The report found that the UK management consulting industry’s fee income grew by just under 5% in 2011, and the total number of fee earning consultants increased by 10%, with the UK industry moving back to aggregate fee income levels last seen in the immediate pre-crisis period.

The MCA estimates that the industry is now worth nearly £9 billion and that spending on consultancy services is an advance indicator of an incipient though slow economic recovery.

Alan Leaman, Chief Executive of the MCA, said:
“The UK consulting industry is both resilient and agile. It looks likely that the increased spending on consultancy services in 2011 by the private sector was an early sign of some improvement in wider economic prospects.”

Some of the early media hits included – The Times, City AM, The Financial Times, Supply Management, Accountancy Age and Procurement Leaders.

During 2012, ten drinking fountains will be installed throughout the city, providing free, fresh and hygienic tap water. A stainless steel ‘pocket bottle’ will also be designed by James Dyson, who is supporting the project.

All ten water dispensers will be funded by Alternative Source, a charity set up to raise funds for overseas clean water projects. In return, all of the profits from the sale of LTW stainless steel bottles will be donated to Alternative Source and other water based charities

The campaign was featured on ITV West Country Tonight, and on the ITV News Website, BBC Radio Bristol, The Times, BBC News Website, The Bath Chronicle, and Bath Business News.

The consultancy has developed robust academic research into the damaging effects of complexity on organisations in both the public and private sectors. The research spearheaded by Prof. Simon Collinson aims to unleash the human and financial potential of organisations by identifying and removing value destructive complexity.

Within two days of the launch, viewpoints had been featured or placed in The Times, The Guardian Public, Public Finance, Public Servant, PublicTechnology.net, Publicnet, Government & Public Sector Journal and within the Guardian Public Leaders Network newsletter, which is sent directly to 11,000 subscribers.

Also, DWP will shortly start work for The Observatory International, which offers support at every stage of planning, procurement, resource allocation, agency selection and relationship management.

Finally, DWP continues to support KPMG CIO Advisory following the acquisition of Xantus Consulting.

And, just to prove that we don’t just achieve coverage for our clients, in May we commented in Business Computing World on the cloud, which followed an earlier piece in The Times on the success of our associate approach.

Then on to the summer, and long standing client, Fascia Graphics was recognised in The Manufacturer Magazine for its contribution in assisting its customer, AGD in picking up a Queens Award.

Xantus’ award wins and all our efforts in publicising their work and views certainly got them noticed and they were bought by KPMG in October…covered in Computer Weekly here. This was swiftly followed by our first piece of coverage for the newly formed, KPMG CIO Advisory – commenting here in The Sunday Times. Then in November, we managed to achieve over 20 mentions and almost as many client quotes in the FT’s Business of Consulting Special Report.

Finally, Chris Renardson of PIPC appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, discussing how companies can prepare for a possible Eurozone breakup, and shortly after this, Alan Leaman, CEO of the MCA commented on Sky Business News on the UK’s economic growth figures. Quite a year…

In addition to this, we arranged an ft.com viewpoint from the CEO of the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) to accompany the print edition. Our success in this high profile publication also reflects our growing expertise in the business, management and IT consulting arena. In just 12 months the number of clients we advise in this area has doubled.

In 2004, John Lewis’s distribution team decided a strategic review of their network and distribution development options was required. It selected supply chain and logistics consultancy, LCP Consulting, to work with them on the strategic review. LCP then developed the volumetrics and material flows and prepared the design for the NDC that was put out to tender. The consultancy also fully supported John Lewis in the tender and implementation process.

DWP has already secured in-depth profile pieces on LCP’s work in key retail titles, Retail Technology and Retail Week.

Since the launch date, we have achieved 17  pieces of  media coverage including some key hits in The Times, CIO Magazine, CFO World, Computer Weekly, ComputerWorldUK and Sourcingfocus.com. Further articles are expected in The Guardian, Public Finance, Public Servant, Government & Public Sector Journal and Cloud9.

Xantus Associate Director and Head of Architecture, Mac Scott commented in the report: “It’s clear that everyone has big expectations of cloud and most can see a compelling proposition in the long-term.  But vendors still have a significant task in clarifying their message and products as well as demonstrating value to CIOs wrestling with the technical challenges and other dilemmas of introducing cloud computing to their organisations now.”

According to Dilnot, the government spends some £14.5billion on adult social care in England, with demand rising rapidly. DWP placed viewpoints from Keith Coleman of Capgemini in The Times and The Guardian Public, along with a further view in the September issue of Public Servant.

Comments from Pip Peel, VP and founder of PIPC were covered on Sky News, the Orange Business Briefing and The Deal.

As the deal broke, Pip Peel said:

“The Northumbrian deal is highly significant as it is the largest takeover in England’s privatised water sector since the financial crisis and already has analysts buoyant about other potential targets coming in to play.

And whilst acquisitions in sector have previously met with mixed results, CKI seem to have the right ingredients in place to make this one work; through its other businesses, it has experience of the UK market, it has no intention of changing major office locations, and it is keeping the present management team in place. Although the newly formed investment vehicle, UK Water, will be looking for efficiencies within the business, the divestiture of Cambridge Water to appease the Competition Commission suggests that these are less likely to come via back office services and IT integration.”

Following this, a further piece appeared in Pharmaceutical Executive Europe on 15 June, which led to a conversation with the Chairman of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

This once again proves the effectiveness of PR as a profile raiser and potential new business generator.

Reaction in FT Adviser and Mortgage Strategy did more than just raise the profile of PIPC as experts. In early May, the company will meet with Yorkshire Building Society – a meeting which was a direct result of the media exposure.

Commenting on the merger, Bernie Levins, Head of Financial Services at PIPC said: “During such transformations experience is essential and it’s a concern that the Yorkshire’s chief executive officer Iain Cornish, who was at the helm during the successful Barnsley and Chelsea integrations, is stepping down.

The new team will have a challenge on its hands to ensure this venture succeeds. Integration is a complex and messy business but following some fundamental principles can increase the chances of it working.”

Amongst the wide array of press coverage achieved by DWP, articles appeared in The Times, Logistics Manager, International Freight Weekly, Storage Handling & Distribution and Handling & Storage Solutions. Pieces in The Guardian and Public Servant are expected imminently.

The report’s author, Professor Alan Braithwaite, Chairman of LCP Consulting, said: “Freight transport policy needs to clearly define the strategic priorities and provide guidance on future operating practices, but the data and modelling used to develop and determine policy will need to be significantly upgraded to inform public debate on the difficult policy choices ahead.”

The Index has been developed by Simon Collinson, Simplicity’s Research Director, and Professor of International Business and Innovation at Warwick Business School. The media coverage from the launch included The Sunday Times, a live interview with Simplicity’s founder, Melvin Jay on CNBC and a management article in Computer Weekly.

We now have four full-time communications associates, who are all specialists in their field so we can deliver a more comprehensive service to our clients by drawing on a broad mix of senior skills.

As a team, our PR consultants have over thirty years of direct experience working as journalist’s – so we really know the media and what makes a good story.

Ed Haigh, Head of Content and Marketing at Sourceforconsulting.com commented: “The increasing shift towards recruiting the best senior people isn’t just a sign that consulting firms are trying to recoup recent losses as a result of the recession, but it reflects clients’ increasing desire to work with – and willingness to pay for – more experienced people, rather than junior consultants.

This has the potential to change both the structure of many firms and the basis of competition.”