Seven Top Tips on Choosing a PR Agency

Most of our PR consultants have, at one time or another, worked in-house, giving us an invaluable perspective into what it’s like working with an agency from the client side.

This also means that we have a good insight into the business of choosing PR agencies and how best to go about it. If you have decided to take an agency on board, you might want to consider the following tips:

Tip One – Trust your instincts

Working with a PR agency is a bit like recruiting a senior executive to your team. You will be in each other’s pockets, sharing your company plans and confidential information and constantly talking. You need to make sure that not only do you trust them, but that you like them. It’s not unusual for companies to have an initial “chemistry” meeting with agencies to sound out whether they are on the same wave length.

Tip Two – See at least three agencies

Let’s assume that you are in a small-to-medium sized company and there are no procurement departments or official tender documents involved. Rather like choosing a builder, it’s important that you get proposals from at least three agencies. Ask around for recommendations, look at industry trade journals such as PR Week, search social media outlets or web advertising.

Tip Three – Decide what type of agency you want

PR agencies come in all shapes and sizes, but bigger is not necessarily better. You need to decide what’s important to you. Do you want someone based locally, so that you can see them more often? Or is it important that they have a certain type of client on their books and resources at their disposal? If you are in a niche industry, would you feel more comfortable with a specialist, or are you happy that a more generalist agency could apply their extensive industry knowledge to your business? Don’t forget, either, that smaller agencies started up by experienced PRs can often give you excellent value for money.

Tip Four – Ask them for evidence

All PR agencies claim to be able to get their clients a fabulous media presence, but how many have actually done it? Ask them to present case studies of how they solved similar business challenges, check for evidence of awards, industry accreditations and innovation and ask for their current client list.

Tip Five – Give them a decent brief

There’s nothing more likely to make a PR consultant sigh than a vague brief with no clear objectives, budget or results criteria. A good agency will question such a brief and may not want to work with you anyway. By providing decent guidance they are more likely to come back with something that’s close to your own expectations and won’t break the bank.

Tip Six – Get proposals from each one

Essentially you will be making your choice of agency based on their answers to your brief. Usually, they will come and present to you, but you might also ask them to send in their proposals by email. Rather like conducting a job interview, it’s a good idea to agree beforehand a range of standards to evaluate the proposals fairly. Beware of those who promise the earth, be questioning and make sure that you understand how they will break down the budget.

Tip Seven – Ask the right questions

If they come and pitch to you personally ask them how they tackled similar client campaigns and what the results were. It’s especially important to gauge how important you will be in terms of their client roster, make sure they don’t have competing clients and ask them whether your budget is realistic or whether they could do something with a bigger or smaller pot. Ask who will actually be your day-to-day contact – don’t get caught out by the “dream team” presenting only to find your account is serviced by junior PRs.

The right PR agency can be an invaluable asset to any company and choosing well is an important first step to PR success.