PHMG (company)

PHMG

Type	Private limited company
Industry	Audio branding, Music on hold, On-hold marketing
Founded	1998 Manchester, England
Headquarters	Chicago, Manchester
Number of employees	534

PHMG is a provider of audio branding services, with major offices in Manchester, England and Chicago. It provides audio branding, music on hold and on-hold marketing to more than 36,000 clients in 39 countries worldwide, including Coca-Cola, Adidas and Audi.^[1]

Background, history and accomplishments[]

Founded in 1998 as PleaseHoldUK in Chester, England, the company experienced rapid growth in its early years, reaching 250 clients and moving to Manchester in 2000. In 2008, the company rebranded to become PH Media Group.

In 2014, the company was named by Investec in their Mid-Market 100 list - as Please Hold (UK) - ranking it as one of the 100 fastest-growing private companies in the UK and recognising it as the world's largest audio branding agency.^[2] Continued growth saw the company move up the Investec Mid-Market 100 list in 2015, from 48th position to 35th.^[3]

PHMG was also named on the 2015,^[4] 2016,^[5] 2017^[6] and 2018^[7] lists of ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’ by London Stock Exchange, which aims to recognise some of the fastest-growing and most dynamic businesses in the UK. The company was also included in the ‘FT 1000: Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies’ list in 2018,^[8] as well as being named on the 2017,^[9] 2018^[10] and 2019^[11] ‘Greater Manchester Ward Hadaway Fastest 50’ lists. In 2018, PHMG was named as one of 'Chicago’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For’^[12] and was ranked tenth in the 'Leadership and Culture at Work: The CMI/Glassdoor Top 20' list.^[13] In 2019, the organization was awarded a ‘Great Place to Work’ certification,^[14] as well as being named as part of the European Business Awards 'Ones to Watch' list.^[15] In February 2020 PHMG was named in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For, ranking 49th in the list. ^[16]

The rebrand from PH Media Group to PHMG followed in September 2016 and was also accompanied by a change to the company's logo.

Also in September 2016, the company opened a permanent office in Chicago. This Chicago base replaced PHMG's office in New York City as the organisation's North American headquarters, headed up by CEO - North America, Peter Evans.

Staff and experience[]

PHMG partner since 2017, Jacquire King became PHMGs Executive Director of Production in January 2021. Three-time Grammy winner and 36-time nominated, Jacquire has worked with renowned names including Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Modest Mouse and Norah Jones. ^[17]

Dane Liska, Head of Creative at PHMG received a Grammy in 2010 for his roles as assistant engineer and assistant vocal engineer on Rihanna’s ‘Only Girl (In the World)’ and album ‘Loud’.^[18]

Hannah Ralph joined PHMG in October 2020 as Global Head of Voice. Hannah has guided voice artists working for the likes of Disney, the BBC, ITV, Aldi, McCann and Netflix.^[19]

In January 2021, Tom Heaton joined PHMG as Global Creative Director. Tom joins PHMG having worked as Creative Director at Ahoy and DS.Emotion. Tom has worked with the likes of Channel Four, The Premier League, Kellogg’s, the BBC Philharmonic and Silverstone.[1]

Market research[]

PHMG has commissioned several studies to gauge perceptions among both consumers and business of music on hold and on-hold marketing.

In November 2011, a survey was conducted among 2,000 UK consumers concerning phone calls made to businesses. Findings included: 70% of consumers are put on hold for more than 50% of their calls; 68% of consumers are put on hold for longer than one minute; 73% of consumers want to hear something other than beeps or silence while on hold; 72% of personal calls to businesses are made at home on a landline; 60% of consumers are in front of a computer while on hold.^[20]

Research into the use of regional accents and dialect by UK businesses in their on-hold marketing found a 27% rise in the use of accents between January 2012 and January 2013. The research also looked into perceptions of accents. For example, it found the Scottish accent is perceived as trustworthy and reassuring while the Yorkshire accent, used by brands such as O2 (United Kingdom) in television and radio advertising, is seen as wise and honest.^[21][22]

Another study, conducted among 3,630 UK companies in March 2013, looked into the amount of time customers spend on hold while making calls to business. The average hold time was 33.48 seconds. During this time spent on hold, 34% of businesses left callers listening to silence, 26% played music, 26% played beeps and 7% used on-hold marketing messages.^[23]

In 2014, PHMG conducted a further study among 1,000 UK consumers to determine attitudes towards British businesses' call handling standards. It found just 23% of Brits are happy with the way their calls to business are handled, with satisfaction levels being particularly low among the older generations - just 12% of 55 to 64-year-olds claimed to be satisfied.^[24] Despite this, it also found 45% of UK consumers are happy to hold longer than a minute during calls to businesses and only 6% are not willing to wait at all.^[25] The study also discovered that Brits will not tolerate poor call handling standards, with 73% saying they would not do business with a company again if their first call was not handled satisfactorily.^[26]

PHMG has also conducted similar research in the USA to discover how perceptions of call handling standards and audio branding compare with the UK. A study of 2,234 in 2015 discovered only 32% of Americans are happy with the way businesses answer their phone calls, with people in the South and the Northeast found to be most satisfied (33%), followed by the Midwest (32%) and the West (31%).^[27] There was also a gender split, while older people were found to be more dissatisfied, with only 28% of 45- to 64-year-olds claiming to be happy with how their calls are handled, compared to 37% of 18- to 34-year-olds.^[28]

The study also found Americans are more patient than the British. More than half (55%) of those surveyed said they were prepared to wait on hold longer than one minute during calls to companies, compared to 45% of Brits. American women are more patient than men - with 60% willing to remain on the line for longer than a minute, compared to 49% of men - and people also became more patient with age - 59% of 45- to 64-year-olds will wait longer than 60 seconds but the figure is only 50% for 18- to 34-year-olds.^[29] Americans were also found to be more tolerant of poor call handling practice than their British counterparts, with 59% saying they would never do business with a company if their first call was not handled properly. However, older customers were found to be least tolerant with 63% in the 55 to 64-year-old group claiming an unsatisfactory phone experience would stop them buying again, compared to 54% of 18 to 24-year-olds.^[30]

In 2018, PHMG published the first findings of its research concerning the use of music in marketing. The study, conducted among 1,000 UK consumers, revealed music can be more effective than visuals in shaping perceptions of a company’s brand with 60% of respondents deeming music more memorable when used in marketing.^[31] The same research in the USA, conducted among 1,000 consumers, found 67% believe music is more memorable when used in marketing^[32] while in Australia, 66% of 1,000 respondents considered it more memorable.^[33]

PHMG’s study also discovered younger people place more value on music as a key element of marketing than older generations, with 51% of Brits aged 18 to 24 saying music helps them feel more connected to a brand compared to just 27% of those 55 and over.^[34] In the US, 58% of 18 to 34-year-olds thought the same (compared to 41% of 55s and over)^[35] while 75% of Australians aged 18 to 24 feel more connected to a brand when they hear music (compared to 41% of 55s and over).^[36]

PHMG Foundation[]

Aside from its business operations, PHMG also runs a charity called the PHMG Foundation that aims to raise money for selected causes in the main territories where the company operates - the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada.^[37] The foundation was launched in 2013, supporting causes such as the British Heart Foundation and the NSPCC,^[38] and during its first six years raised more than £500,000 for almost 50 charitable organisations.^[39]

Consumer reports about marketing and sales tactics[]

According to complaintsboard.com and reverseaustralia.com,^[40] PHMG engages various unconventional marketing tactics, including but not limited to claiming that the caller knows or has already spoken to a senior management officer and should be put immediately through to that person and attempting to obfuscate details about their call so as to be put through to a decision maker and make their sales pitch.^[41][42]

Additionally, mentioned in reviews on both complaintsboard.com and reverseaustralia.com as well as consumer confidence review site Trustpilot and others, customers report that PHMG is predisposed to contracts heavily reliant on fine print to generate continued revenue and sales.^[43][44][45]

Unfair contract terms investigation by the Australian Government[]

In November of 2021, the ACCC conducted an investigation into whether PHMG's contracts contained unfair terms.^[46] After an in-depth investigation,ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh concluded that the terms were unfair, stating:

“The ACCC considered these contract terms were unfair, as the combination of PHMG’s termination clause and the automatic roll-over of the contract had the potential to cause significant financial detriment by requiring customers to, in effect, pay for a service they may no longer have needed, under a contract they thought had expired or had tried to cancel,”^[47]

PHMG refused to accept that its contract terms were unfair or that they constituted a breach of the ACL,^[48] but still co-operated with the investigation and agreed to amend its contract terms to address the concerns raised by ACCC.^[46]

PHMG agreed that it would notify all customers whose contracts included one or more of the clauses of concern of the amendments.^[49][48]

References[]