How to Pick a PR Firm
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The document provides a comprehensive guide on selecting a public relations (PR) firm, emphasizing the importance of identifying company goals and evaluating agency capabilities before engagement. It advises on conducting thorough research, asking the right questions, and narrowing down potential agencies through a systematic process, including proposal presentations and references. The author stresses considering both industry specialization and agency size while maintaining good communication and chemistry throughout the selection process.
How to Pick a PR Firm
- 1. To Get the Results You Really Want © 2016 Did-it.com, LLC. All Rights Reserved How to Pick A PR Firm By Lucy Siegel Didit Communications 2nddition
- 2. Introduction 2 ! • In this presentation, we’ll give you advice on: – How to look for an agency. – How to organize a search in a way that your company will get the most useful information to make an informed choice. – How to get past the agency sales pitch to tell which agency is best suited to your needs.
- 3. How Not to Hire A PR Agency • There are many ways people select PR firms, but not all of them make sense. For example: – An executive in one company met an interior designer in a bar and asked if she knew any PR firms. She told him that her design firm was renovating the reception area of a PR agency. He called and hired the agency sight unseen. – In another company, the CMO saw the name of a PR firm on the building’s directory, liked the name, and wandered into the agency’s office and hired them. • Hopefully you’re planning to use a more logical and thoughtful approach. Hiring a PR firm is a significant investment. All agencies are not the same! 3
- 4. 1 Decide on Your Goals for Public Relations 4
- 5. What Are Your Goals for PR? (The Important Question to Answer Before You Do Anything Else) • Many will answer, “to get media coverage.” But that’s not a goal, it’s a tactic. What do you want the media coverage to do for you? – Raise visibility? – Enhance the company’s image? – Increase sales leads? • Your goals can influence which PR agency you should hire. 5
- 6. • Take advantage of one of the most important services a PR agency can provide: helping you take a 30,000-foot look at your communications needs. – A PR firm can help you think it all through: – Develop appropriate communications goals to meet your company’s business needs – Create strategies to meet those goals – Recommend the right tactics to support the strategies – Carry out the tactics. 6
- 7. SUCCESS REQUIRES YOU TO THINK THROUGH YOUR GOALS 7 • You’re better off hiring an agency that questions your thinking and your priorities than an agency that just does what you tell them to do. • Many times it’s helpful to hire a PR agency on a project basis first, to work with you to articulate your goals, confirm the audiences, then recommend strategies and tactics. − If you’re happy with the agency’s work during this project, you’ll feel more comfortable signing a longer-term contract to carry out the suggested strategies.
- 8. 2 Decide on Important Requirements First 8
- 9. • There are advantages and disadvantages in working with small, medium and large agencies. – Small PR firms = more senior-level service than large firms. • A small firm CEO is likely to be “hands on” with your account. That’s very unlikely at a midsize or large firm. – Medium and large firms = a broader range of services. • Large firms say they have more bandwidth for unexpected needs. They do have more staff than small and mid-size agencies, but at any PR agency, staff aren’t just waiting for unexpected needs. They’re busy. – Your budget might make the decision for you: large multinational firms have very high minimum fees. • Even if you can afford their minimums, with a small budget compared to other clients, you may be the stepchild client, assigned to junior employees. One question to ask each agency is, “What is the average annual fee your current clients pay?” 9 Small Medium Large ? Small, Medium or Large?
- 10. • You may need a specific type of agency that meets certain criteria. For example: 10 − You may need help in other markets, not just your home market. − You may only need help locally and want an agency that is very familiar with your city. − You may want a specialist firm in your industry, such as a healthcare PR firm. − Or you may need a firm with know-how to work with national media, which not all firms have, or experience in organizing a national conference. • Ask the agencies to demonstrate the expertise they claim. − Ask each agency for case studies of other relevant work, including results. Local, National or International?
- 11. • International experience is hard to find. – You may assume that large multinational communications agencies’ staffs have international experience. But even at those agencies, most staff members only do PR domestically. – Ask about the experience of each agency team member. – Whether small or large, an agency is not likely to be helpful with international PR unless the team you work with understands the role PR plays in different business cultures. – They must be able to work with people from other countries and cultures who may not define PR the way it’s defined domestically. – Mid-size or smaller companies are better off hiring smaller PR firms that belong to an international network of independent agencies, such as PR Boutiques International, whose members have more experience with, and understanding of overseas PR than most other agencies.
- 12. • Over the past 20 years the PR industry has become more specialized. • There are agencies that focus only on food PR, travel, financial services, technology, healthcare, real estate, beauty, education, etc. • Large multinational public relations firms and many mid-size agencies have departments dedicated to each industry specialty. • Some mid-size and smaller firms have only one or two industry specialties. • However, a large number of small/mid-size firms are generalists serving multiple industries. 12 Specialist or Generalist Agency?
- 13. • There are different opinions about whether it’s better to hire a generalist or a specialist agency. – If your company is in a very specialized industry such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices or technology, a specialist agency may have a shorter learning curve than generalists. – Generalists see experience in a wide range of industries as an advantage. They have a wider repertoire of experience, and can adapt methods commonly used in one industry to another. 13
- 15. How to Look for Potential Agencies • Ask friends and colleagues in other companies for recommendations for agencies they’ve worked with. • Do research online. − Visit the websites of PR trade media such as Ragan.com, OdwyerPR.com, PRWeek.com and PRNewsOnline.com.. 15 − Read articles about communications campaigns in your industry and awards given to agencies. − Look for well-written articles by PR agency executives. • Google some keywords that might lead you to agencies that could be a good fit. • Finally, visit the websites of the agencies on your list. Based on your impressions from their websites, what you’ve read in the media, and what you’ve heard from others, select about 10 agencies for your initial list.
- 16. • Call each agency on your list. Depending on the size of the firm, ask to speak to the CEO, the person in charge of clients in your industry, or someone in charge of business development. – Be prepared to give non-confidential background information to each firm, explain your needs and goals for PR, and provide your PR budget. − Tell these potential agencies what your budget is. Some companies refuse to do this for fear agencies will use every penny, whether needed or not. • Not providing a budget results in some proposals being too expensive, and others too low to meet your needs. Some firms won’t provide a proposal without a budget. • Don’t ask for proposals at several price points. It’s very time-consuming and unfair. Some firms will walk away. • Decide on your budget – or at the very least, a budget range – before you ask for proposals. – Prepare a list of questions before making your calls. Narrow Your List 16
- 17. What to Ask the PR Firms • Questions you should ask include: – What experience does your firm have in our industry? – Do you have clients that compete with us? (You probably don’t want to hire an agency that is working for your competitor.) 17 – What is your process of working with a PR firm? How do you start? – How do you measure and report results? – What is the range of your agency’s services? – What is your minimum monthly fee? Do you require an ongoing contract for a specified period of time, or will your agency work on a project basis? – What are your agency’s hourly rates? – How many staff do you have? – What current clients do you have? • Hearing 10 different agencies answer the same questions will help you narrow your list. Some are easy to eliminate; for example, those that have no experience in your industry.
- 18. • Take notes on the answers. It’s easy to mix up who said what after making the calls. • Ask if they are interested in being included in the RFP process. Some may not be, and you can cut those from your short list. • You may be asked how many firms you’re considering. – Sometimes companies send RFPs (Request for Proposals) indiscriminately to dozens of agencies. – This indicates to agencies that those doing the search are inexperienced. – Savvy agencies won’t respond to what are commonly called “cattle-call RFPs,” which they feel are a waste of time. • Narrow your list of 10 down to five semi-finalist firms. 18
- 19. 4 Capabilities, Chemistry and the RFP 19
- 20. Capabilities 20 • Ask each of the five agencies for a capabilities document. – This will give you basic facts and the history of the agency, examples of clients, areas of specialization, factors that differentiate the agency from others and perhaps a few case studies of work similar to what you need. • Based on these documents, your research and phone calls, cut any agency from your list that you wouldn’t really consider. You may end up with all five, or just two or three as finalists. • Contact the agencies that did not make the cut and let them know. It’s unfair to leave them waiting and courteous to tell them they didn’t have what you were looking for.
- 21. The Request for Proposal 21 • After you’ve decided on your finalist list, the next step is to develop a “Request for Proposal” (RFP), a written document to send to each finalist agency. • The RFP will include a more detailed briefing about your company and its needs, along with instructions and specific information you want the agencies to provide. • However, you may not want provide this information without first asking the agencies to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). If you don’t already have one, ask your organization’s lawyer for an NDA. • The RFP doesn’t have to be a long document. It can be just a page or two that includes what you want the agencies to include in their proposals and summarizes key background points about your company.
- 22. What to Include in an RFP • More about your company: − Confirmation of your goals for PR − A list of the target audiences you want to reach − A short explanation of any problems or challenges you want to address with PR • A timeline for the rest of the proposal process (a deadline for submitting a proposal, a range of dates when the finalist firms can meet with you to discuss the RFP and answer any questions you may have for them, another range of dates for the agencies to present their proposals and a date for the work to start). • Ask the agencies to describe their process of working with clients – frequency of agency-client meetings, what kind of reporting they do, how they measure results, etc. • In your RFP, describe a hypothetical challenge similar to your company’s PR challenges and ask the finalists to provide some ideas about how they would handle that challenge.22
- 23. • Don’t ask for a PR plan for your company or your products. You’re entitled to a proposal, not free advice about how to solve your problems or a PR plan. – Does your company ask lawyers to provide a plan at no cost explaining how they’ll solve your legal problems? Do you ask your doctor for a free healthcare assessment? Most agencies have been burned by companies that haven’t hired them, but have used their ideas anyway. – You can learn just as much about the creativity and resourcefulness of the agencies by making up a challenge as by asking for actual plans that your company can use. • Ask who would be your main contact person on a day-to-day basis. • Ask for bios for each team member that would work on your account, and for a breakdown of time that each team member will be spending on your account if the agency is selected. 23
- 24. • Ask for three references – clients or former clients the agencies have worked with. • Give the finalists a reasonable amount of time to develop their proposals, a couple of weeks at minimum. To ask an agency to submit a proposal within a few days, is inconsiderate and shows a lack of respect for the agency. • Email the RFP to each candidate firm after your NDA is signed, and then arrange your initial meetings with the agencies. 24 Qualities you should look for in a PR agency
- 25. 25 • After you decide on the finalists and send them each your RFP, meet them, one at a time. − Provides a chance to brief the agencies about the services you need in more detail, let them ask questions and see how you and your staff get along with each team. − Good chemistry is best judged in person. − Before these meetings, make a list of qualities and requirements you’re seeking from a PR agency. • For example, if industry experience or expertise in a specific area of PR are mandatory, they should be on your list. • These meetings are a chance to confirm whether the agencies meet your specifications. • It’s easy to let personalities and good sales ability cloud the picture. A list of specs will make you focus on the facts as well as the chemistry. Chemistry
- 26. • About the in-person meeting: – You should meet face to face at least once during the selection process. If only once is possible, save that visit for the final proposal presentation. – If the agencies want your business and know they’ve been selected as finalists, they’ll go out of their way to meet with you in person. – Visiting an agency can provide insight into its culture and style. It’s a way to verify how big or small the firm is. Sometimes one look around an agency’s offices is enough to give you a feeling for how experienced the staff is and whether the firm could be a fit for your company. – If it’s impossible to meet in person (for example, if you are in a different country than the agencies) arrange a video meeting via Skype. – After these first meetings, if an agency doesn’t have the experience or meet your requirements, or if the chemistry isn’t good, eliminate that agency and let the firm know. Don’t make them go through the process of developing a proposal if you know you won’t hire them! 26
- 28. 28 • Depending on what kind of PR you are looking for and the size of your company, gather together a few key people who should have some input into the agency selection: – CEO – If he or she will be working directly with the PR firm – Head of HR – If the PR assignment involves employee communications – CMO and/or Product Manager – If the assignment is product focused PR – Head of Marketing and/or Strategic Planning – If relevant • If you invite too many people, it will be harder to make a decision. However, you don’t want to leave someone out and find out after it’s too late that (s)he doesn’t like the agency! • Stick to the time limit that you gave to the PR agencies. It’s only fair to give all of the agencies the same amount of time to make sure the playing field is even. Arrange Proposal Presentations
- 29. 29 Call Agencies’ References • This is an important step! Ask the following questions, and listen very carefully to the answers: − When did you work with Agency X? − How long did you work with them? − What was the nature of the work they did for you? − How long did it take the agency team to get up to speed on your company’s products or services? − How would you assess the results of their work? − Did you have any difficulties with the agency? − Did you get the agency team you expected? − Did you have to deal with significant agency staff turnover? − On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate this agency compared to others you’ve worked with? − Did the agency’s invoices surprise you with extra charges? Were there legitimate reasons for additional charges? − Why did your relationship with the agency end? − Would you hire this agency again?
- 30. 6 Make a Decision & Wrap It Up 30
- 31. 31 Use a Scorecard • To help with decision-making, develop a scorecard with all of the important considerations on it. For example: – Affordability – Creativity and quality of ideas presented – Chemistry with the agency team – Provided all requested items in the RFP – Experience in your industry or in meeting similar types of challenges – References by their clients/former clients – Any other factor that’s important to you in the agency selection • Prior to each agency presentation, give a scorecard to the company people present. You can assign a heavier weight to some items than others. For example, if you want to give “chemistry” 25% more weight, multiply that item’s scores by 1.25. • The scorecards will help in making a decision. The decision-makers should meet to discuss differences of opinion, and after considering everyone’s input, make the final choice.
- 32. Example of an Agency Scorecard Agency Scorecard (scores are out of 100) Factors Agency 1 Agency 2 Agency 3 Good chemistry (weight = +25%) 50 (X 1.25 = 62.5) 75 (X 1.25 = 93.75) 90 (X 1.25 = 112.5) Creativity (weight = +25%) 70 (X 1.25 = 87.5) 60 (X 1.25 = 75) 80 (X 1.25 = 100) Completed RFP as requested 100 90 75 References (weight = +25%) 75 (X 1.25 = 93.75) 85 (X 1.25 = 105.25) 80 (X 1.25 = 100) Affordable fees 85 75 70 Understands our industry 80 80 75 Team member experience 70 85 80 Total score 578.75 604 617.5 A scorecard like the one above will make it easier to make objective decisions. 32
- 33. Tie Up Loose Ends 33 • Don’t tell the finalist firms you didn’t choose about your decision until there’s a signed contract with your first-choice agency. You never know how contract negotiations will go. – If your first-choice doesn’t work out, reconsider the other finalists. If you don’t feel comfortable choosing any of them, go back to the drawing board and look for more candidates. • Once you have a signed contract, let the other finalists know your decision. Thank them for submitting the RFP. – They may ask what factors led to your decision. It will be helpful to them if you tell them honestly what your reasons were, but don’t reveal the confidences of their references. • One reason to start your agency search several months before you need PR help is the possibility that your initial finalists will not make the grade. It’s better to start over than settle for an agency you are unenthusiastic about!
- 34. 34 • An important note about negotiating fees with a PR agency: − Yes, you can negotiate. But agencies are in business to make a profit. There’s a threshold below which they will not make a profit, and if you try to cut fees below that level, most agencies will walk away. Those few that don’t will accept what you offer but with a great deal of resentment. Pushing too hard for lower fees is a bad way to start a relationship. − It’s natural to want as much as you can get for as low a price as possible, but you’re not buying widgets. You’re paying for the creativity, experience and know-how of people you and your company will work closely with and rely on to help increase visibility or build a stronger reputation/image. Negotiate Fees – But with Caution
- 35. Final Steps to the Finish Line 35 • Once a decision is made, you’ll need a contract with the firm you’ve chosen. Either the agency can provide a contract that you can edit if necessary, or you can provide the contract and ask for the agency’s input. • Here are some important contract items to look at and negotiate if necessary: − The amount of notice each party must give the other before ending the agreement. − Whether or not there is a markup on expense items and what the markup will be. − Whether the agency will need approval on each and every expense, or only those above a certain cost. − How the work is defined in the contract: • We attach the approved proposal and refer to the activities in that proposal. • There should be some mechanism for adding extra work without requiring a whole new contract.
- 36. 36 − There should be an indemnification provision in the contract that will protect both parties. − What the terms of payment are. − The quantity of work covered by the agency’s fees. The contract should specify the amount of work included in the fee, as defined by hours spent, projects completed or scope of a project, or a combination of the above. − Who owns the work (materials created, for example): your company or the agency? − What would happen if you offered an agency employee a job at your company? (Many agencies include a contract clause that specifies payment of a fee similar to an employment agency fee if you hire away an agency staff member.) − What is the end date for the contract? Does it renew automatically or does a new contract have to be signed? • All contracts are for a specified period of time, such as a year from the date the contract is signed. • Some must be specifically renewed at the end of the contract term, which provides a chance to renegotiate the agreement. • Others are renewed automatically unless one party notifies the other party in advance that it does not wish to renew the contract as it was written.
- 37. 37 Here’s to a successful agency-client relationship with the PR company you select. Remember that in every successful relationship, each side takes some responsibility to keep things running smoothly. The end of the agency selection process is only the beginning of the client-agency relationship. Good Luck!
- 38. 38 More Resources Here are some good resources that may be helpful as additional reading: • Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA’s) Counselors Academy: “The Counselors Academy's Guide to Selecting a Public Relations Firm or Consultant” • PRSA’s “Public Relations Agency or Independent Practitioner Search” • Counsel of Public Relations Firms’ RFP Builder (also provides a tool for finding Counsel member firms that fit your needs – the members are mostly mid-size agencies) • Confidentiality (Non-disclosure) agreement template • Sample PR Contracts in a free ebook • PR Agency/Company contract template to purchase from LexisNexis ($98, delivered by mail) • O’Dwyers Directory of Public Relations Firms – published annually, includes a large searchable database of public relations firms, listed by location, by specialty and alphabetically. There is also a ranking of agencies by revenues. Most agencies listed are in North America, but some are multinational in scope or headquartered outside North America • Public Relations Boutiques International – an international network of boutique- size independent public relations firms
- 39. 39 Free Consultation on Your Needs For a Public Relations Agency Didit Communications may or may not be a good choice to add to your list of prospective agencies. If we are a good fit, great – we’ll provide you information about our services, staff and clients. If we’re not, we’ll refer you to an agency or two that are better choices. Contact Us for a Free Consultation A Publication of Didit Communications © 2015 Did-it.com, LLC, All Rights Reserved 276 Fifth Ave., Ste. 206, New York, NY 10001 Contact: Lucy Siegel, lucy.Siegel@didit.com Direct dial: 212-583-1079 If this book was helpful, you may also like some of our blog posts. You can find the Bridgebuzz blog here.