These days, it’s rare for even large PR agencies to work across the whole waterfront for bigger companies.

Specialist firms - some large, some small - are often retained to manage investor and financial press relations, to protect and promote particular brands, to assist with internal communications, or to manage particular launches, issues or crises or other discrete tasks.

Sophisticated corporate communications departments are becoming better at ‘mixing and matching’ external advisers, and are increasingly ready to see that ‘big’ is not always ‘best’. Smaller operators can often deliver better value, higher quality, more consistent staffing and greater loyalty.