Alex Blyth is co-founder of Red Setter, the PR agency for many of the world’s leading brand design studios. ~ 

He studied philosophy and found no jobs waiting for philosophers. He took a sales job cold-calling marketing directors, then spent 15 years as a freelance journalist, and joined his wife Claire at Red Setter in 2009. In this episode, Radim and Alex talk about why the creative industry is so good at talking to itself and so bad at reaching the business world. 

They cover why AI-driven search makes earned media matter more than ever, and why public backlash against rebrands like Jaguar and Cracker Barrel is a communication failure rather than a design failure. 

Alex argues that brand designers have become the most invisible profession of their size. He shares his plan to change that in his upcoming book, The Invisible Designer, which includes a 10-point manifesto for the industry.

Key takeaways

• Look beyond the creative press. Being seen by peers has value, but clients read the business media. That’s the world the industry still needs to crack.
• Stories win, not connections. The core skill in PR is journalistic: asking the right questions, drawing out a sharp point of view and shaping it into something an editor wants.
• Clients choose on three things: work, expertise and people. Show past work and how well it performed, not just new launches. Share what you know about a sector, and put your people on stages and podcasts.
• AI has raised the stakes. About 61% of LLM recommendations come from earned media, so being written about in places machines can read matters more than your website or social feeds.
• PR is reputation, not direct sales. The goal is to be recommended, so you walk in as a trusted expert rather than someone a client is taking a chance on.
• Defend the work in public. Instagram, Airbnb and the London 2012 logo survived backlash because their leaders explained the thinking. Silence lets the “waste of money” story spread.
• Leaders should be spokespeople. Talking about your team’s work isn’t claiming credit. It makes the work visible.
• Larger agencies and industry bodies have a role. Management consultancy and architecture have public voices. Brand design has left a vacuum that needs filling.
• Clarity grows with practice. Over about 12 months of working together, a studio can move from a generic position to a focused one that people talk about and recommend.

Daring Forever. Podcast with Radim Malinic

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