'Fika' with Nara Communications' Nick Baines: 'Credibility has never been more important'

1. Nick, you've become something of Europe's 'Mr Impact PR', and your firm Nara Communications, headquartered in London, represents numerous impact-focused companies. What drew you to specialise in this sector?

"That’s not a nickname I’ve been called before but I’ll take it! Choosing to have this impact focus was the easiest decision we ever made. I wrote my university thesis on the ethical obligations of private businesses specifically because I believe the private sector needs to play more of a moral role within society.

Also, top young talent are looking for purpose-driven careers and if you combine this with the fact that there is more funding going into impact tech, and the media want to tell these kinds of stories, you can quickly see that impact sits in the centre of an important talent-funding-media Venn diagram."

2. What's the biggest PR mistake impact companies tend to make?

"I think sometimes impact companies forget quite how many competing issues there are that need solving. If you work within an impact organisation you – understandably – may consider the issue you're solving to be the most existential. But when speaking with journalists, you need to assume they do not care anywhere near as much as you do. You must convince them of your mission, not expect them to already understand and believe in it. Finding and sharing statistics that show the scale and risk of the problem you're addressing can be a good place to start."

Sometimes impact companies forget quite how many competing issues there are that need solving

3. ... and what's your best advice for gaining media coverage for your company?

"You need to be clear and succinct in the way you distribute information. And fast, as the news cycle moves at 100 miles per hour. Also, you need to be empathetic to what journalists need, not self-interested and transactional – the media will not republish your marketing copy! But most importantly, you need to consume a lot of news. That’s the starting point."

4. Your clients range from the recycling app Bower to the energy company Flower. Do you have any juicy news to share?

"I would be a bad PR person if I was inadvertently announcing my clients’ news in my own interview! However, I would strongly recommend your readers check out Should We Studio’s 'Ada': an animation series released last week in collaboration with TED-Ed that educates people on the ethical quandaries of the future."

5. One of your objectives is to "address a systemic issue in the PR agency industry". What do you mean by that?

"That's a pretty lofty statement! To reduce it down to one word, it’s all about 'credibility' – with our clients, with journalists and as a brand. It's an especially uncertain time right now, geopolitically and in terms of information consumption. Media scepticism is high, AI-generated content is everywhere, and I think people are struggling to know what information to trust.

As an agency, this is an area we're looking into all the time so we can help our clients navigate the chaos. Credibility in all its facets has never been more important."

6. It's Friday! Which person from the impact world would you like to have dinner with?

"Maybe this is an obvious answer but I'd choose Al Gore. I particularly admire him because his environmentalism was a feat of such clear thinking given he had spent his career exposed to the corporate interests of American politics. I’d love to talk to him about that over a, likely vegetarian, dinner."

7. Your plans get cancelled :( What are you doing instead?

"Honestly, I'm probably heading back to the office. I'm very lucky to love what I do and there's so much we want to get on with right now. It’s the classic founder cliché, but it doesn’t feel like work when you’re building something from scratch, working with impactful clients, surrounded by smart colleagues every day, and hopefully making a small positive imprint on the world."

It’s the classic founder cliché, but it doesn’t feel like work

8. It's 2025! What's the plan for Nara Communications?

"Plenty happening! We're hiring at the moment for a couple of positions, which your readers can find more about by adding me on LinkedIn. I'll also be in New York for the next few months as we're building out our operations there.

And then just more of the same really: finding great clients to work with and making sure their stories get the attention they deserve."

More about Nara Communications here. Have a suggestion for next Friday's interview? Email your tips here.