Why it goes wrong, and six considerations when choosing a new PR Agency
After more than 20 years working in public relations, pretty much all agency, it’s no surprise I’m a huge advocate of the work PR agency professionals do.
The pace of work, often across multiple clients (each running multiple campaigns), in a mix of sectors, with numerous stakeholders to please, and objectives / KPIs / ‘licked finger held up to the wind’ metrics to hit, would take the breath away from those on the outside, looking in.
But still, clients come and go. Often through no fault of the agency, such as a merger or exit, a new CMO demands change, or just market forces and cost cutting. However, there are always going to be clients that aren’t happy – this is what we need to address.
If a client isn’t happy, they’ll have a very good reason, mostly. And if the PR agency doesn’t get it, or are surprised by this outcome, then it’s most likely because parameters weren’t set at the outset, and PR has been allowed to drift rudderless with the agency account team thinking it was on course, while the client is left waiting at a different port.
So, what goes wrong?
“I’ve not seen return on investment” or “PR hasn’t ever worked for us”
Lack of ROI is probably the most common reason for PR supposedly failing. It’s no secret that PR is hard to measure, but it’s not impossible. A good PR agency will have this as the first item on the agenda. Asking questions, like, “what does success look like to you?”, enabling ROI to be discussed upfront.
If ROI is based upon lead generation, then you have somewhere to start. How many leads do you currently get per month / quarter? How many would you like? Ok, I’m not saying that PR directly delivers leads, but a lead can come in many forms, and a good digital PR campaign working in sync with wider content marketing initiatives – inbound, email automation, SEO, PPC – augments lead generation campaigns.
If success looks like a change in behaviour, attitudes, or public perception, again this can be measured, too, through brand audits, or social media monitoring, or through online reviews and reactions to news stories and features. A recent, fantastic example is Norwich City FC’s video for #WorldMentalHealthDay, which saw, amongst other metrics, more than 7,500 inbound messages on social media to the Samaritans, directly as a result of the campaign.
Whatever the ROI, or success, looks like, it needs addressing early, ensuring it is monitored and analysed at regular intervals.
“My PR agency doesn’t understand us, or our target markets”
Something has clearly gone wrong if this is the case, but I’ve heard it, and perhaps the relationship ought never to have got past the discovery meeting.
It’s unlikely a PR agency’s account team will ever have the same level of knowledge as the client, particularly where the subject matter requires a level of learning and study, but it must have a damn good one.
Knowledge should extend to an understanding of the client’s USPs, including products and services, and key messages. Likewise, a thorough understanding of the markets in which that client operates, and what impacts it from a legislative, governance, economic and political perspective should be a prerequisite.
Ask your PR agency what they know about the market, how they plan to continue to monitor the shifting landscape and changes that impact its customers and prospects, and which tools they use to do this. These are key to establishing trust.
“There’s too much agency churn” “or “we were handed the B team”
A lot has been written about churn over the years in PR, and it’s not all bad. Churn and attrition rates often include movements within the agency, from an account executive to a junior account manager, for instance. What is more frustrating for clients, is that the team rolled out for the pitch, aren’t the team they get.
While I accept pitches are conducted by directors, they should always include members of the prospective team. Those that have put the research into the pitch, and may already have required knowledge. Clients should ask, “Who will be managing our account, and who will be assisting?”
The issue isn’t always that the ‘junior’ members allocated to the account aren’t talented, invariably they are, and hard-working with it. But what can happen, is that the more ‘senior’ client may feel they are now directing matters (which isn’t true) and junior members can become browbeaten, or just be unwilling to provide the counsel and pushback required.
Most PR agencies ensure a member of the senior management team is always visible, and available. If this isn’t happening and your PR agency isn’t providing that leadership, and trust, relationships rarely pass the first renewal date.
How to choose a PR agency, six consideration you should make
1. Chemistry
Sounds obvious, but you need to know you can work with these people, in the same way you’d integrate a new employee into one of your departments or teams. Will they fit the culture, and will they understand what makes you tick. Not how you make money (that comes later) but can work across your departments, and department heads and get to understand your vision, mission and value propositions.
2. Commercial hunger
Once you’ve established you actually like these guys, do they display the hunger to succeed? By now, the agency will have hopefully moved on from the beauty parade and fancy decks, and onto getting under the skin of your business and your commercial objectives. Have they displayed not just a knowledge of your target markets, but also the competition, what the market share is, and how to best penetrate new markets?
This is commercial strategising, where PR merges with management consultancy. You should feel comfortable that the agency can sit at your boardroom table.
3. Look for experience where it matters
It’s important that people in the team you’ll be working with have experience working with companies of your size (do they know start-ups, SMEs, or blue chip), the industry you’re in and selling into. You’re buying into people, or a person, as well as the agency.
4. Be accountability partners
To ensure you don’t have to roll out any of the statements above, about why PR doesn’t work for you, set out KPIs that both client and agency are accountable to, targets that can be measured (and massaged when necessary), at agreeable intervals – probably end of month or quarter.
Don’t let vanity get the better of you. Headlines and backlinks are great, and can lift morale, even create a ‘halo effect’, but are you achieving the objectives set out on day one?
Media exposure needs to align with wider marketing initiatives and commercial goals, and be hitting the right people at the right time. A ‘NIB’ in The Times may massage the ego, but how does it compare with thought leadership placed on an influential blog page with a highly engaged audience, with trackable links back to a desired destination page, and the ability to comment and interact?
5. Look for proactivity, and creativity
“Our last / current PR agency doesn’t do anything unless we ask them”, is another classic PR slip. You wouldn’t hire a CTO, CFO, CCO or any C something O and expect to manage down, so treat your PR agency as part of your extended C-suite. They should be driving you and your organisation forward with the level of creativity that suits your business and market, and keeps you ahead of your competitors.
They should elevate your brand and reputation, not issue press releases on the wire when you alert them of some ‘news’.
6. What’s the cost?
At some stage, we need to talk about budgets. Let’s not be shy here, if you have no money, do let the agency know – there’s a lot of resources put into a pitch. Likewise, if you can give a rough or exact idea of budget, share this too.
Agencies differ in size and expertise, and even demographics. All will have a different costing and financial model – but they should have one. Do they supply a ‘blended rate’ across the team, or charge accordingly depending upon who’s advising? Do they subscribe to the tools required to help them do their job better? Do they have a cost matrix, bill by retainer and how long is the contract? (Please don’t baulk when you are asked to sign a 12-month contract, it protects us both!).
What should be important for you, as a client seeking to change or appoint a new agency, is that you can see what you’re paying for, what’s included in the monthly fee, and where any ‘add ons’ from wider marketing services or suppliers will come from, such as SEO, PPC, design, content, email marketing and so on, should you need them built into a campaign.
Final thought
Reputation is important, and while a poor PR commission won’t necessarily ruin it, it could likely mean wasted time, and a lack of trust in a process which when done right, works. However you look to measure PR, make sure you do just that – measure it. Measure the outcomes not the outputs, and make sure it’s working in harmony with the rest of your business.
