Why Augur?

PR has become a much maligned industry. And perhaps there’s some fairness to the criticism. Over the last 100 years, its “two-way street” origin decayed into something designed to match broadcast media’s growth with scalable profitability.

But as a result, shifting patterns of attention have left many agencies fielding foghorns in a world now thriving in conversation. They besiege anyone with audience, trying to bully their way into the news and, even with non-stories from lifeless brands, some have become very effective at it.

This saturates the news cycle, giving over-pitched and over-worked media a hundred times more noise to digest before finding the signal that matters. But worse, it can deprive great companies and great people of a voice.

I think we can do better. I think good PR is about doing something so interesting or so much better that people can’t help but talk about it — not trying to fake it.

Enter the Augur

This is the basis for Augur. The name comes from the role of a trusted advisor, who would interpret the will of the Gods through the patterns and movement of birds. Yes, it’s fairly pretentious. But it also means something important.

It means you have to observe and understand what naturally surrounds you to find your place in the story. Less ego, less forcing your way into other people’s discussion and conversations.

Augur is more about context. Listen closely and earn your place by having something worth saying. And if you want real people to speak highly of you, you have to look at how your company can treat them better, listen to them more closely and learn from them faster.

Good PR is not about a social media strategy, growth hacking and content marketing. It’s about looking at how you can become a better company, more fit for purpose within the ecosystem around you. The latest channels and trends are part of this bigger picture.

Augur swell

I believe there are many people working in PR and sibling industries today who want a better way to spend their days. Great people are being exhausted by unreasonable pressures, old-fashioned toolkits and their bosses’ inability to say no. They’re wasted and under-rewarded.

These people want to work in a pattern and manner that’s sensible to them, not factory workers in the industrial revolution. They want to be trusted and build better ways of doing things. They know when to work smarter as well as work harder.

They’re reading this right now and ready for a change — if that applies to you, or someone you know, get in touch and we’ll buy you the best coffee you’ll ever have. To work with the best companies, you have to be surrounded by the best people. You’re welcome at Augur.

What’s next

We’ll soon start revealing Augur’s clients and partners — they’re fantastic, ambitious tech companies with investors like Passion and Notion. For now, it’s about putting our money where our mouth is and cracking on with the work.

If you’re interested in how you can work with Augur, get in touch (or pass this on.)

If you agree with what we’re trying to do, get in touch.

If you think it’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard of, get in touch.

Good things happen when smart people talk.