.

20 mins Why Richard sees Finn as an FMCG specialist agency, not a regional agency.

23 mins How the virtual way of working has changed the game for agencies outside of London; they always struggled to recruit enough talent. Remote working means that is no longer an issue.

25 mins In September 2005 Richard founded Finn. Why did he decide to set up his own business?

30 mins “Why the sweet spot is the intersection between corporate and creative.”

30 mins Finn is very much focused on FMCG brands. Why did Richard decide to retain such a specific sector focus?

30 mins Why “generalism isn’t a strategy”.

32 mins How Finn took a hit at the start of lockdown but has repaired since then.