In Conversation with… Jane
At Altitude PR, we specialise in delivering strategic and impactful PR across sectors that drive progress – construction, manufacturing, technology, renewable energy, education, charity, professional services, to name a few.
To shed light on our approach and expertise, each month, we sit down with a different member of our team to discuss their journey, standout campaigns, perspectives on the evolving PR landscape, and more.
Next up, it’s Jane Whitham, Director at Altitude.
Tell us a little about your background and journey into PR.
I had always wanted to be a journalist so after graduating I started my career as a trainee reporter progressing to become a qualified journalist. I worked in busy newsrooms across the UK reporting on news stories for regional and national newspapers, news agencies and occasionally radio.
I made the switch to PR in 2008 working as Head of PR at two national charities. In 2012, I set up my own PR agency, based in Barnsley and Leeds, which I ran for six years before embarking on a new challenge. That challenge was joining Counter Context to set up a brand-new agency. With a bit of a delay caused by the pandemic, Altitude was born in 2022.
What does a typical day at Altitude PR look like?
Just like in journalism, each day in PR is different. I lead on business development and strategic planning on behalf of our clients. I also lead on our crisis management and media training work. My day tends to involve lots of team and client meetings, research, strategic planning, and creative thinking with copious amounts of coffee.
What part of your job do you enjoy the most?
I really enjoy helping businesses and organisations to align their communication and audiences with their business objectives. I enjoy business development and supporting businesses to grow.
Learning how we’ve made a tangible difference to an organisation’s finances, growth or reputation is brilliant. It’s particularly rewarding finding out about the impact we’ve had for charity clients. Maybe one of our campaigns has delivered a new well-known corporate partner or helped them finally gain cut-through with government ministers. These bits of feedback are so rewarding.
Crafting compelling narratives is central to PR. Do you have a piece of writing or a campaign you're particularly proud of and why?
I’m proud of all the work the Altitude team produces but I’m particularly proud of my work pre-Altitude on bringing to light the Child Sexual Exploitation scandal in Rotherham.
The agency I founded before launching Altitude represented Professor Alexis Jay, the author of the Independent Report into CSE in the town. Together in 2014, we launched the scathing report which revealed 1400 girls had been sexually abused over a 15 year+ period. We managed huge media interest and a great deal of push-back from authorities who were heavily criticised in the report. The result was a story which dominated headlines across the world and still generates a lot of discussion to this day. It was a vital piece of work and will always remain one of the things I’m most proud of professionally.
How would you sum up Altitude’s approach to PR in three words?
Determined, flexible, inventive.
What is a common misconception about the PR industry you’d like to debunk?
PR is sometimes considered a “nice to have” by business owners. It’s seen as something optional to add into the marketing mix or a service that can be cut if budgets get tight. That’s totally the wrong attitude.
PR is fundamental to organisations and should be managed at Board-level. Your reputation is everything. Without a reputation you don’t even have a business. PR and good communications in a business builds trust and familiarity. Trust is business-critical – why wouldn’t you invest in something so important?
If you had the opportunity to feature a client's story on the front page of any publication, which would you choose and why?
Every client has different audiences, channels, and requirements so one size certainly doesn’t fit all. But front page of The Times, with a lengthy positive opinion piece inside or online, would still pack a good punch for many clients regardless of sector. Forbes doesn’t have a front page in traditional terms but it’s the holy grail for many.
What advice would you offer to businesses aiming to enhance their PR strategies?
Know your business objectives before you engage a PR specialist. We mirror our clients’ business objectives in our PR strategies so it’s imperative you’re clear about your short- and long-term business goals. This includes any plans to diversify, new geographies, and new products. Be honest with your agency and include them at the very outset so they can fully support your growth and align their activity.
In PR, you write hundreds of words every day, what’s your favourite word?
Onomatopoeia – I’ve always loved this word and figurative technique. It really drove my love of the English language as a child.
Finally, what’s one B2B PR trend you think we’ll see more of over the next few years?
ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs) are already combing the web and pulling the results into their own AI-generated searches. Google is pulling information into its own Snippets which frequently appear at the top of a search. I think we’ll increasingly use the likes of ChatGPT for general search instead of Google in years to come.
Businesses with good SEO, strong owned content and excellent earned media content will bode well as algorithms (as they are now) seem to favour owned and earned content. PR is therefore going to be even more critical in terms of supporting brand visibility. There’s huge potential for LLM’s to dominate and offer an advantage to smart businesses who have been quick to adapt their PR and content strategies.