The pace of modern communications can feel relentless. Brands scramble to respond to cultural moments, chase trending topics, and maintain visibility over an ever-expanding array of channels. Yet the most successful communications strategies still hinge on something decidedly analog: the ability to tell stories that genuinely move people.
Perena Barrett, Co-Managing Director at Red Consultancy, has spent years helping major UK and global brands navigate the tension between velocity and authenticity. Her perspective on modern brand communications goes well beyond tactical thinking to focus on what drives lasting connection with audiences.
In our conversation, Barrett explores how storytelling fundamentals remain constant while the context for brand dialogue has been completely transformed, and why the most successful communications strategies depend on collaborative creation and strategic clarity rather than speed alone.
Looking back across your career in communications, what’s the biggest shift you’ve seen in how brands earn attention and what’s surprisingly stayed constant?
Well fundamentally the craft of telling compelling stories is the constant. People still respond to stories from brands that move them, reflect their values, feel culturally relevant, or simply answer a problem they’re facing.
How these stories are told, and by whom, is of course the shift. It used to be that storytelling was far more curated and ‘top down’ (or TV advertising down!), whereas now it’s democratised, decentralised. Storytelling is more two-way and far, far pacier. Audiences expect more dialogue, more brand action, and more authenticity rather than ‘polish.’ It makes our lives in PR & Comms far more exciting, and important.
What’s one mindset or principle that’s shaped the way you lead teams and creative work, and how has that evolved over time?
Trite as it sounds, I believe in collaboration and co-creation. Be that simply within our agency teams, or in partnership with our clients and other marketing agency partners. When an idea is integrated and interdisciplinary it invariably has the greatest power. I also believe creative ideas can and will come from anywhere and anyone. The art is to spot that good idea, from wherever it comes and when it’s just that initial nugget, and then to push it and build it and crucially, tighten it.
Navigating that process in a way that strengthens rather than dilutes and simplifies rather than complicates is key — creating the space and trust in working relationships that allows for creative challenge and creative tension.
I guess, boiled into one principle, I’d say: No Ego: Keep Listening, Keep Pushing.
Red Consultancy works across such a wide range of industries — how do you adapt your storytelling approach to resonate across sectors and audiences without losing clarity or impact?
We have a talented team, with diverse experience, expertise, passions, and perspectives. And beyond that, I’d say it’s less about adapting and more about starting from a blank page each time, with a bespoke solution that’s right for our clients and their objective.
In a world where media cycles move faster than ever, how do you think about helping brands stay both reactive and intentional in their communications?
This is the holy grail for comms. And that’s why we very much focus on both what’s now for our clients as well as what’s next.
Practically speaking, we do a lot of scenario planning — looking ahead and forecasting as well as a lot of focus on team structures to ensure we have space to maintain effort on the longer term, while responding and reacting in the shorter term.
But ultimately, if the brand has a strong compass, and is clear on its voice, values, and purpose, we can act reactively AND intentionally. And at Red, counting some of the biggest brands and businesses in the UK and globally as our clients, the majority have that compass — or come to us to help define and strengthen it.
Is there a particular moment or project that reminded you why you love this work?
Ahh, that’s like choosing a favourite child. I can’t.
But this job is a joy. And when that story we’ve spent days, weeks, or months crafting catches light, it’s the best feeling. That’s what I love.
Connect With Us
Barrett’s approach to communications strategy reflects the same collaborative mindset that drives innovative content creation. At Synima, we work with brands to develop visual stories that balance strategic clarity with authentic engagement, creating content that connects with audiences while achieving business objectives. Let’s talk.
Head of Marketing at Synima