PR - how to choose an agent

[drivin_me_nuts]

DOes anyone here have any experience or advice with regard to choosing a PR company-agent. It seems more of a minefield than trying to find an 'honest' estate agent. What are you suposed to look for? can you tell a good'un from a rubbish one?

.. in fact I have no idea where to start and really need pointing in the right direction.

Any ideas?

[Paul R]

Hi, this an area that I have had a lot of experience with in my last position and I'm about to start on my own. If you could expand a little further in the field that you are in and what you are looking to achieve I may be able to help and if not put you in contact with someone who can. PM if you prefer. Thanks. Paul

[7series]

PR is the biggest con in modern business. I got stung by one of London's biggest firms Hill & Knowleton. The thing to watch out for is that they don't have to deliver any results, they just have to implement what they told they would for the agreed price, if it doesn't work then your still stuck with the full bill. I was trying to get some exposure for a business i invested in. It was Sporting Related to i was told that running a survey is a great way of getting into national press (tabloids). So they did a survey on the greatest footballer of all time and after a month the result came up as George Best. Sadly George died the day after they got the results back. Still they couldn't get this survey into the papers, not one. I was still billed the full amount.

In fact i took legal advice on the matter as my total PR bill came to around £30k and had honestly seen next to nothing for that amount. I finally paid a third of the amount and swore i would never go near a PR 'person' again, and i won't.

Tread very very carefully and avoid any of the big players, they simply are not interested unless you have an bottomless pit of money and they don't have to actually get results

Edited by 7series on Sunday 3rd August 17:45

[Simpo Two]

PHer StevieBee runs one - worth a PM.

7series said:

PR is the biggest con in modern business. I got stung by one of London's biggest firms Hill & Knowleton. The thing to watch out for is that they don't have to deliver any results, they just have to implement what they told they would for the agreed price

Not unlike financial services then!

Edited by Simpo Two on Sunday 3rd August 21:47

[Mon Ami Mate]

I am a PR consultant and I used to work for Hill and Knowlton!

It isn't right to say that PR is unaccountable and doesn't have to deliver results. What is essential is to invest in strategy before embarking on a campaign. This means agreeing objectives, agreeing messages (what needs to be communicated) and agreeing audiences (who needs to be communicated with). The greatest cause of failure is a lack of investment in strategy.

In order to get good coverage you also need to understand how the media works, how to approach them and what to approach them with. I regularly get my clients national coverage chiefly because I used to be a journalist.

When looking for a PR consultant my advice is:

1. Avoid the big agencies - they are focused on large clients and you won't get great service
2. Walk away if the consultant won't set great stall by strategy
3. Expect a comprehensive proposal to be delivered free of charge
4. Make sure that whoever you use understands the media and is ideally a former journalist themselves

[StevieBee]

Simpo Two said:

PHer StevieBee runs one - worth a PM.

Cheers Simpo!

We work in quite a specific sector but happy to help. My response to 7series below may give you a few pointers too!

7series said:

PR is the biggest con in modern business. I got stung by one of London's biggest firms Hill & Knowleton. The thing to watch out for is that they don't have to deliver any results, they just have to implement what they told they would for the agreed price

There are sharks out there and there are good and bad agencies – as there are with any businesses. The biggest problem with PR is a lack of client understanding about what it is, what it does and how to monitor it. As a result, expectation often falls short of reality, hence the perception of “con”.

Its relevance and success to your marketing strategy depends upon your business and objectives.

Firstly, you need to understand what sort of PR you need: Public Relations or Press Relations?

Public Relations tends to encompass activities such as roadshows, events, corporate hospitality and the like.

Press Relations covers the management of coverage in the media (trade or public) in such a way that it positions your product or company where you need it to be in the minds of the target market.

What PR doesn’t do is generate sales directly. Used as part of the marketing mix, it can be hugely effective but as with all marketing, it cannot work in isolation. It exists to support a range of activities and this is where many people go wrong.

In relation to the OP, quick checklist:

1. You need to first have a marketing strategy – not a PR strategy (the agency will write that).
2. Identify what you want the PR to achieve – this can be a complete wish list. Again, the agency will say if its possible or not – or possible within the budget.
3. Set an appropriate budget. As a very, very, rough guide, a £10k budget should yield around £50k equivalent paid for media space.
4. Write a comprehensive brief
5. Select three or four agencies and invite them to come and pitch to you.
6. Selection should be based upon innovation, understanding of the brief, understanding of the business/market and your confidence in them to deliver

It’s perfectly acceptable to demand performance related payment. Not total but if the quote is, say, £10k for a 10 month campaign, you could offer £500 a month + £100 for every article published within set parameters.

You also need to engage PR agencies that are commensurate with your business. If you’re a SME, then look for SME agencies.

Of all the marketing activities, the distance between success and failure of PR is exceptionally small so diligent planning and briefing is essential. Get it right though, and it can be hugely influential in the success of your business.

[aclassey]

So once you've hired them, how soon should you expect results? Or does it take a few weeks to set the strategy, create the messages and then get your press releases out there? Is there a rule of thumb that says that to really get up and running, the agency needs a couple of months as many publications have a lead time?

[Mon Ami Mate]

aclassey said:

So once you've hired them, how soon should you expect results? Or does it take a few weeks to set the strategy, create the messages and then get your press releases out there? Is there a rule of thumb that says that to really get up and running, the agency needs a couple of months as many publications have a lead time?

It depends on what you are selling and who you are selling it to, but you should allow three months typically to get the strategy right, agree the campaign, start putting stories out and allowing for lead times before you start seeing coverage. Coverage creates coverage - once a few stories start getting published you should see a snowball effect as momentum gathers.

[aclassey]

Thanks...that's a great help as that's exactly what they said. Can't help sitting here knowing that my cash is going to them and I'm not seeing anything in return. Looks like I need to sit and be a little more patient then...

[Mon Ami Mate]

aclassey said:

Thanks...that's a great help as that's exactly what they said. Can't help sitting here knowing that my cash is going to them and I'm not seeing anything in return. Looks like I need to sit and be a little more patient then...

You should see some return. They should be preparing a strategy that details prioritised messages (what will be communicated) by audience, a tactical implementation plan (how best to get the messages to the audiences), agreed objectives and some sort of agreed evaluation plan. You should see evidence of briefing materials being produced (a press pack at the very least), an agreed prioritised media list, a plan of briefings for the top level media and an agreed list of stories that you will be putting out to the media. They should be meeting you and communicating with you very regularly in order to get all this in place. There should be plenty of obvious activity going on, and if they aren't providing evidence of that activity they should immediately be setting off alarm bells. Tell them you want an activity plan and emphasise the need for rapid progress.