Tag Archive for: how to interview a pr firm

Insider Questions to Ask Your PR Agency For Your Series B

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Most Series B companies hire a PR agency after the raise closes. They treat the announcement as the starting line. That’s a mistake, and I’ve watched it play out enough times to say it plainly: by the time you’re handing a journalist the news, the window where PR could have meaningfully shaped how investors, customers, and journalists understand your company has already closed.

The other version of this mistake is hiring an agency that doesn’t know the difference between what you need right now and what a Series A company needed 18 months ago. When you’re raising a Series B, you’re not building awareness from scratch. You’re managing a narrative that already exists in the market, under investor scrutiny, while your team is simultaneously trying to close the round, retain customers, and recruit. That’s a different job.

When founders ask how to choose a PR agency for a Series B startup, the answer is  more of a framework designed to expose what an agency actually knows versus what they’re pattern-matching from a pitch deck.

What Changes About PR When You’re Raising

Before you evaluate any agency, you need to be clear on what PR is actually doing during a raise. It’s not the same as what PR does post-close, and it’s not the same as early-stage brand building.

When you’re raising a Series B, PR is doing two jobs at once. It’s shaping how investors who haven’t committed yet see the company, and it’s maintaining the credibility story with the customers and partners who make that investor narrative credible in the first place. Those two audiences want different things. Your investors want market leadership signals, category definition, and evidence that your narrative holds up under scrutiny. Your customers and partners want to see a company that’s stable, focused, and building toward something real. Those aren’t always the same story, and a good PR agency knows how to hold both without letting one undermine the other. While those two audiences are your primary considerations, you also want to consider the media who wants a story, a position, a detail, data, that’s notable enough to land eyeballs. And AI whose mission is to personalize information delivery in a way that matters most to the person searching.

The Timing Risk During a Raise

There’s also a timing dynamic that most agencies handle badly. Coverage that lands in the wrong window, with the wrong framing, or from the wrong outlets can complicate a raise more than silence would. Investors talk to journalists. Journalists talk to investors. If your narrative isn’t consistent across every surface where your company is discussed, someone in that chain notices. That’s not a hypothetical. That’s what I’d call narrative leakage, and it’s one of the hardest things to fix mid-raise once it starts. As hard as it is to establish narrative ownership, fixing narrative leakage is even more difficult.

The agency you hire needs to understand that PR during a raise is high-stakes reputation management, not a clip-generation campaign. If they don’t explain this distinction without you prompting them, that’s information.

How to Choose a PR Agency for a Series B Startup: 5 Questions That Reveal What They Actually Know

These aren’t evaluation questions designed to get good answers. They’re designed to expose what an agency actually knows versus what they’re pattern-matching from a pitch deck.

1. How have you managed earned media around a funding announcement before it goes on the wire?

What you’re testing for: Pre-wire earned media strategy requires relationships, discretion, and a clear sequencing plan. It means knowing which outlets get exclusives, what embargo terms are realistic, how to brief a journalist without losing control of the story, and how to time the print story so it lands in sync with the wire rather than before or after.

Red flag answer: “We work with the wire services to make sure the release goes out at the right time.” That’s logistics, not strategy. If they’re describing distribution, they’ve never actually run this.

Green flag answer: They describe a specific sequencing decision they made. Which outlet got the exclusive and why. What happened when the embargo almost broke. How they adjusted. Specificity is the tell.

2. Can you articulate the difference between our investor narrative and our consumer narrative, and how does your work connect the two?

What you’re testing for: A lot of agencies will nod at this and then give you a generic answer about “multiple audiences.” What you want is an agency that can actually operate in the space between those narratives. That means they understand what investors read, what signals they weight, and how earned media in trade or consumer press either supports or complicates the valuation story.

Red flag answer: “We’d develop messaging for each audience.” That’s segmentation, not strategy. Every agency can segment audiences. Almost none of them can run a PR program where the investor narrative and the consumer narrative reinforce each other rather than creating confusion.

Green flag answer: They ask you questions back. What’s your current investor narrative? What does your lead investor care about that customers wouldn’t? Where are the tension points? An agency that starts asking these questions in the pitch meeting understands the complexity.

3. What happens to our PR strategy if our raise comes in at a lower valuation than expected?

What you’re testing for: Contingency thinking. Most PR agencies are built for good news. The ones worth hiring at this stage have thought through what happens when the news is complicated, and they’re willing to talk about it before you’re in the situation.

Red flag answer: Silence, a pivot to optimism, or “we’d reassess at that point.” That’s the answer of an agency that has never managed a difficult capital narrative.

Green flag answer: A concrete framework. Proactive narrative control before the news is public. Media briefing strategy that leads with what’s true and strong rather than what’s disappointing. Advice on what not to do. An agency that’s been in this situation will tell you exactly what they’ve seen work and what they’ve seen blow up.

4. Who specifically on your team will be working on our account in month four?

What you’re testing for: Staffing integrity. This is one of the most common failure modes at growth-stage companies with agency relationships. You meet the senior team in the pitch. You get the junior team in execution. By month four, the person who understood your business at the start has cycled to a new account.

Red flag answer: Vague references to “our team” or “a dedicated account lead” without naming anyone. Or naming a senior person and then hedging on how many hours they’ll actually be on the account.

Green flag answer: A name. A title. A description of how that person’s time is actually structured. At Avaans Media, I can tell you exactly who will be on your account and what their involvement looks like across the full engagement. If an agency can’t do the same in the pitch, that’s not because the structure doesn’t exist. It’s because it doesn’t favor them to show it to you.

5. Have you ever had to manage negative coverage around a portfolio company during a fundraise?

What you’re testing for: Experience under pressure. Not crisis management in the abstract. Actual experience managing a news cycle that was working against a company while they were simultaneously trying to close a round.

Red flag answer: They haven’t, and they don’t say so directly. Instead they talk about their crisis capabilities, their rapid response protocols, their media relationships. None of that is the same as having been in the situation.

Green flag answer: A specific story with the details that only come from having lived it. What the coverage was, what they did and didn’t do, and what the outcome looked like. They don’t need to name the client. But if they can walk you through the decision-making, you’ll know whether it’s real experience or borrowed vocabulary.

What This Looks Like in Practice

For any Series B startup choosing a PR agency, the first thing we do at Avaans Media is run the Fingerprint PR Strategy, our proprietary diagnostic that maps your current narrative against your raise objectives before we pitch a single journalist. That process exists because I’ve seen what happens when agencies skip it: misaligned coverage, investor questions that surface from the wrong angle, and a founder who’s managing perception problems while also trying to close a round. The Fingerprint process takes that off the table. It gives us a clear view of where your narrative is strong, where it has gaps, and what earned media actually needs to accomplish in the next 90 days. That clarity is what makes the difference between PR that supports the raise and PR that creates noise around it.

If you’re evaluating agencies right now and you want a direct conversation about what your PR strategy should look like before you close your Series B, start with an Assessment.

If you’d prefer a checklist, check out our 15 questions to ask.

 

The Invisible Asset, written by Avaans Media founder Tara Coomans, is the PR ROI framework that builds brand equity, drives valuation, attracts capital, and wins high-stakes moments. It’s built for CMOs defending budgets, CEOs preparing for a capital event, and operators in regulated categories. Get the book →

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Why Do PR: Do You Need A PR Agency for Media Coverage?

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Key Takeaways

  • Strategic Media Relationships: PR agencies leverage their extensive relationships with journalists and utilize tools to track changes in the media landscape, ensuring targeted outreach and increased chances of securing coverage.
  • Understanding Journalists’ Needs: Effective media relations involve prioritizing journalists’ needs, as they focus on crafting engaging stories. PR firms are adept at aligning their pitches with what journalists are looking for, enhancing the likelihood of favorable coverage.
  • External Perspective and Insights: PR agencies provide valuable outside perspectives that can identify coverage gaps and emerging trends. This fresh viewpoint can help align PR strategies with broader business goals, ultimately enhancing brand reputation and value.

Do you need a PR Agency for media coverage?

This is a totally fair question. The answer is no.

But, if you don’t need a PR agency for media coverage, why are there so many PR agencies, and what value do they bring?

In her early years at Spanx, Sara Blakely famously used PR and not a single paid advertisement, and she did much of it herself early on. Bootstrapped companies should absolutely take a page out of her playbook.

But if your business is scaling, or you’re raising money, or looking for an acquisition, then maybe this isn’t the best use of your time anymore – or maybe it never was.

PR Agencies Have The Right Tools and Relationships

Keeping up with journalists and their beats is an ongoing part of how PR agencies monitor the landscape. We often know when a journalist has moved beats or outlets started going freelance, or is taking a sabbatical to write a book.

PR agencies use enterprise level tools to monitor coverage and keep up with the changes in journalists. These platforms save endless hours of research time.

Can you do this yourself? Yes.
Should you? Only if it’s the best use of your time.

PR strategy and emotional intelligence in pitching

Many people will tell you that PR agencies thrive off their media relationships. And this is true, particularly within certain B2B industries. But in consumer media, the landscape shifts constantly.

Media is in a state of re-invention with reduced budgets, and many media writers and journalists are actually finding freelancing to be more beneficial. So while we’ve certainly developed deep relationships with journalists, it’s not uncommon for them to leave the beat or move to freelance. And it’s the keeping track of these relationships and their new contact info, along with relevant beats, that set the agency relationship apart and helps a PR agency for media coverage.

We employ tools to help us quickly find the right people at the right time. We can also quickly find recent articles across a wide range of outlets, and this helps us get a better, more strategic sense of the likelihood that a particular journalist is interested in our story.

PR firms know the true target audience

What does a media pitch look like? You just email the journalist and tell them about your company, right? And then they email you back and you get media coverage? Not quite.

Journalists don’t view their job as helping you get media coverage. The journalist’s job is to tell a well-rounded story, and make sure the article gets eyeballs. When you’re talking to journalists, their needs must come first; that’s why it’s called media relations.

At Avaans, we spend a lot of time understanding the shifting needs of journalists, we understand how to talk with journalists and how to ensure your company stays in front of the right media outlets at the right time for media coverage. Understanding how to support media outlets and their journalists is part is an effective reputation management strategy.

 

PR firms bring an outside perspective

If you have an internal and separate communications person,  meetings and communication strategy along with internal comms likely fill their days. That’s a mighty big job already. The demands of that role make it nearly impossible to do consistent media outreach.

But even if they do, an agency supports the brand with something else: an outside perspective. At Avaans, we often provide a brand insight that changes business outcomes. Because we view the brand with fresh eyes, we can identify gaps in coverages based on your business goals and inform you on emerging trends that are relevant to your PR strategy.

If you don’t have an internal comms person or your CMO doubles as your communication executive, then your CMO definitely wants a PR firm to provide PR insight. PR is part of marketing, but it has distinct differences and opportunities and a good PR firm like Avaans can provide insight into ways to combine marketing and PR.  

The biggest brands in the world count on brand equity as a major part of their valuation; investing in PR makes brand value grow faster.

Learn more about our work and how we have built value for our clients.

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What is a Boutique Agency and Should You Consider One?

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Key Takeaways

  • Definition and Size: Boutique agencies are typically small, with fewer than 20 employees, offering specialized services and a hands-on approach to client management.
  • Service Delivery and Expertise: Boutique agencies often provide more personalized service with experienced account managers directly involved in your projects. However, they may take longer for last-minute requests compared to larger agencies, which have resources readily available.
  • Cost Considerations: While boutique agencies can be less expensive for smaller budgets, larger agencies may offer additional services that justify their higher fees. The choice depends on your specific needs, such as personalized attention versus a broader range of immediate resources.

As you research PR agencies you may see many touting that they are “boutique.” What is a boutique agency? A boutique agency is an agency that prides itself on its smaller size, usually under 20 employees. Boutique agencies tend to offer either specializations or a more hands-on approach to client services.

What is a boutique agency and is a boutique agency right for you? Choosing a PR agency isn’t just about size. It’s about how the agency thinks, who you’ll actually work with, and whether their operating model matches your business. For some companies, a global agency with hundreds of employees is exactly the right fit. For others, a boutique PR agency delivers more strategic involvement, faster decision-making, and more experienced counsel.

Is Every Small Agency a Boutique Agency?

I suppose some of this depends on your PR agency expectations. The way boutique agencies are different from other small agencies is in a few areas: quality of work, experience levels, and client service levels.

  • Work quality at a boutique agency should be a point of pride. Quality starts with strategy. Your relationship at a boutique agency should be unique to you. That means from the start, the PR agency takes the time to understand you, your product, and your goals. There’s nothing wrong with a PR package; it’s just not a boutique experience.
  • Client service levels. Your team shouldn’t be managing a group of 5 or more clients. If your program is unique and special to you, you need a team that is constantly in touch with what matters to you, and that requires time and attention. This time and attention can also mean a faster turnaround on in-house services.
  • Experience levels. If your team is all junior-level except for one executive who occasionally drops in you’re not at boutique agency. In PR, experience levels matter because judgment matters, understanding industry and business matters, and, yes, outcomes matter. Executive-level PR teams are not only more efficient, but the experience is invaluable.

Do Boutique Agencies Offer the Same Services as Larger Agencies?

As all agencies vary in services, boutique agencies expand and contract as clients need. They often rely on a trusted team of subject experts and implementation specialists to do this. There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach. The advantage is you’re not paying for services and team members you aren’t using. The disadvantage is that adding to the scope and implementation may take longer. At a larger agency, you are paying for 24/7 service whether you need it or not.

Most boutique agencies have trusted relationships with providers of services they don’t offer in-house. For example, while we provide a digital PR perspective, we don’t offer SEO in-house. We can refer you to excellent agencies who deliver those services. Boutique agencies are excellent at networking and finding other boutique service providers.

How Many Clients Does a Boutique Agency Have?

The number of clients a boutique agency varies dramatically. It doesn’t matter how many clients an agency has; what matters more is how many clients your team members manage. In a boutique setting, you would expect to see account teams managing fewer than  five clients depending on their role; in other agencies where the service levels aren’t a priority or the team members manage packages rather than customized PR programs, you may find team members managing eight or sometimes even more clients. I think you want to look for an agency whose key team members aren’t working with more than five clients.

Do I Get The Same Level of Service?

Of course, it depends on your definition of service. So, let’s break down how agencies of different sizes handle client management. Boutique agencies have more “working managers,” which means your account managers are frequently agency executives. Their level of engagement will vary depending on factors like your PR budget, but they’re more deeply involved with your account than at a larger agency. You may even work with the agency’s CEO at a boutique agency, a highly unlikely occurrence at a large agency.

Also, typically, larger agencies assign more clients per team member than boutique agencies do. While a strategist at a large agency may carry 6-8 clients, at a boutique agency, your strategist may carry 4-5 clients at once. For example, our agency regularly receives service inquiries, but our current clients always come first. We choose that because our senior strategists are involved in both biz development and client work. If personalized strategies and personal attention matter, a boutique PR agency may suit you better.

At a larger agency, it’s very common to work with an executive during the RFP or decision-making process, but that executive is rarely involved in the day-to-day of your account; you may see them once a month. So if working with executive-level strategists is important to you, you may appreciate the personalized attention a boutique offers. But if you are someone who only wants to hear from your agency’s account team when necessary or you’re ok with a more junior account team for the day-to-day, then you may appreciate the larger agency’s approach. But if you want more engaged and experienced strategists, who are regularly active in and with your account, then a smaller agency might be better.

Are Boutique Agencies Less Expensive?

First, some perspective. Your $20,000 budget might be minimal at a larger agency but quite substantial at a boutique agency. That matters because, as I always say, you never want to be the client paying the least at any agency. So, you should consider the value of PR for your company and work with a larger agency as part of the whole value proposition (like the additional services mentioned above). Sometimes, hiring a larger agency is well worth it; “no one ever got fired for hiring Edelman.” However, boutique agencies may not be less expensive, but the service levels differ. So it’s up to you to decide what’s more valuable to you.

The real question isn’t whether a boutique agency costs less. It’s whether you’re paying for senior strategic thinking or organizational overhead. A larger agency may be the right investment if you need dozens of specialists available immediately. But if your success depends on executive judgment, narrative development, and close strategic collaboration, a boutique agency often delivers more value for the same investment.

 

When a Boutique Agency is the Better Choice

A boutique PR agency isn’t automatically the right choice for every company. Large agencies excel when organizations need global teams, simultaneous product launches across multiple markets, or large operational teams that can execute at scale. But there are situations where a boutique agency offers a distinct advantage.

Boutique agencies are strongest when the work requires senior judgment, not occasional executive oversight. If your communications strategy influences fundraising, market positioning, regulatory credibility, or executive visibility, working directly with experienced strategists can make a meaningful difference.

They’re also well suited for companies creating a new category or redefining an existing one. When the market doesn’t yet understand your story, communications becomes more than media outreach. It requires thoughtful narrative development that consistently reinforces what your company stands for and why it matters.

Growth-stage and regulated consumer brands frequently benefit from this model. As companies enter new markets, prepare for capital events, or operate in industries with complex communications constraints, every media opportunity contributes to a larger business objective. Strategy becomes as important as execution.

That doesn’t mean a boutique agency is always the better choice. If your organization needs communications support across multiple countries, dozens of specialists working simultaneously, or high-volume media outreach across many product lines, a larger agency’s infrastructure may be a better fit.

If your communications challenge crosses audiences, look beyond whether an agency offers a long list of services. An integrated PR agency should be able to show how consumer visibility, executive thought leadership, investor communications, digital PR, and earned media work together to build the same larger business narrative. When you’re evaluating an integrated PR agency, ask who owns that strategy, how the different pieces connect, and how the agency measures whether they’re building toward the same business outcome rather than simply running several PR tactics at once.

Ultimately, the right decision comes down to the kind of communications challenge you’re trying to solve.

 

Top Rated Boutique PR Agency

What does it actually mean to work with a boutique PR agency?

These are the questions we hear most. Straight answers, no spin.

What’s the difference between a boutique PR agency and a large agency?
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At a large agency, you pitch to a senior team and work with a junior one. That’s not a knock it’s how large agencies stay profitable. But for regulated consumer brands, that model is a liability. A junior account manager learning your category on your retainer can cause real damage: wrong messaging, misunderstood compliance constraints, pitches that land in the wrong hands. At Avaans Media, the executive team that pitches you is the team that does the work. Every account, every time.

Is a boutique PR agency right for a growth-stage brand?
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Often, it’s the better choice. Growth-stage brands need senior thinking, not scale for the sake of it. What matters at that stage is that someone with real media relationships and genuine category knowledge is driving your narrative — not managing a team that manages your account. Avaans is sized intentionally. We take on fewer clients than most agencies our age could justify, because category exclusivity and quality of work aren’t things you can scale around.

Why is Avaans rated one of the top boutique PR agencies in Los Angeles?
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Three independent sources have said so: Inc. Magazine named Avaans a Power Partner three consecutive years. Clutch — which verifies client reviews — awarded us Top Boutique PR Agency in Los Angeles. And PR Daily recognized our media relations work with an industry award. Those aren’t self-reported rankings. They’re based on client outcomes and verified reviews. We’ll take that over a trophy wall any day.

Does Avaans work with brands outside of Los Angeles?
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Yes. We’re based in Los Angeles and our media relationships span national and consumer-category outlets across the country. Most of our clients are distributed across the US, and our PR Sprint clients include brands doing national retail and DTC. Location has never been a constraint — what matters is category fit and whether the brand is ready to move.

What types of consumer brands does Avaans specialize in?
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Regulated consumer brands are our primary focus. Gaming, cannabis, supplements, functional food and beverage, consumer FinTech, alcohol, and emerging wellness categories where media access requires careful navigation. We also work with ambitious CPG, DTC, and consumer tech brands through our PR Sprint program, and with growth-stage consumer brands preparing for M&A or an IPO through our Bespoke Authority Program. If your category is complex, scrutinized, or still earning mainstream legitimacy, that’s our lane.

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Questions to Ask Top Cannabis PR Firms

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You may be at the beginning of your search, or you may have narrowed down your choices, but wherever you are in your cannabis PR firm search, you should know that the top cannabis PR firms should all have these skills. Notice these skills may differ from PR services and that’s because what separates an outstanding PR firm from the average PR firm is the ability to understand how social, cultural, and business changes will affect their clients. We’re providing you with 3 questions to ask your top cannabis PR firms to help you differentiate them from one another.

 

Key Takeaways:

  • Assess Emotional Intelligence: Choose a PR firm that demonstrates high emotional intelligence. This includes understanding the broader context of your business and media landscape, being solution-oriented, and fostering strong collaborative relationships. Ask them how they would have advised a client at the beginning of the COVID pandemic to gauge their emotional intelligence and adaptability.
  • Evaluate Digital and Social Media Expertise: Ensure the PR firm has a forward-thinking approach to social media, which is crucial for cannabis companies. They should provide strategic oversight and guidance on social media and influencer engagement, understanding the unique challenges and opportunities for cannabis brands. Ask for their perspective on social media strategy for your company.
  • Consider Specialization vs. Broader Perspective: Determine whether you need a PR firm with deep cannabis industry specialization or one with a broader consumer PR perspective. A specialized firm offers industry-specific insights, while a broader firm may provide valuable strategies for reaching new markets. Ask how their experience aligns with your growth stage and business goals.

Emotional Intelligence

We’re living in dynamic times. Top cannabis PR firms can understand your company, its goals, and how media shifts will change your reputation and media outreach strategies. That’s right; outstanding PR means you have a team that has their pulse on the big picture – they know when to raise the red flag and when to take a breath and let the moment pass. Emotional intelligence also means your PR team continues to learn from itself. You’ll find emotionally intelligent teams hold themselves accountable, are solution-oriented, and are easy to collaborate with. Emotional intelligence isn’t necessarily a feature of maturity, but the two do often go hand in hand. Be sure you meet your team and understand who you will be working with before you sign on the bottom line. To get a sense of your PR team’s emotional intelligence, ask your top cannabis PR firm: what advice would they give you at the beginning of the COVID pandemic? 

Digitally Forward Perspective

Social media has been a sub-section of PR for a decade, and yet, many PR professionals don’t consider social media part of the PR landscape. Ask yourself why you’d want a PR agency that doesn’t concern itself with your most visible and accessible communication channel? No doubt about it – social media is an important player in your cannabis company’s reputation. You may not choose to have your PR DO your social media, but a top cannabis PR firm should absolutely provide guidance and oversight. Your cannabis PR firm should also know the current perspective platforms are taking around cannabis products and companies. This is a moving target, changing regularly, but being banned or kicked off social media is still a thing for cannabis companies. This is also true for choosing influencers. Ask your cannabis PR firm for their perspective on cannabis influencers. It will tell you something about how they approach your media strategy. Question to Ask cannabis PR firm: what’s your perspective on social media for my cannabis company? 

Cannabis PR Specialty or Specialization?

The cannabis industry, though still an emerging industry, is past its most nascent stages. Cannabis PR firms that only work in cannabis have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is extreme specialization; the disadvantage is their perspectives might be myopic. Ask yourself which is more important for your business objectives? You want a top cannabis PR firm that can provide content and insights into the industry, but is it also important that your strategy reflects audiences that aren’t specific to the cannabis industry? For example, if you’re looking to attract an untapped market of cannabis customers, then having a cannabis PR firm that has a broad perspective on consumer PR might be helpful. If you’re a cannabis B2B company, then you may want a PR agency that’s able to cross over into national media outlets, understands the cannabis tradeshows and expos, along with cannabis-focused publications for your cannabis business stories. A top cannabis PR firm should be able to review with you how your competitors are doing in the media and recommend some strategies to position your company based on your stated cannabis business goals. Question to Ask cannabis PR firm: what advice do they have for a company at your stage of growth?

What Is Your PR Plan?

Every top PR cannabis agency has a distinct approach to achieving your business goals. It’s important for you to know whether that approach suits the rest of your overall strategy. Many PR firms provide you with a plan based on one or two conversations. But is that realistic? This is the exact reason Avaans Media offers a proprietary approach to working together. Ask us about our discovery process and what it means to your PR campaign. Question to Ask cannabis PR firm: what research do they do in advance of providing you a proposal?

How Will You Measure PR Success?

Cannabis PR is still different. There are avenues of collaboration and marketing that are still closed to cannabis companies. So measuring cannabis PR success might look different. For example, it might be about establishing a digital presence, because the traditional methods are less available or effective for cannabis companies. Branding is an area that many cannabis companies don’t take seriously, but today’s branding will make a difference if the plan is to sell the business or secure funding for expansion. Question to Ask Cannabis PR firm: How do they see thier metrics fitting into your business objectives?

Since 2015, Avaans Media is one of the top cannabis PR firms (previously Primo PR). We’re based in Los Angeles and we work with emerging industries like cannabis. If you’d like to ask US these questions, please reach out.

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How Much Does It Cost to Hire a PR Firm? Budget Planning Tips

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Looking for a straight-up breakdown of what PR agencies charge today? Here’s our current pricing overview.

Budgeting for PR can feel opaque. What affects price and how can you get a handle on how you can impact your PR budget before you ever even call a PR firm.

If you’ve ever typed “how much is PR” or “PR firm near me” into a search engine, you’re not alone. Businesses of all sizes—from startups to Fortune 500s—recognize the value of public relations in shaping reputation, generating visibility, and building trust. But before you hire a PR firm, it’s important to understand what impacts pricing, what services you’re really paying for, and how to find the right partner who can deliver measurable results.

This guide breaks down what affects PR pricing, how to find a PR firm that aligns with your goals, and what you can expect whether you’re hiring a PR agency near you or working with a remote team.

Get a PR ROI Assessment for Your Brand

How Much Does it Cost to Hire PR Firm? PR Agency Pricing Guide & What to Expect?

Key Takeaways

  • Cost & Budget Alignment: PR agency fees typically range from $5,000 to over $28,000 per month, based on experience, scope, and market demands.

  • Transparency & Ethics: Always ask how fees are structured and watch out for unethical pay-to-play practices masked as legitimate coverage.

  • Experience Matters: A seasoned PR team offers strategic planning, better media relationships, and higher ROI through tailored outreach and messaging.

What Influences PR Firm Costs and What to Expect from a PR Agency

The cost of working with a PR firm varies widely. Your PR goals and company goals, the timeline, industry, and agency expertise all impact pricing.

1. Your Goals Should Drive Your Budget

Are you in growth mode? Launching a new product? Preparing for an IPO? Your goals should directly influence how much you invest in a PR agency.

Here’s a rough guide:

  • Basic maintenance & support: $5,000–$10,000/month

  • Fixed Scope PR Campaigns: $10,000-$15,000/month

  • Campaign-driven or proactive strategies: $13,000–$27,000/month

  • Pre-IPO, international, or complex messaging: $20,000+/month

💡 Pro Tip: If your goal is aggressive growth, don’t expect huge ROI from minimal investment. Match your PR budget with the scale of your ambition.

2. PR Fee Structures: Hourly, Retainer & Project-Based

PR agencies may charge by:

  • Retainer: A flat monthly fee for ongoing support

  • Hourly: Ideal for small projects or short-term consulting

  • Project-Based: Great for one-off launches or crisis situations

Ask for a sample quarterly PR plan if working on retainer. This helps set expectations for deliverables like press releases, thought leadership, or media outreach.

3. How to Choose the Best PR Agency Near You (Or Not)

If you’re searching for a PR firm near you, you’re likely interested in local media relationships, community events, or in-person collaboration. Local PR agencies often offer market-specific insights that national firms may lack.

However, for businesses with a national or international audience, geography matters less than expertise. Many companies benefit from PR firms that have national media connections and can operate virtually with equal effectiveness.

🌍 Whether local or remote, choose a PR agency that aligns with your industry, goals, and communication style.

Why Hire a PR Firm Instead of Managing PR In-House?

The answer to this question could be different for every company, depending on many of the questions to ask before hiring a PR firm listed here. Ideally, an in-house person would work symbiotically with an agency.

In-House PR Teams Are Better At:

  • Deeply understanding the brand, it’s history and internal priorities
  • Recognizing assets and opportunities early in the planning process
  • Identifying cross-functional opportunities for PR to support the organization as a whole

PR Agencies Are Better At:

  • Developing and maintaining media relationships
  • Strategic messaging that can see the “forest through the trees” and maintain a third-party perspective
  • Crisis management and urgent outreach opportunities such as newsjacking
  • Keeping the company in the media consistently

What to Ask Before Hiring a PR Firm

Ask these questions during your PR agency interviews:

How Much Is PR

Monthly fees may also be impacted by agency size and breadth or services offered as well as team experience.

  • Solopreneur or freelance PR consultant: ~$5,000/month

  • Boutique PR firm: $13,000–$27,000/month

  • Large or premium PR agency: $28,000+/month

Costs are largely driven by people—nearly 60% of agency costs go toward staffing. You’re paying for their time, judgment, relationships, and results.

Pay-to-Play vs. Placed Content: What’s the Difference?

Understanding the difference between ethical placed content and unethical pay-to-play is essential.

  • Placed Content is paid media (like sponsored posts or advertorials) disclosed transparently. It’s a legitimate marketing strategy.

  • Pay-to-Play involves undisclosed payments to journalists or media outlets. It’s unethical and can damage both brand trust and media credibility.

A credible PR agency will always disclose what’s earned media and what’s paid placement. If you’re unsure, ask.

The PR Cost Factors Within Your Control

1. Timeline

Need quick media coverage or crisis management? Urgent turnarounds cost more. PR is most cost-effective when it’s proactive and planned—not reactive.

2. Industry Complexity

Regulated industries like HealthTech, CleanTech, or Cannabis require extra care due to regulation, which can raise costs.

3. Scope of Work

Product launches, thought leadership programs, and international media campaigns all demand different levels of intensity—and investment.

4. Strategic Impact

PR Campaigns for IPO, or acquisitions, or mergers or venture funding are high stakes and may increase PR cost.

5. Stage of Growth

If you’re in hyper growth mode and need an agency to be very proactive and aggressive and available, that’s very different from a defined product launch project.

Why Experience Matters When Choosing a PR Firm

What are you really buying when you hire a PR agency?

  • Access to media and industry relationships

  • Expertise in message development and storytelling

  • Judgment to navigate crises or sensitive campaigns

  • Strategy to guide your visibility long-term

An experienced PR team knows what resonates with journalists, how to pitch stories that land, and how to ensure your message stands out in a crowded media landscape.

Whether your business needs a sharp press release or strategic long-term storytelling, experienced PR pros are masters at navigating nuance and driving visibility. Hiring seasoned professionals who understand the media landscape and possess strong communication skills can significantly enhance your PR outcomes.

Final Thoughts: Finding the Right PR Firm Near You (or Nationwide)

Investing in a PR firm isn’t just about cost—it’s about value. Whether you’re looking for a PR agency near you or a remote firm with national capabilities, find a team that understands your business and your goals.

Don’t be afraid to ask detailed questions. Knowing what questions to ask is as important as knowing what questions not to ask when hiring a PR agency. Your company’s reputation is on the line. Hiring the right PR partner will act as an extension of your team—and could become your most powerful growth asset.

💬 Need Help Choosing a PR Firm?

Whether you need local market expertise or national reach, Avaans Media can help you evaluate the best path forward. Contact us to learn more about our PR services tailored to your business goals.

 

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4 Defining Characteristics of a Modern PR Agency

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Key Takeaways

  • Trust-Focused: Modern PR firms prioritize building and maintaining trust with consumers. They recognize that trust is essential for brand loyalty and advocacy, emphasizing the importance of consistent messaging and actions that align with brand values. This focus on trust is crucial for navigating today’s skeptical consumer landscape.
  • Digitally Savvy: These agencies possess a deep understanding of digital landscapes, integrating PR with SEO and leveraging various media types—earned, paid, and owned. They monitor online reputation and utilize data-driven insights to engage more effectively with both clients and journalists, ensuring their strategies are aligned with current digital trends.
  • Purpose-Forward and Customer-Obsessed: Modern PR firms help brands align with authentic purposes that resonate with their target audiences. They guide clients in activating this purpose across campaigns while remaining highly attuned to client needs. This customer-centric approach ensures that PR strategies are adaptive and responsive to evolving client objectives and market dynamics.

What does it mean to be a modern PR agency these days? There are 3 characteristics of a modern PR firm. Today’s modern PR firms are trust-focused, digitally savvy, purpose forward, and customer-obsessed. This means modern PR agencies can think long-term while staying nimble enough to be a strategic and operational resource in today’s fast-moving world. It’s difficult to do both, but that’s why modern PR agencies are so valuable.

Can a legacy PR firm also be a modern PR firm? Absolutely. And, a new PR firm isn’t necessarily more modern than a legacy PR firm. Digital PR firms aren’t necessarily more modern than those who focus on earned media. That’s because our characteristics supersede age and services and for depth and maturity. Depth and maturity are particularly important for fast-growing brands and hyper-growth companies because these companies need the savvy and emotional intelligence of a modern PR firm so they can stay nimble and focused.

 

      1. Trust Focused

        Modern PR firms are trust-focused. Consumers today are incredibly savvy. After all, we’re exposed to roughly 10,000 messages a DAY. To understand why trust is so important to modern PR, we have to go way, way, back into how we evolved. Our brains haven’t quite evolved to deal with this kind of input, so as a result, we manage this input in our subconscious. One of the most basic human survival functions is trust, that’s why we organize into social tribes. We trust our social tribes. See where this is headed?

        Today, our default reaction to almost anything is suspicion – even our most established institutions get the side-eye. 6 out of 10 adults say they distrust something until they see evidence.

        While there are initial trust signals, trust is the long game. Trust signals need to be consistent and thorough. Consumers today quickly recognize brands who say one thing, but do another. They recognize greenwashing, they see through insincerity. But it’s not just the cost of distrust that hypergrowth and fast-growing brands need to consider, it’s also the advantages of trust.

        Which means we trust brands who act and signal in ways that we trust. Our source of trust can come from several signals, but earned media, that is coverage where a brand, or person, is characterized in a trusted outlet and/or trusted person in an independent and organic manner.

         

        Trust becomes a brand cornerstone because trust begets loyalty and loyalty begets advocacy. Trust is also a considerable cornerstone to brand value. You can’t really have considerable brand value without considerable trust. And damaged trust, on a grand scale is incredibly expensive to repair.

        That’s why modern PR firms place an important emphasis on trust – because they know that’s what their clients are really after. It also takes discipline for a modern PR agency to stay trust-focused, for the same reason it takes discipline to be a trusted brand-there are indeed short-term shortcuts that look good today, but can have devastating affects in the future.

        A GREAT modern PR firm will help you define a wide range of strategics and values and aligned KPIs so you can track your trust-building efforts.

      2. Digitally Savvy

        Modern PR firms are digitally savvy. This doesn’t “only” mean they understand social media. It also means they understand how to earn trust in digital formats from forums to social media. It means they know how PR and SEO can work together, and where they separate. Digitally savvy PR firms are monitoring review sites, your search results, and other digital signals for red flags. Digitally savvy PR firms understand how earned media, paid media, social media and owned media work together and how to pull the levers of each type of media for a stated campaign aim.

        Digitally savvy PR firms also have their pulse on other avenues growing in influence. For example, media relations today include trusted magazines, blogs, and increasingly newsletters. Newsletters are an outstanding example of trust AND digital intelligence. Think about it – if you’ve given your email to receive a newsletter in your inbox, that’s a big trust signal. Several years ago, newsy newsletters took on renewed relevance and when Substack courted journalists, it was another endorsement for newsy newsletters. Some of Substack’s email publishers are making well over $100K per year on subscriptions. Newsletter impressions and reach are difficult to track, but that’s offset by the incredible trust value they bring.  While the “ROI” might be difficult to pinpoint, the digitally savvy PR firm knows how to evaluate newsletter appearances

        Using digital tools wisely also helps a modern PR firm deeply understand your customers or target customers. Our deep analysis isn’t only observational, it’s data driven from a multitude of sources, that give us a wide view of what’s happened, and what is likely to happen. We also use a multitude of sources to engage on a deeper level with journalists.

      3. Purpose Forward

        Because consumers are aligning with their tribes, it’s more and more important for brands to align with a larger purpose. Purpose, like trust, is an inside-out job. Purpose HAS to be authentic. The good news is that for most brands, there actually is an authentic purpose; it’s just a matter of aligning that purpose with other campaigns, including sponsorship, social media, word of mouth, and earned media.

        From an earned media perspective, it’s rarely enough to have a purpose. It’s important that brands today activate on purpose and align on purpose. There’s no doubt that purpose can be a landmine, so that’s where public relations comes in. Modern PR firms are emotionally intelligent and able to guide brands on choices that may be consistent with their stated purpose. PR can help guide ad campaigns, sponsorship, and influencer campaigns to improve outcomes and brand reputation.

      4. Customer Obsessive

        How can a PR agency help its clients improve trust, loyalty, and brand if it isn’t client obsessed? Now, your definition of client obsessed might differ from someone else’s. That’s why it’s important to know the client characteristics that you really need. Do you need a PR agency that is on-call 24/7? Do you crave a stable, intelligent PR team that becomes an extension of your team? How does your PR firm stay aligned with your strategies and objectives, even as they change? Our entire model is based on your needs – from our Strategy Driven Pricing  to our Product PR Sprints for DTC or CPG brands everything we do is designed to move the needle for you.

 

Today’s modern PR firms come in all sizes, from the extraordinarily large to the boutique. But to be a truly modern PR firm, it takes a village, so it’s not enough to have a micro-agency or freelancer. No one person can see the entire landscape alone. Smart agencies hire emotionally intelligent team members. At Avaans, we hire emotionally intelligent PR executives. Our experienced team has successful track records and comes from an array of backgrounds. That’s why we call our team the A-Team. If you’re a fast-growing or hyper-growth or ambitious brand, and you’d like a modern PR firm that’s also experienced, please reach out to us.

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