PH Media Group

PH Media Group

Type	Private limited company
Industry	Audio branding, Music on hold, On-hold marketing
Founded	1998 Manchester, England
Headquarters	London, Manchester
Number of employees	260
Website	http://www.phmg.com

PH Media Group is a provider of audio branding services, based in London, England and Manchester, England. It provides audio branding, music on hold and on-hold marketing to more than 20,000 clients in 39 countries worldwide, including Coca-Cola, Air France, Adidas and Audi.^[1]

The company's on-site music service is provided to retailers including Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, which involves the creation of audio 'zones' and playlists designed to influence consumer behaviour.^[2][3]

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 and, three years later, opened an office in London.^[4][5] PH Media Group expanded its London presence in October 2013 by moving to a new office in City Tower, based in the City of London, which now acts as the company's headquarters.^[6]

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.^[7]

In 2015, PH Media Group was also named on the list 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.^[8]

Market research

PH Media Group 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.^{[9] [10]}

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.^[11][12]

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.^[13][14]

In 2014, PH Media Group 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.^[15] 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.^[16]

References