The Caterpillar Factory offers a unique insider’s account of the approach, skills and processes needed to build a successful career in today’s booming PR business. It sets out the links in the PR business chain, from the basic consultancy model to winning new clients, and from exploiting the news agenda to preparing clients for a successful media interview.

‘The caterpillar does all the work, but the butterfly gets all the publicity’. This quote, from American comedian George Carlin, provides the central motif for the book, which is a must-read for all students of public relations and communications who want to become successful PR advisors and consultants. It is a technical book packed with theory, practice, examples and exercises but set out in an accessible way, using frontline experience and examples to drive the narrative. Drawing on a rich variety of sources, it gives the inside track on the applied business of public relations in the agency and workplace setting, explaining what consultancy really means and showing how to go about the process of attracting and winning new business. These steps are followed by chapters that unlock the world of media relations, from how to plan and manage media campaigns, structure and pitch effective news releases, broaden coverage through features and show clients how to become effective spokespeople.

The book offers a perspective on the science of applied social psychology that drives modern public relations, shares techniques to launch new products and sets out a structure for winning proposals and rules on writing style. Along the way, it provides pen portraits of the great pioneers of PR, ‘engineers of consent’ such as Edward L Bernays and Ivy Ledbetter Lee and offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of today’s caterpillar in a busy agency. Much of the content of The Caterpillar Factory has been tested with hundreds of trainees and it is designed to be a valuable addition to the knowledge and skills base of all PR students.

Vyvyan Kinross has been in PR consultancy for 30 years. In 1987, he co-founded his own successful agency and grew it into a top 50 PR firm. He started silverFox PR & Communications Training to help industry professionals develop their knowledge and skills in the PR business. Vyvyan is an approved trainer of the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA), a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and a member of the Faculty of the Management School London, teaching a wide variety of PR courses and qualifications.