About
Porter Thomas provides strategic communications support to leading organisations.
With a focus on supporting clients with deals, corporate transactions, crisis situations, media issues and corporate communication requirements, Porter Thomas provides strategic counsel at the most senior levels within organisations, along with hands-on support as required.
Only a select number of clients are maintained to ensure responsiveness and the consistent provision of quality advice.
Porter Thomas was founded by Paul Tierney who has a track record of managing corporate reputations in challenging environments, domestically and internationally. With 25 years of experience across a range of sectors he has led corporate affairs teams with responsibility for media, investor relations, government affairs, marketing, internal communications and community relations.
Paul has supported a range of transactions, both as an advisor and in-house, which led him to establish Porter Thomas as a strategic communications firm specialising in financial and corporate communications.
Before establishing Porter Thomas he was Joint Managing Director of Bespoke Approach, a corporate advisory firm engaged by blue-chip companies. Prior to this, Paul worked for international agribusiness Viterra, in Australia and Canada, where he was responsible for the company’s external communications.
Porter Thomas has close working relationships with some of Australia’s leading public affairs and corporate advisory firms enabling it to offer complementary services to clients.
Services
Media
Despite ongoing changes to the manner in which news is disseminated and consumed, senior commentators and reporters continue to have significant influence, particularly as they relate to high stakes activity such as corporate transactions and major events.
Media coverage and commentary can play a critical role in framing stakeholder sentiment towards a major event or activity.
Porter Thomas has strong relationships with leading journalists and can advise on how, when, or if a company should engage with the media.
When managing a media issue, particularly during high-stakes situations, success is not always easy to define. However, in these circumstances, sound counsel and clear thinking is critical. Winning a tactical media battle at the expense of your values or relationships can cause irreparable long-term reputational damage to an organisation.
Porter Thomas can provide strategic media advice and tactical support, as well as develop a long-term media plan to support an organisations strategic objectives.
Transaction Communications
Communication is a key component of financial market activity, whether that be M&A, capital raisings, debt negotiations, IPOs, private equity approaches, ASX-delisting or defensive activity.
There is a lot at stake during financial market transactions. The ability to successfully communicate with stakeholders can play a key role in determining the outcome of a transaction.
Depending on the transaction, stakeholder groups can include media, regulators, employees, customers, government, community, industry participants and competitors. And each group can either help support or jeopardise a deal.
Effective media management during a transaction is critically important. Media coverage and commentary can play a key role in framing the sentiment towards a deal or transaction, which in turn can influence stakeholders and the perceived value of a deal.
The ability to work collaboratively as part of a deal team to support the overall transaction strategy is critical.
Porter Thomas’ transactional experience includes working in-house or as an external advisor, as the aggressor or in defence mode.
Corporate Communications
Effective corporate communication involves engaging with key stakeholders in a way that generates support for strategic objectives and protects and enhances an organisation’s reputation. Achieving this can help ensure an organisations true value is understood and fully realised.
Porter Thomas works closely with clients to ensure external and internal communication efforts are coordinated, meaningful and targeted. We can help develop and deliver a suite of corporate communication activity for organisations, including message development, employee communication, government relations programs, crisis communication, stakeholder engagement programs, community engagement initiatives, executive speech writing, and more.