Tag Archive for: hiring a PR agency

What Does a PR Agency Do?

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Public relations is the art of influencing what others say about you without benefit to themselves to increase trust and reputation among stakeholders, such as customers, clients, investors, potential employees, or anyone else affecting a company’s success. Like marketing and advertising, public relations use a variety of media channels, including magazines, websites, and social media. They may include earned media, owned media, and occasionally paid content to communicate critical messages.  Ambitious companies employ PR tactics on an ongoing basis, but especially during pre-IPO and hyper-growth phases.

 

What Is the Main Role of Public Relations?

PR manages how the information and news about a company or business are advertised to maintain a brand image, especially in the case of a bad event or crisis.

PR occurs through press releases, journalist interviews, news conferences, posts on social media, and other events. It shapes the perception of your business in front of the general public, brings credibility and visibility, and tells your story through trustworthy media outlets in front of your targeted audience.

Importance of Public Relations

Public relations manage how customers, partners, and associates see a company or brand. It focuses on maintaining a positive reputation and corporate image a company while handling customer inquiries, shareholder requirements, and media requests.

Public relations is also essential to settle and clear any negative news regarding a company or brand and reduce the effect of public outcry to preserve a company’s image and reputation.

The ultimate goal of PR is to present a company or brand in the best light. It is different from marketing or advertisement in that it promotes a company’s image in an organic way that attracts public support.

PR has become a fast-growing industry in the United States. According to the (BLS) Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook of public relations specialists is looking better than ever, with employment projected to grow approximately 8% from 2021 to 2031.

What Is the Meaning of a Public Relations Agency?

A PR agency can help businesses grow their brand awareness. A public relations agency uses owned and earned media relations to garner visibility and publicity for a business.

PR services include media relations, crisis and social media management, and public affairs. PR agencies help clients build positive relationships with their customers, the public, and stakeholders to achieve their business and sales goals.

Every company needs the right public relations agency to carry out these tasks. If the public relations department is creative, strategic, and persuasive enough, it can impact every aspect of a business.

With some research, you, too, can select a public relations firm to shape your company’s reputation and public perception.

What Are the Types of PR Agencies?

Different departments and agencies handling distinct company or business aspects compose a PR.

Media Relations in PR

Media relations are essential in PR as they focus on building a company’s credibility, brand awareness, and authenticity by forming solid relationships with media organizations. The media relations team works with press members and delivers company news and good content sources. This PR agency is also accessible to the media for public comments and news stories.

Investor Relations or IR

IR is a PR sub-discipline that oversees a company’s relationship with its shareholders, government authorities, and investors. This type of PR agency deals with investor events and financial report releases and handles the complaints received by investors. The core difference between PR and IR is that investor relations deal with the internal links of the company, whereas PR deals with the company’s communication with the public.

Production Relations

This division of public relations deals with the direct operations and marketing plans of a company. This type of agency is related to specific endeavors like launching a new product or a particular campaign or managing a significant change in a product.

Internal Public Relations

Internal PR is associated with the promotional communication of an organization to ensure that all employees are satisfied and engaged. This PR branch ensures that the employees are happy with their working conditions. It counsels employees and solves their issues and conflicts internally, so there is no chance of public disclosure of employee dissatisfaction.

Community Relations

Community Relations is also a subdivision of public relations. It concerns any work a company or business does to collect friendly and cooperative feelings from the community. This branch of PR focuses on building a brand image and reputation and tries to align itself with community members. It targets a physical community such as sporting clubs, work, and colleagues or a non-physical community like linguistic, religious, or mutual interest-based communities.

Customer or Consumer Public Relations

Customer PR services cover all interactions between an organization and its employees. It is a powerful domain of public relations as it’s dedicated solely to increasing the brand’s awareness and building its reputation as a reliable and trustworthy company. Consumer relations connect the company to its employees and handle critical aspects to enhance their relationship, such as conducting market research, understanding the concerns and priorities of its customers, and addressing their positive and negative feedback.

Government Relations and Public Affairs

Government relations is a branch of PR that helps a company or brand communicate effectively with governing bodies. Public affairs, on the other hand, tackles an organization’s interactions with the government, interest groups, legislators, and media. This type of PR agency targets building a solid relationship with politicians and key decision-makers to ensure their consumers receive fair treatment.

What Is the Difference Between a PR Agency and Other Departments of a Company?

The role of PR may overlap and sometimes intertwine with other company departments. Still, in the end, a PR firm helps enhance its strategies and align its goals accordingly to improve its client’s business or organization.

Marketing

Public relations and marketing work similarly, but their end goals are different.

The marketing department of a company is more focused on driving sales, ensuring that the company is heading toward financial success, and promoting its products and services. PR focuses on managing and building the brand image and reputation.

PR never makes a direct impact on sales. It is not concerned with driving sales but indirectly promotes the company through press release distribution and representing it at industry events. On the other hand, marketing campaigns solely focus on driving sales and generating maximum profits from them.

Marketing will persuade people to buy a product, but a PR agency will convince them to trust and invest in the brand. Marketing and PR sometimes go hand in hand as PR will attract people and help them connect with a brand, and then marketing will convert these people into customers and drive sales.

Paid media is an essential tool that can assist businesses in generating more visibility and engagement for their brand through paid placements like PPC ads, social media posts, pop-ups, etc. The marketing department can interact with customers to understand a company’s sales trends, what products are in demand, and how to generate more revenue and profits. PR will interact with customers to know if they are happy with the products and services of a brand and ensure that any dissatisfaction is promptly addressed and managed.

Why Do Companies Need PR Agencies?

Companies and businesses are constantly juggling between setting up their email workflow, writing blogs, and handling other sales aspects of their businesses. Between these tasks, a PR agency can help a company schedule, organize, optimize, and successfully run events, marketing initiatives, and press releases.

A public relations agency can keep the press informed about a brand and its products and services and generate other opportunities for a company that increases its authority and visibility and enhances its relationship with its targeted audience.

PR can take a business to the next level by using earned media and publicity to shape the public’s perception of a company.

What Are the Main Duties of a PR Agency?

A PR agency will fulfill the following duties to enhance a brand’s reputation and garner goodwill for its business.

Do a Lot of Research on the Target Market

PR agencies know the value of customer interactions and feedback and how important it is to evaluate a company’s brand image. They also know that a good PR plan includes identifying reliable media outlets that will help them reach their target audience.

A public relations firm will ask its clients about their business goals and then research the journalists, media outlets, and podcast hosts that have helped similar companies reach their audiences in the past. They will look for particular journalists that will pitch your company’s ideas and help a company make a suitable investment in targeted campaigns.

Create a Plan That Aligns With the Company’s Goals

A PR agency will create a plan for strategic and creative practices to present a brand and its story to media outlets. These plans include pitch angles, internal PR goals like product launches, and external PR goals like special events. A PR agency might also discuss with the client how they plan on executing these strategic goals and what benefits they will bring to the company.

Put the Plans Into Motion

Once the client is satisfied with the PR plans, the agency will start working on them according to the business goals and scope. This step includes assembling press kits that include brochures, press releases, photographs, details and coverage of past press releases, fact lists, and other critical information regarding a company.

Create a PR Pitch

A PR pitch outlines the story and values behind a company or business and explains, in an engaging manner, why it should be published. A public relations firm will create a short and unique pitch that will catch the attention of media outlets so that a brand can reach its target market. The PR services intend to make the pitch as intriguing as possible so that journalists or podcasters are interested in publishing and featuring the story.

PR Outreach

PR outreach is a process in which the PR agency will pitch information about the products and services of a company to journalists, influences, and bloggers to get exposure and press coverage for a business.

Engage Influencers to Influence People

Public relations agency will advise their clients about their message to their consumers and how they should communicate it. They will also engage suitable influences to generate more visibility for the brand, negotiate contracts with them, and manage other aspects of their PR services.

What Are the Services of a Public Relations Firm?

The PR industry has dramatically changed over the past ten years. It is now a full-service business, thanks to the evolutions in technology and how cheaper, faster, and easier it has become to spread the news.

Even though technology has made sharing content more accessible and manageable, the competition among brands is more challenging than ever. That is where they bring a good PR agency into play.

Following are some PR services that you can expect from any good agency;

1. Enhancing Brand Image

A public relations agency will strive to protect and enhance a client’s image in the public’s eye. They constantly monitor the media outlets for negative news or stories regarding their client’s business and control any damage during a crisis.

PR agencies work actively to promote a client’s image among the general public so that its reputation is not damaged. A PR agency will message blog content, respond on social media, reply to people having positive or negative reviews about a brand, and engage with its followers. A bad reputation will damage a brand’s equity in the long run.

All these tactics ensure that a brand comes across as relatable and reliable.

2. PR Crisis Management

Sometimes, special interest groups can significantly damage the reputation of a company or brand by doing inaccurate reporting to media outlets or happen when negative reviews and events threaten a brand’s reputation. It is known as the PR crisis.

A public relations firm is knowledgeable in dealing with such negative publicity. The PR specialists know how to minimize the damage caused by a PR crisis and successfully restore their client’s brand image.

A good PR agency will try to avoid any crisis from happening in the first place. But if such a crisis does occur, it knows how to use all its strategies and resources to protect the company’s image and develop communication plans to clear any negative news and events.

3. Media Relations and PR

A good PR agency knows how important it is to maintain a strong presence on social media. Social media presence is an essential digital marketing strategy as it provides insights into the conversations regarding a brand or company among its customers and their positive and negative responses.

A public relations agency can increase the reach and visibility of a brand by responding to general feedback and queries and building long-term relationships with customers. A PR firm will also handle social media relations by writing short and engaging pitches to influences and journalists to help get more client coverage. They will pitch their client’s company to a suitable blog targeting the right audience for the brand.

 

5. Content Planning and Development

PR agencies are involved with generating media coverage that will garner a positive response from the public for their clients. Press releases are one to achieve this purpose. These written statements are distributed to media outlets to generate news about events, product launches, or other developments within the company.

For example, if a skincare brand wants to start a social media movement to embrace #beautyofmyownskin, a public relations agency will help them write a press release announcing a campaign to care for an individual’s skin and hopefully garner a positive response from the media coverage.

There are other ways PR contributes content.

Writing an Internal Copy

PR agencies help their clients communicate with employees through internal copywriting. The employees of a company are important stakeholders, and a public relations agency can help a company manage its relationship with this group of people.

A company must set a healthy communication channel with its employees to build their morale, celebrate its success and profit generation, and discuss effective strategies and changes.

Craft Compelling Copy for a Business

Copywriters are experts in telling a brand’s values and story most intriguingly and compellingly. PR agencies have great copywriters that know different strategies to write in a way that resonates with the target audience’s ideas and beliefs.

Good writers in a PR agency’s team can capture the core message of a client’s brand and then present it under a compelling headline and persuasive body that will communicate it efficiently to the public. Copywriters can also develop great ideas for other media channels and marketing strategies, such as social media posts and whitepapers.

 

Developing Internal Communications

PR agencies will help their clients develop better internal communications by writing tactful speeches on behalf of a company. Speed writing is handy during press conferences or events where company employees speak publicly.

Anyone giving a speech to represent a brand or company must take help from a PR agency as they will handle the strategic messaging to develop a vocabulary about the brand messaging and new products or services launch.

6. PR Agencies Can Also Be Event Planners

PR agencies know the value of events of a company and how important they are for marketing its products and services. A public relations firm will ensure that an event hosted by their clients in which media members participate runs smoothly and positively. To achieve this purpose, PR agencies will take it up to them to handle all aspects of the event plan, from communicating with stakeholders, attaining media coverage, arranging travel and lodgings of attendees, and creating valuable content and announcements for the event.

PR agencies will also develop word-of-mouth or viral campaigns which can generate press and awareness.

 

How Can a PR Agency Help My Company?

A public relations agency can impact your company in more than one way. Not only will it lift the burden of a company to deal with media management and brand awareness, but it will also help drive more sales and enhance the company’s reputation. Here are five ways a PR agency can help you and your company;

  1. PR agencies try to build authentic relationships between a company and its customers. They do so by understanding their client’s business plans and core principles and presenting them in such a way that it resonates with their target audience.
  2. A PR agency knows how to develop effective press releases and media news and how to present them to the world.
  3. PR agencies help businesses who need to learn how to communicate their message to the world build strategic plans to increase brand awareness and visibility through different media channels.
  4. PR agencies organize successful events and conferences that efficiently showcase new product releases and thus help companies generate more sales.
  5. They personalize their tactics and plans according to the needs of individual businesses. PR agencies have PR specialists on their teams that understand their client’s business goals and create new opportunities for them to increase their website traffic, social media presence, and media coverage.

Conclusion

A PR agency helps a company grow even when other marketing strategies fail to bring more visibility to the brand. Public relations agencies understand the needs of their clients and have multiple approaches to enhance the reputation and visibility of newly established businesses to a large group of companies.

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Unleashing the Potential of PR Service Bundles for Consumer Products

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In the fast-paced world of consumer products, standing out from the competition and capturing the attention of target audiences is paramount. Public relations (PR) plays a crucial role in creating brand awareness, establishing credibility, increasing revenue, and generating consumer excitement. When looking to hire a PR firm, you may be taking one of two strategies. The first would be to maximize the impact of PR strategies; consumer product companies often rely on the expertise of PR firms that offer tailored packages designed specifically for their needs. The second strategy, for consumer product startups could be to dip their feet into the PR agency relationship with a PR service bundle that is specific in scope. Hence, the fees are lower, and the brand can learn more about a particular PR firm.  This blog post will explore the differences between PR service bundles for consumer products and how they can help businesses thrive in an ever-evolving marketplace.

  1. Crafting a Compelling Brand Story

Consumer products are not just items on a shelf; they are part of people’s lives, offering solutions, experiences, and emotions. If you’re a consumer product startup, your PR firm offering may need to include branding initiatives and research to craft a compelling brand story that resonates with target audiences.

By understanding the product’s unique value proposition, PR professionals can develop narratives that captivate consumers, evoke emotions, and create a lasting connection. These packages often include

  • message development,
  • storytelling techniques
  • content creation
  • brand image: ensure a consistent and compelling brand image across various channels

  1. Influencer Partnerships and Product Placements

Influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for consumer product promotion. PR  packages for influencers or journalists leverage influencer partnerships to amplify brand reach and credibility. By identifying and collaborating with influential individuals in relevant niches, PR professionals can generate authentic product endorsements, unboxing videos, and positive reviews. Additionally, these PR service bundles often include earned media opportunities, product placement opportunities, and securing features in TV shows, movies, or popular media outlets, allowing for increased visibility and exposure.

  1. Media Relations and Product Launches

A successful product launch can significantly impact consumer perception and sales. PR firm packages for consumer products include strategic media relations to generate buzz and coverage surrounding new product releases. With these PR packages – Avaans calls these PR Sprints-, PR professionals work closely with media outlets, journalists, and bloggers to secure product reviews, and feature articles; sometimes with an eye on digital PR for premium SEO links. Through these efforts, businesses can build anticipation, create excitement, and gain valuable media exposure, ultimately driving consumer interest and sales.

  1. Social Media Engagement and Influencer Events

Social media has transformed the way consumers engage with brands. Social media targeted PR firm packages recognize the importance of a strong social media presence for consumer products. These packages include social media management, content creation, and community engagement strategies. PR professionals leverage social media platforms to share product updates, engage with consumers, and foster brand loyalty. They may also organize influencer events or collaborations, providing opportunities for influencers to experience the product firsthand and share their authentic experiences with their followers.

    1. Crisis Management and Reputation Protection

In the consumer product industry, maintaining a positive reputation is crucial. PR firm packages are designed to handle potential crises and protect brand reputation in the face of challenges. These packages include proactive crisis management strategies, such as preparing crisis communication plans and monitoring online conversations. In times of crisis, PR professionals act swiftly, ensuring transparent and timely communication to address concerns and mitigate any potential damage to the brand’s reputation.

    1. Content Packages in Digital PR World

As media continues to evolve, building content is vital to building awareness and consumer affinity. From contributed content to blog posts to videos content is still king. Moreover, content offers many ways to repurpose and reuse, from social media to email marketing to investor presentations.

Ensuring your content aligns with your overall goals and brand messaging is squarely in the capabilities of a full-service PR firm. But even if you choose not to use your PR firm to build the content, part of a full-service PR option should include collaboration with your content producers to ensure message consistency.

 

Conclusion

For consumer product companies, PR firm packages offer a powerful toolkit to elevate brand visibility, establish credibility, and drive consumer excitement. You may be able to reduce PR costs by sticking with a specific PR package with a limited scope, like some of the PR service bundles recommended above, or you may wish to have a more tailored PR strategy with a bespoke PR plan.

These packages are tailored to the unique needs of consumer product businesses, providing strategic guidance, media relations, social media engagement, crisis management, and more. By harnessing the expertise of executive level PR professionals, consumer product companies can create compelling brand stories, leverage influencer partnerships, execute successful product launches, and protect their brand reputation. Embracing the services provided by PR firm packages is a strategic investment that can fuel consumer interest, foster brand loyalty, and propel consumer product businesses to new heights of success.

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5 Ways to Save on Your Agency Budget

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When the economy is unpredictable, it’s challenging to plan. Yet, plan you must. Even when you love your PR and marketing agency, during these times, it’s tempting to cut marketing and PR budgets. I know both sides of this fence. I’ve been an entrepreneur for 75% of my career, including during 9/11, The Great Recession, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Having witnessed the fallout from slashed budgets, I’ve learned that taking your foot off the gas doesn’t slow the engine. It kills it. You can’t eliminate marketing and increase sales. What you DO need to do is shift marketing strategies. These 4 ways to save on your agency budget will ensure you gain or maintain valuable market share while reducing marketing and PR agency fees. 

If you like your marketing or PR agency, keep them. You can negotiate with your existing agency; hiring a new agency has hidden costs. Eliminating a well-oiled, top-rated agency will cost you productivity and results when you need it most. If things are going well, check out our advice from leading agency owners about reducing your agency budgets. If you’re hiring a new agency, these tips will help you get off to a great start and a budget that allows for growth while you work efficiently with your new agency.

 

1. Content: Make It Sticky

When times are good, brands with ambitious goals do whatever they can to get meaningful results faster. But if you’re reducing budgets, you should focus on the longer-lasting things. As a colleague of mine once said, “I don’t know why everyone wants to go viral. I want my content to be cancer. I want it to stick around and be hard to get rid of.” This is the mindset to be in when trying to reduce costs.

Two types of media stick around forever: owned media and earned media. Your owned media is any channel you control, where create 100% of the content, like your blog or your email marketing. Your earned media appears on channels you don’t control or create, think magazine articles, and (organic) reviews.

Blog posts and earned media are the superglue of sticky marketing and PR levers. Because they DO last so long, and they are customer-facing, these are excellent areas to focus your PR agency on. The ROI will pay dividends now and in the future. 

There’s a third blend of content emerging – and that’s contributed content. Sometimes there are fees associated with contributed content, and it always goes through editorial control, but it is a highly credible way for you to (mostly) control the messaging. This type of content has another advantage: thought leadership. Activating your thought leadership is key to its stickiness.

But longevity is only one benefit of this content; repurposing is another. For example, blog posts that are listicles are excellent SEO boosters, and you can use a listicle to generate many social media posts, same with an article that includes your product.

You want your stickiest content to be the best quality. If you’re reducing your budgets in other areas, now is not the time to hire an untested blogger referred to you by your nephew. Now is the time to focus your budget on doing what you do well. Very well.

Highly useful, sticky content is the most valuable and should be a budget priority.

2. Strategically Reduce the Scope

Chances are your agency is providing you with a suite of services. Instead of eliminating high-value output, focus your budget on those items to reduce your scope.

Take a deeper look at what your agency did this year that worked for you. How did they excel? While you’re asking yourself this question, think about it in the “Make it Sticky” content but also in the areas where narrowing in on the scope would provide outsized value.

One way to secure high-value PR is product-driven PR and bringing thought leadership and awards programs in-house, or vice-versa. 

Another idea, instead of working with 15 different micro-influencers, you work with one on a strategic year-long campaign. Maybe your branding company could produce long-form content only and you can craft social media posts in-house.

Instead of a campaign every quarter, work with your agency to develop one excellent, well-thought-out campaign throughout the year and focus your efforts on making that campaign exceptional. This brings me to my final recommendation. 

Another area that can save your money is fewer meetings with your agency. While meetings are essential, especially early in the relationship, this area could drive some savings if you’ve been with your agency for a while. 

3. Plan Ahead

Nothing is more expensive than last-minute. If you’re reducing your budget, planning can save you a lot of money. For example, if you’re planning on a video shoot, secure your videographers and editors well in advance with a solid deposit and you’ll find it easier to negotiate the rate.

The same goes for your agency contract. Sign early regardless of whether it’s a new-to-you agency or one you’ve had for a while. Signing early gives you an edge in negotiation. If you like your agency and you will commit to a longer term, you’ll be able to command better rates, and even lock in “economic downturn” rates for two years.

Press releases can be purchased in bulk as well. So if you’re planning on several announcements, if you buy in advance, you can save thousands of dollars. 

4. Strategy: When They Zig, You Should Zag

To save money and get more bang for your buck, redefine your calendar. Shy away from the dates and times of the year when your competitor is most likely to do something, and instead select a campaign period when you can own the conversation.

Alternatively, re-thing your share of voice KPI. When dominance is your key strategy, you want to track it against your biggest aspirational competitors. If simply staying present is your goal, track your share of voice against a competitor nipping at your heels, one who is your peer and one who is aspirational. For your aspirational competitors, your strategy should be to cede some of your share of voice so you can squeeze in on your competitor’s territory. For your peers, you want to maintain equal, if not better, footing, and for the one nipping at your heels, you want to own the conversation so they don’t squeeze in on yours.

5. Maximize Partnerships and Internal Initiatives

Now is a great time to double down on successful partnerships or find new ways to align for new partnerships. Be creative in the ways you align, and you may be able to create a news worthy story just by creating a collaboration. Another way to maximize your budget is to turn your storytelling focus on highly valued stories the media is already writing about, like purpose-driven initiatives. These types of stories are much easier to get a lift on than the traditional “thought leadership” strategy that most of your competitors will flock to.

Reducing your agency costs doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Working WITH your agency to find the sweet spot for your specific needs can be an excellent exercise in creativity. By shifting strategies, outcomes, and outputs, you can find the sweet spot that keeps your marketing and PR on track even during cost-cutting seasons.

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There are 500 Ways to Screw Up PR – Here’s 3

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Over the years, I’ve learned there are over 500 ways to screw up PR. I’m going to be honest with you – I have a lot of conversations with people who say they hired an agency and got nothing, or not what they were promised. The consistent takeaway for these folks is often “PR doesn’t work.” You can imagine my skepticism when people say that because, without exception, we know it does. We have launched brands, driven record sales for brands, and sent them through IPO. But it’s totally worth diving into a few of the reasons PR doesn’t work, with one caveat, it’s RARELY just one of these things.

 

PR Agency Mismatch

Perhaps one of the most important keys to success is agency fit. The most successful relationships align on experience level, ambitions, and cost. Let’s dive into that a little more.
Experience level. Some stories, some products, and some movements are just harder to pitch. If you’re one of those companies, you probably know it deep in your heart. Does that mean you won’t get any PR? No, it means you need to find agencies who either have direct experience telling stories like yours, OR you need to have an agency whose storytellers are seasoned enough to know what lessons they’ve learned and how to apply them now.

Ambitions. If your ambition is to double your sales, then the brand commitment needs to match that, and no single one lever can change sales overnight. It’s also important that you weigh the time-money continuum here. The faster something gets done, the more upfront work it takes.

Yet, if you say “we want to double our sales in 3 years,” it could cost you more than 3X, even if it feels cheaper on a monthly basis. So be clear on what it will take to meet your objective and be sure you’re attacking that aim from all fronts which you control.

If you’re a DTC brand, make sure your SEO and PR teams are operating together. If you’re a consumer tech brand, make sure you’re tapping into trends with your social media. If you’re a CPG brand, make sure the rest of your branding (internal and external) matches the values your product projects.

Cost. PR cost and ambitions are closely tied, because time and cost are deeply connected. There are PR agencies that are cheap, and you will find that some PR agencies are extraordinarily expensive. I would say if saving money is your biggest ambition, then maybe PR isn’t right for you. PR is a lot like building a house and no one ever advises you to pick the cheapest contractor.

If your budget for PR is less than you would pay an executive assistant, then you’re probably undershooting your goals. Whenever someone tells me they hired a firm and got nothing, I usually find that they hired a firm and were the cheapest client that the firm had, OR they hired a scary cheap firm. There’s value-driven pricing and then there’s scary cheap. Learn the difference.

There are only two ways to get scary cheap: hire inexperienced people, or spend no time on the account. That’s it. That’s the only way scary cheap PR agencies work. You’ll get a sense of which one you’ll experience when you meet the team. A seasoned team won’t be spending a lot of time on the account. If the team is inexperienced, then they’ll spend a lot of time learning on your dime. That’s a signal you should watch for.

Your Agency isn’t REALLY a PR Agency

Sometimes agencies try to be all things to everyone and offer every marketing, branding, advertising, and PR service under the moon. That’s a REALLY difficult thing to do.

PR agencies absolutely overlap with other agencies regularly.

There are parts of what we do that a branding agency will also do – like planning word-of-mouth opportunities or creating publicity stunts. Sometimes a branding agency will also create content for their clients, or surveys. That’s also something that PR agencies do-both can usually do them equally well depending on the purpose of the content. But where branding agencies and PR agencies are separate is media outreach, journalist relations, and understanding of the media. And candidly, very few PR agencies have the talent to develop a well-rounded brand from a visual standpoint.

Unbelievably, I’ve seen “entrepreneurial coaches” pitch themselves as PR experts. I think these people understand a lot about self-promotion, and believe me, that’s a true skill, but they rarely really understand media relations outside of sending a press release. Which isn’t the reason you send a press release.

Ad agencies and PR agencies have very little in common. If your ad agency says they can also handle your PR (or vice-versa), that’s typically a red flag.

SEO agencies aren’t PR agencies either. Now, as a digitally savvy PR agency, for our bespoke clients, we absolutely dive into the SEO of our clients so we can incorporate keywords and important links. But let me assure you, we are NOT an SEO agency. Nor is your SEO agency a PR firm. Don’t confuse the two. Unless you’re working for one of the world’s largest agencies, there are very few exceptions to the fact that the two rarely go together.

 

Collaboration or Miscommunication

The root of this is usually either the personalities just didn’t fit, or there wasn’t bandwidth for consistent communication on either side. A truly bespoke PR program is highly intimate and collaborative. If that isn’t happening, you will find results suffer. Another aspect of this is executive or spokesperson availability – when the executives aren’t making time for journalists on deadline, then the success rate falls dramatically, AND your PR team is reluctant to pitch him/her to their best contacts because relationships matter and no one client is worth burning a long time media partner over. Sorry, but that’s the truth.

The media, and especially journalists, are under extreme stress these days. When clients don’t get back to us immediately about opportunities, that makes it really difficult for us to take advantage of the most interesting and timely media opportunities. PR agencies often receive inquiries from the media, but those inquiries have tight deadlines, sometimes even less than a day. So if your PR team is promoting you 2-3 times to get back to them for a query, that’s a red flag.

 

Since there are over 500 ways to screw up PR, that’s the reason we structure our programs the way we do. If you’ve ever talked to us, you know, we take our partnerships exceptionally seriously – our bespoke PR results and client reviews prove it. If you’re in the middle of hiring a firm, and you’re having a hard time differentiating, call us. We’ll give you our unbiased opinion of the top PR agencies you’ve identified.

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Publicity vs PR – Which is Right for You

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What’s the difference between PR vs publicity? At first glance, they look the same. Publicity is a specific tactic to attract media coverage, it might be good or bad coverage. Public relations is a holistic brand-building, loyalty building and trust-building strategy that includes positive media coverage.

Should you choose publicity or PR?

Most brands do not subscribe to the “all media coverage is good media coverage” philosophy and want ONLY positive media coverage, which is why most brands choose PR. PR refers to the deliberate efforts that organizations make to build and maintain positive relationships with the public. Public relations will create a path toward media coverage including key messaging, brand positioning, making the news, jumping in on breaking news, and strategizing positive company announcements. A PR strategy may also include a crisis communication plan which is important for any consumer brand, but especially DTC or CPG brands. PR is an investment in your brand’s reputation. If your business goal is to be the #1 brand against your competitors or to secure investment that launches you into hypergrowth, then you’ll definitely want to choose PR.

Publicity is a narrowly focused goal, any form of media coverage or exposure for an organization or individual. And it might be OK for a brand that just wants to get into gift guides, for example. That would be an example of publicity without the added benefit of public relations. If your key messages are solid, and you don’t need any additional help building the brand’s trust or loyalty, or your long-term reputation isn’t important, then publicity may be an option for you.

Long Term or Short Term Media Coverage?

Publicity is great for a blast of short-term coverage. Something consistent with a calendar event, or a word-of-mouth campaign with a celebrity for a product launch. Publicity is also great if your brand is willing to do “anything” for media coverage. Stunts in Times Square or the Santa Monica pier often get coverage simply because of the location and the unexpected commotion. That’s publicity. Another example of publicity is an April Fools stunt.

If you’re looking for consistent press coverage regardless of whether you have a product launch or an activation, then you definitely want PR. PR will enable your brand to build trust with your audience, while also building loyalty with your existing customers.

Rinse & Repeat or Bespoke?

Publicity tactics are very similar to one another. Your publicity in gift guides, for example, will also share coverage with other products and possibly even competitors. Think of a publicity campaign as a short-term boost to secure coverage, regardless of quality. If you simply need additional exposure for a specific period of time in order to get noticed by potential customers or clients, then publicity may be a cost-effective solution.

In contrast, public relations will develop custom strategies to build and manage your reputation, reach key audiences and achieve your business objectives through strategic messaging and tailored PR campaigns. With the right PR firm on your side, you can effectively reach your target audiences, build positive relationships with key stakeholders, and stand out from the crowd in today’s competitive marketplace.

 

Many people think public relations (PR) and publicity are synonymous, but there is actually a clear distinction between the two terms. If you’re interested in discussing the difference with Avaans, please contact us, we will help you decide based on your business goals and budget, which type of media coverage is best for you.

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Insiders: How to Reduce Your Agency Budget

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When it’s challenging to plan, it’s tempting to just eliminate budgets, especially for marketing and PR agencies. Volatile environments are nerve-wracking. In the short term, that might seem like a negotiable expense that’s fairly easy to eliminate. But if you’re working well with an agency, eliminating them will cost you more time and money in the long run, not to mention the costs associated with reduced awareness and sales. Instead of eliminating Most agency owners can show you why cutting back on marketing and PR will damage your brand, but what insider tips do agencies give to their existing clients when economics requires a marketing shift? For this article, we called on some of the most respected mid-size agencies in the United States and asked them what strategies they use to reduce agency budgets, so you can ask your agency to help you.

Discuss your plans with the agency upfront. Getting strategic advice early in the process will help you avoid wasting the implementation budget later. Measure twice, cut once. – Karl Sakas, Sakas & Company

Sakas, who uses his years in the agency world to consult with growing agencies today, suggests involving your agency at the highest strategic level from the onset to reduce agency budgets. Agency strategists may cost more hourly, but a deep, collaborative strategic understanding saves hundreds of wasted implementation hours, not to mention emergency charges. Sometimes there is this idea that withholding information from your agency will give you an edge in negotiations. But if your agency is really on your side, and really approaches the relationship as a partner, then that strategy could cost you. Most agencies can help you prioritize and refine a strategy to fit your budget during a recession.

Using agency as a consultative partner, rather than an implementation house – Ross Johnson, 3.7 Designs, a Michigan Inbound Marketing Agency

When clients need to reduce budgets, Ross Johnson of 3.7 Designs suggests leaning into strategy with the agency, and sticking with outputs that have a longer shelf life. For example, instead of eliminating content creation, which is invaluable because it’s sticky, he says, “Take more of the content creation in-house. We advise on what content to create, and provide feedback after it’s created so the client receives 90% of the same value but at a lower cost.”  He also recommends focusing more energy on earned media and organic activities over paid spending, because it lasts longer and delivers more value.

Technology is your friend – Dan Serard, Cannabis Creative

“Following up with and nurturing leads can be time intensive,”

“We recommend our clients to invest in our email marketing automation services and prioritize automation strategy in addition to one-time or seasonal campaigns to get the most value out of our services. It’s not just about the immediate content output but the long-term journey for your leads. As an agency, we set up our clients’ email systems in ways that work smarter, not harder. Email marketing automation can be an investment to strategize at the onset, but once running, generate cost-effective results that function in perpetuity. Automations can keep leads engaged and convert them into customers through a series of well-planned out messages, and do not require much intervention.”

Cut low-performing or time-consuming services. – Hunter Young, HiFi Agency, 

The longer something takes, the more it costs. If you have multiple layers of approvals built into agency work, then reducing those layers can save you time, and your agency can either refocus it’s efforts on more valuable outcomes, or they can reasonably count on reducing fees by the time saved.

Hunter suggests looking at an agency budget cut as “an opportunity to cut the items that were truly low-performing or low-efficiency for the agency/client (e.g. things that take forever to get approved).” Items that take multiple back-and-forths, cost the agency time, which translates to money for you.

Have the right people do the right work, – Stephanie Chavez President of Zen Media

Most agencies provide a blended rate for their services. Yes, a strategist is more per hour, but they aren’t likely to be spending 10-20 hours in your account every week. This is a spot that can create unforeseen costs when clients insist on using the strategist as a project manager. Indeed, a highly paid strategist should not be managing the project on a day-to-day basis, they should ensure the output matches the strategy.

As President of a PR and marketing agency for tech-driven B2B brands, Chavez is used to clients who expect smooth operations. She says when clients are looking for ways to save money, she doubles down on making sure the budget is used where it should be, with the right skill sets in the right place.

Use recessions strategically.   – Chris Shreeve PrograMetrix 

During a recession, there is less noise. PR agencies get cut and ad budgets get reduced. So using a scalpel approach to your budget can provide higher ROI than when the economy is moving in full swing. Plus, although consumers still consume, they’re more sensitive to getting the best product and/or the best price, so staying present is even more important.

“After all, consumers will still consume, even during a recession,while some brands may go silent, other brands see a pathway to make more of an impression on their target audience.”

 

Reducing your agency costs doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Working WITH your agency to find the sweet spot for your specific needs can be an excellent exercise in creativity. By shifting strategies, outcomes, and outputs, you can find the sweet spot that keeps your marketing and PR on track even during cost-cutting seasons.

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