Choosing a PR Partner
"When I started one of my first client-side jobs, I was shocked when my colleagues wanted to hire an agency without first developing a clear understanding of what they wanted to achieve. This just resulted in wasted budget and efforts as the agency spun its wheels trying to satisfy a client that didn't know what it wanted."
Margaret Batuszkin
Director, Communications for Cowan & Company
formerly International PR Manager
In hiring a PR partner, the first thing you'll need to consider is what you want to achieve. As my Communications Director Margaret mentions above, this is one of the most important steps in agency management - and she's held both agency and client-side PR positions so she's seen the relationship from both sides of the table.
Once you know what you want - whether it's stronger brand recognition, sales leads for a specific product, increased customer loyalty - or all of the above - the next thing you'll need to consider in choosing a PR agency or freelancer is what resources you'll need to achieve this goal.
For example, in deciding whether to look at freelancers, boutique shops or national/international agencies, you'll need to consider:
How many people do you need? Will you need multiple bodies to staff events? Do you have multiple projects that will require a range of skills? Could the project likely grow to be bigger and require additional resources? Or is it really just a one-person job?
What specific skills do you need? Event planning? Writing? Media relations? Investor relations? The list goes on.
How long will the mandate last? Is it a short-term project or two-year contract - or somewhere in between?
In what locations(s) do you need the resources? Do you need feet-on-the-street in several cities or do you just need one team in a key city?
How big is your budget? Do you have a tight budget - where you may need to split up the project between internal and external resources or do you have a healthy budget that allows you to outsource the entire project?
Identifying your requirements will help point you in the right direction as to the type of resources to consider. But how do you find a good PR agency if you're not already working with one?
There are several key ways to find PR support including:
Ask for referrals - the best way to find good PR support is to ask your colleagues and associates for referrals.
Read industry publications - like PR Canada - and watch the newswires to get a sense of whose work you like and who has experience with projects similar to the one you are planning.
Attend conferences and/or join associations to meet a range of agency-types and get a sense of who has a stellar track record in the PR industry.
Once you've identified your needs and a few agencies/freelancers you'd like to talk to, you can issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to see which agencies are interested in your business. The simple approach to an RFP is to think of it as a tool to help you weed through the numerous agencies to find one that is ideal for you. My best advice for issuing an RFP is to really focus your questions and requests with the mandate of finding an agency that can fulfill your objectives within your budget.
Another important step in the selection process is understanding the agency's core strengths and services. One corporate client I spoke to commented that every agency positions itself as a "full service" agency - but then when he digs deeper he finds that often they only really specialize in a few services. So it's important to find out what the agency's core expertise and services are - as they directly relate to your requirements.
A few questions to ask in your selection process include:
The Team - ask for names, titles and level of expertise of the team members they are proposing to work on your account. The team is a critical success factor and it's crucial to make sure that the team you meet in the selection process is the team you'll be working with. Specify before you meet that you want to meet with your proposed day-to-day team. If it's a big agency, if they want to send along the agency president as well - that's great. But focus your evaluation on the caliber of the actual people who will be doing the day-to-day work. Likewise - in evaluating teams of different agencies be careful to evaluate apple for apple - a "senior consultant" at one agency might have only two years of experience where a "senior consultant" at another agency may have eight years of experience - which can result in a significantly different value equation. Your team's chemistry with their proposed team is also an important consideration - respecting and enjoying your agency is one of the make-or-break factors in the relationship.
Employee Retention - there is no question that there is high staff turnover in agencies. And that can be one of the most frustrating aspects of your relationship with an agency. Some agencies have higher turnover than others - so during your selection process ask agencies what they're doing to retain their talent. Ask them how they would handle turnover on your account - and how they would bring new people up-to-speed if one of your key account people did leave the agency. Ask about their retention track record - and evaluate the proposed team on how long they've been at that agency.
Other Clients - many smaller companies/companies with small budgets are concerned that they'll get lost in the shuffle of an agency with higher profile or bigger budget clients. A good question to ask is where your business would fit in versus the other client budgets that they have. And then, if you're on the smaller side, ask them how they typically work with their small clients to give them as much attention as possible. It's also important to confirm that they're not currently working with any of your direct competitors and how they would handle a potential conflict.
See Samples - the proof is in the pudding. Ask to see samples, clipping reports, news releases, event plans, speeches, critical paths, brochures, and service summaries for similar projects to see the quality of work they produce. This will help to show you the agency's track record with the type of project and/or media you're interested in. Again - make sure that the samples you're seeing have been done by the day-to-day team being presented to you.
And finally - just as you would for making a new hire - ask for a couple of references and call to get first-hand accounts of what the agency or freelancer does well and what they might need to improve so that you enter the relationship with as much knowledge as possible.
Published in PR Canada in 2005
