Discover more from Start-Up PR 102 by Marek Unt
How to find a good PR agency
Over the years, I've had to hire agencies for several companies in different countries. Here are some of my lessons.
Maybe you've worked with a PR agency before, or you may have to work with one in the future. Or maybe you’re working at a PR agency right now. Either way, I hope you’ll benefit from reading the below.
I won’t cover sourcing the agencies – but it’s a good idea to get recommendations and make sure you have a longer list than one. This will help you get an overall idea of the agency landscape.
1. Provide the agency with a good brief
The first one is on you.
You need to do the work of laying out your objectives, parts of your backstory, relevant parts of your business strategy (e.g. value proposition, competitive landscape) and constraints (e.g. no local spokespeople, requirements on client conflict).
Some people like to sign NDAs before they share a brief. I try to avoid this to make the process more efficient.
In most cases, there is enough public information about your organisation that, if summarised by you, will be a great starting point. Also, most agencies understand confidentiality and will not go running to your competitors to share every detail of your brief.
If you must share sensitive information or dates, you can do so once the agency has formally agreed to start the proposal process. First, just make it easy for the agency to understand if you are a good match.
My typical brief:
What is Company X? (what does it do, what’s the value prop and uniqueness)
The story so far (what’s the background and what have you achieved)
Objectives (what are you hoping to achieve with PR)
Previous media coverage (a select few pieces that you feel represent the best coverage)
Social media channels
What’s the request (project or retainer, scope in terms of services provided)
Proposal requirements (insights into barriers and opportunities, a campaign outline including the strategic approach and some tactical ideas, a 3-month timeline of activities, metrics for success, budget with description of services and fixed/hourly rates)
2. Give the agency enough time to work on the proposal
Give the agency a few weeks to work on your proposal. This isn't an easy process, they'll have to pull resources away from other projects to do this, and setting an impossible deadline will only make matters worse – for you.
However, the ability of the agency to respond quickly and deliver the proposal on time is also a good indicator of its execution capability.
If they're going to be late with the proposal, why should you expect something different in your day-to-day business?
3. Propose a briefing call
I always give agencies the option to get on a call with me or my team before they start working on the proposal. This is even though I attempt to be thorough in my written brief.
Some of them ask for a call/meeting themselves. Others say something polite like “we’ll come back to you if we run into questions”.
Frankly, I’ve yet to see a good proposal come out of a process that doesn’t start with some face time.
Also, a call prior to the proposal will already help you get a sense of the team dynamics…
4. Look at team dynamics
The classic mistake – have the sales guys or directors deal with the proposal, while the account executive, who will do the majority of the work, sits silently in the background.
In a briefing call as well as the later proposal, I judge the team based on the weakest link.
I don't care if the seasoned co-founder is wooing me with brilliant ideas. The fact is, they’re not going to be there for 90% of the time. It's good to know that the juniors in the team have a pro to fall back on, but I'm curious to see what they're capable of on their own.
The best sales calls have the senior person in the team lead the conversation, while they give ample airtime and opportunity to shine to everyone else in the call, and not just for the introductions.
5. I’m the client - focus on me
Whether it’s the call or the proposal – I’m really most interested in me.
I’m fine to hear about when the agency was founded, how long this particular account executive has been at the agency and what clients they’ve worked with, and see infographics about how the agency goes from insight to PR plans. This stuff belongs to the appendix.
When I read a proposal, I first skip to the parts that are about me, the client. So whenever a proposal is 90% case studies and references to other clients, I’m a bit turned off.
On a briefing call, notice if the agency is asking you questions or presenting themselves. Common courtesy aside, I prefer them asking questions.
6. Look for a strategic framework
Some proposals launch right into target media and tactics.
An exercise as simple as a SWOT analysis of the market I'm operating in to inform PR plans gives the agency a huge advantage in the process.
Are the agency's ideas based on anything? If they are suggesting messages or tactical ideas that could work, what is the basis for them? In the absence of an explicit explanation, I assume they just brainstormed away without thinking about my organization or my objectives.
Even if they come to the wrong conclusions, being able to follow the process is very valuable. No one gets it right on the first try, but showing that you have the analytical skills and the approach goes a long way.
7. Look for actual ideas, not just a list of tactical tools
“Distribute press release” or “engage in thought leadership” is not a plan. They still show up in proposals, though.
If an agency is going to suggest thought leadership or some specific media relations approach, the questions to ask are – how would it help with our objectives, who would the audience be, what would the message be, and what would potential targets look like.
Don’t expect fully fleshed out ideas in the proposal. The agency isn't going to spend days coming up with tens of ideas without any kind of commitment from you.
But they should be able to throw in a couple of creative ideas just to show what they can do.
8. Ask for KPIs
PR metrics mostly suck. But you can get an idea of the agency’s thought process by asking for them.
Do they suggest AVE (advertising value equivalent)? Reach? Key message penetration? Can they explain the pros, cons and use cases of different metrics?
Not covering KPIs altogether in the proposal is a red flag.
9. Ask them to explain the budget
Budget benchmarks are typically the reason why multiple agencies are involved in proposal process. At both the low and high ends, you'll be able to have some kind of expectation about the price.
I'm not the kind of person who expects work to be done for free, having worked for an agency.
But an agency should be able to explain every line in the budget so you understand the value.
10. Consider team and culture fit
Lastly, a lot of the success will be determined by how comfortable you and your team feel working with the people at the agency.
If you get along on a personal level, there will be an increase in trust. Meaning, they’ll give you honest feedback if you have a stupid idea, or be open about failing to hit the goals for a project.
A good agency will feel like an extension of your in-house team. So, evaluate them as you would when you hire someone.
Subscribe to Start-Up PR 102 by Marek Unt
For founders, CEOs, marketing or PR peeps wanting to do a better job in communicating their mission to the world.