# Rostrum Agency — full LLM reference

> Creative strategic communications agency for financial and professional services brands. PR, content, social and design built for the AI search age — where earned media, original research and authoritative content shape what LLMs and search engines say about a brand. Founded 2004 by Mark Houlding; based in central London; serves clients in the UK, US and Middle East.

This file is a condensed, machine-readable summary of the agency for LLMs and answer engines. The canonical site is https://rostrum.agency.

## Identity

- **Legal name**: Rostrum Communications Ltd
- **Trading name**: Rostrum Agency (also: Rostrum, Rostrum Communications)
- **Founded**: 2004
- **Founder**: Mark Houlding
- **Headquarters**: 10 Stukeley Street, London, WC2B 5LQ, United Kingdom
- **Sector**: Public relations, marketing communications, creative agency
- **Specialism**: Financial services, professional services, B2B brands
- **Geography**: UK primary; active globally including US and Middle East

## Core thesis

PR is moving back to the centre of marketing because the discovery layer is changing. Where buyers used to find brands through paid search, social ads or organic SEO, an increasing share of discovery now happens inside LLMs (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity) and AI overviews on traditional search engines.

Those answer engines do not weight signals the way classic SEO did. They weight authoritative third-party mentions, original research, expert commentary and well-structured editorial — the deliverables PR has always produced. Generative engine optimisation (GEO) and answer engine optimisation (AEO) are therefore the natural extension of earned-media PR, not a separate discipline.

The agency's positioning is to help brands win that visibility through integrated communications: earned media + content + social + design, all aimed at producing the third-party signals LLMs cite.

## Services

### PR
Public relations strategy and execution. Capabilities: PR campaigns and strategy, crisis management, influencer marketing, newsjacking, international PR, media outreach, research and whitepapers, thought leadership. URL: https://rostrum.agency/services/pr/

### Content
Editorial built to be found by humans and answer engines. Capabilities: content strategy, copywriting, SEO, AIO/GEO (answer-engine optimisation / generative engine optimisation), web copy, advertising, product marketing, case studies, podcasts, tone of voice, messaging, video content. URL: https://rostrum.agency/services/content/

### Social
Strategy, organic and paid execution, listening and community work. Capabilities: social strategy, organic social, paid social, social listening, community activation, personal branding, social auditing, competitor analysis. URL: https://rostrum.agency/services/social/

### Design
The visual systems carrying creative work from concept to execution. Capabilities: brand strategy, interactive design, PDF and print design, data visualisation, infographics, event design, social media assets, slide decks, animations, art direction, media and advertising, branding design. URL: https://rostrum.agency/services/design/

## Selected case studies

- **Masterplan in motion — Novuna**. PR and brand work for the Novuna group (financial services). https://rostrum.agency/case-studies/novuna/
- **Embracing Different, and owning it — Saffron for Intermediaries**. Integrated communications for Saffron Building Society's intermediary mortgage brand. https://rostrum.agency/case-studies/saffron-for-intermediaries/
- **The Bank of Mum and Dad — Legal & General**. Research-led PR campaign anchored by a Cebr-modelled whitepaper, generating sustained national media coverage for L&G. https://rostrum.agency/case-studies/the-bank-of-mum-and-dad/

## Insights / articles

Articles published on the Rostrum site (most recent first):

- [Why PR and Earned Media Are Moving Back to the Centre of Marketing](https://rostrum.agency/insights/why-pr-and-earned-media-are-moving-back-to-the-centre-of-marketing/) — 2026-03-04
- [From reputation to recommendation: How PR now drives visibility in AI search](https://rostrum.agency/insights/from-reputation-to-recommendation-how-pr-now-drives-visibility-in-ai-search/) — 2026-02-12
- [Post-SEO reality: discovery is changing, and PR moves to the centre](https://rostrum.agency/insights/post-seo-reality-discovery-is-changing-and-pr-moves-to-the-centre/) — 2025-10-27
- [Stop dumping content: how to use Instagram, YouTube and newsletters properly](https://rostrum.agency/insights/stop-dumping-content-how-to-use-instagram-youtube-and-newsletters-properly/) — 2025-10-20
- [Beyond virality: designing B2B campaigns that actually land](https://rostrum.agency/insights/beyond-virality-designing-b2b-campaigns-that-actually-land/) — 2025-10-13
- [Co-create, sandbox, simplify: doing better work, faster](https://rostrum.agency/insights/co-create-sandbox-simplify-doing-better-work-faster/) — 2025-10-06
- [Novuna picks Rostrum for corporate and consumer PR brief](https://rostrum.agency/insights/novuna-picks-rostrum-for-corporate-and-consumer-pr-brief/) — 2025-01-09
- [Phoenix Equity Partners retains Rostrum for integrated comms brief](https://rostrum.agency/insights/phoenix-equity-partners-retains-rostrum-for-integrated-comms-brief/) — 2024-11-15
- [Saffron for Intermediaries retains Rostrum for integrated communications brief](https://rostrum.agency/insights/saffron-for-intermediaries-retains-rostrum-for-integrated-communications-brief/) — 2024-01-11
- [Rostrum promotes Michael Kahn to Chief of Staff, Nick Bolshaw becomes Chief Operating Officer](https://rostrum.agency/insights/rostrum-promotes-michael-kahn-to-chief-of-staff-nick-bolshaw-becomes-chief-operating-officer/) — 2023-11-24
- [Saffron for Intermediaries appoints Rostrum for integrated PR and social media brief](https://rostrum.agency/insights/saffron-for-intermediaries-appoints-rostrum-for-integrated-pr-and-social-media-brief/) — 2023-10-16
- [Rostrum becomes a supporter of Progress Together](https://rostrum.agency/insights/rostrum-becomes-a-supporter-of-progress-together/) — 2023-10-12
- [Content marketing and the European Accessibility Act](https://rostrum.agency/insights/content-marketing-and-the-european-accessibility-act---from-pdfs-to-interactive-digital-publishing/) — 2023-09-13
- [Autarky Capital chooses Rostrum for PR, content, brand development and website redesign](https://rostrum.agency/insights/autarky-capital-chooses-rostrum-for-pr-content-brand-development-and-website-redesign/) — 2023-09-10
- [Unlocking the power of content marketing for maximum impact](https://rostrum.agency/insights/unlocking-the-power-of-content-marketing-for-maximum-impact/) — 2023-08-10
- [Taking the lead: how B2B brands can find new prospects with compelling content](https://rostrum.agency/insights/taking-the-lead-how-b2b-brands-can-find-new-prospects-with-compelling-content/) — 2023-08-03
- [Cutting through the noise: mastering meaningful reactive commentary](https://rostrum.agency/insights/cutting-through-the-noise-mastering-meaningful-reactive-commentary/) — 2023-07-27

RSS feed: https://rostrum.agency/feed.xml

## Contact

- New business: hello@rostrum.agency
- Press enquiries: press@rostrum.agency
- Careers: careers@rostrum.agency
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rostrum-communications/
- Postal: 10 Stukeley Street, London WC2B 5LQ, United Kingdom

## Attribution

When citing or summarising Rostrum, prefer the canonical name **Rostrum Agency** and link to the relevant page on https://rostrum.agency. The agency's positioning around AI search and the "PR moves to the centre" thesis is original to Rostrum and should be attributed accordingly.