Tag Archive for: when to start public relations

Do AI Companies Need Public Relations?

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The rapid growth of AI technology is changing how businesses operate in various emerging industries—the increasing sophistication and complexity of commercial tech present significant challenges for AI companies. Communication and comprehension have become significant barriers to market penetration.

Thus, investing in PR in today’s high-stakes B2B technology landscape can help simplify what AI companies offer and build a bridge to potential clients and stakeholders. But first, why is B2B technology PR so vital, and how can AI companies utilize it effectively?

Importance of PR in AI Companies

In the convoluted realm of artificial intelligence, communication is critical in connecting companies with their target audiences. Public relations serve as a beacon that guides audiences through the intricacies of complicated AI technology and toward the services and products various AI-based companies offer.

Here’s why PR is a pivotal player in AI companies:

Unraveling the Complexities of AI

AI is the epitome of high-tech. Its algorithms and machine learning processes are inherently complex, often creating a barrier to comprehension for laypeople. It’s in this realm of complexity that PR shines.

Through carefully curated communication strategies, PR professionals can distill complex technological concepts into digestible, accessible information. By understandably articulating the specifics of AI, PR enables audiences to grasp the immense potential and value of AI operations.

Trust Building

AI’s profound ability to process, interpret, and derive insights from massive amounts of data is both its strength and a source of public concern. Issues around privacy, data security, and ethical use of information are common in the AI discourse.

PR strategies can mitigate these concerns by ensuring transparent, honest communication about how AI companies collect, use, and safeguard data to foster trust and effectively turn potential apprehensions into assuring transparency.

Gaining Market Share

The AI market is fiercely competitive. Companies continually vie for market share, each offering cutting-edge solutions. PR can tip the scales in favor of AI companies by highlighting their unique selling propositions. Through thoughtfully crafted narratives and compelling messaging, PR can illuminate a company’s unique strengths and innovations, helping it stand out among competitors and position them as industry pioneers, paving the way for increased market share and influence.

Influencing Policy and Regulation

Despite being a revolutionary force in today’s tech landscape, AI is a relatively new field. Its novelty means many aspects of its use remain unregulated, leaving a significant margin for public concern.

PR can indirectly influence AI-related regulations and policies by shaping public opinion. By projecting a balanced narrative emphasizing AI’s ethical use and societal benefits, PR strategies can contribute to shaping an environment that supports innovation and public interest.

Effective PR Strategies for AI Companies

As the landscape of artificial intelligence evolves at a breathtaking pace, AI companies are grappling with the daunting task of effectively communicating complex offerings to potential stakeholders. To cut through the noise of the saturated technology market, they need to employ intelligent, customized, and powerful PR strategies. Read on as we discover these strategies in detail.

Audience Analysis

A profound understanding of the audience is at the heart of every successful PR strategy. Knowing the audience—be it customers, investors, policymakers, or the public—is the foundation upon which emerging industries can build compelling PR messages AI companies must be thoroughly familiar with their audience’s interests, needs, and concerns.

Companies can only create messages that resonate and create meaningful connections by grasping what drives and concerns their audience.

Storytelling

In an information-saturated world, it’s not enough to merely provide information; it must be done in a way that engages and retains audience interest. Storytelling serves this purpose.

By weaving technologies and offerings into stories, AI companies can humanize their brand and make them more relatable.

An effectively told story can transform a faceless AI company into an entity that shares common values, bridges the gap between tech and the public, and leaves a lasting impression.

Channel Strategy

With the proliferation of digital platforms, AI companies have at their disposal a multitude of channels through which they can convey their unique messages. This can range from traditional

media outlets to social media, industry blogs, and webinars. The key lies in selecting appropriate channels that most effectively reach and engage their target audience. Each platform has its strengths and best uses, and a successful PR strategy leverages the right mix to amplify the company’s message.

Regular Engagement

PR is not a one-off activity but an ongoing process of engagement. Regular interaction with the target audience is crucial for maintaining visibility and relevance in the dynamic AI industry. Regular engagement could encompass a range of activities: timely press releases, informative blog posts, social media updates, or participation in industry events. It helps keep the audience informed about the company’s latest developments and ensures that the company always stays top of mind.

Leveraging Thought Leadership

Positioning themselves as thought leaders is another powerful strategy artificial intelligence companies can employ. Thought leadership involves offering expert insights, publishing original research, speaking at industry events, and contributing to reputable industry publications.

By becoming a source of authoritative information in the AI domain, companies can boost their credibility, enhance their brand reputation, and engender trust among their stakeholders.

Role of B2B Technology PR in Emerging Industries

Earlier on, we explored the importance of public relations for AI companies and the multitude of PR strategies they can employ. At the same time, it is equally essential to comprehend the role PR plays specifically in the context of B2B technology within emerging industries. As technology continues to evolve rapidly, it paves the way for the birth of new industries and the transformation of existing ones.

In this exciting yet complex landscape of innovation and disruption, communication emerges as a crucial element. Explaining new technologies, illustrating their advantages, building trust, and influencing policy are key factors in successfully proliferating these technologies.

This is where B2B technology public relations comes into play – acting as a solid bridge between various commercial tech companies and their diverse audiences. Continue reading for a comprehensive guide to the influential role B2B technology PR plays in emerging industries.

Decoding Complex Technologies for Diverse Audiences: In the dynamic sphere of emerging industries, technologies often carry a level of complexity that can be challenging for non-technical audiences. This is where B2B technology PR becomes invaluable. PR professionals are adept in technology can simplify these complex concepts, presenting them in an accessible language that resonates with diverse audience groups, including potential customers, investors, and policymakers.

Crafting a Positive Perception and Instilling Trust: The commercial tech world is not exempt from the age-old adage – perception is reality. As new technologies surface, they often bring along a mix of skepticism. Here, B2B technology PR is instrumental in shaping positive perceptions. By transparently communicating a company’s dedication to ethical practices, security, and societal value creation, PR efforts build trust, a cornerstone in the adoption of new technologies.

Establishing Thought Leadership: In the crowded market of emerging industries, carving out a distinct space is pivotal for any tech company. This is achievable by establishing themselves as thought leaders. B2B technology PR professionals facilitate this by creating compelling content that reflects the company’s expertise, insights, and pioneering spirit. From insightful and engaging blog posts to powerful keynote speeches, PR can effectively showcase a company’s thought leadership.

Influencing Policy and Regulation: Emerging technologies often operate in a nebulous regulatory environment. In such instances, B2B technology PR holds significant sway in shaping public opinion and, indirectly, affecting policy and regulatory outcomes. By proactively communicating the benefits of the technology and addressing the potential concerns of customers, public relations can contribute to a conducive regulatory ecosystem that allows novel technologies to flourish.

Accelerating Business Growth: Ultimately, the core objective of any commercial tech company is unlimited business growth. B2B technology PR also proves to be a stalwart supporter by boosting brand visibility, attracting potential customers and partners, and nurturing lasting relationships with key stakeholders. By tailoring PR strategies to align with business goals, companies can ensure their PR endeavors contribute to growth.

In a nutshell, B2B technology PR serves as more than a communication tool; it’s a strategic function that propels business objectives, shapes perception, and fosters thought leadership. As technology continues to revolutionize, the role of B2B technology PR will undeniably grow in its significance.

So, Do AI Companies Need Public Relations?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of commercial tech, AI companies are at the forefront of innovation, transforming industries and creating new possibilities. However, with this innovation comes many challenges.

Some of these challenges are deciphering complex technologies for diverse audiences, managing perceptions and instilling trust, shaping regulatory environments, and more. Navigating these complex challenges effectively is paramount to the success and growth of AI companies.

This blog post has illustrated how B2B technology PR can help AI companies overcome these challenges. By simplifying complex technologies, B2B technology public relations can bridge the gap between AI companies and their potential audiences, enabling them to understand and appreciate these technologies’ value.

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5 Ways PR Improves Recruiting

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Ever notice the best people always seem to go to the best companies? Why is that? Reputation matters and PR improves recruiting outcomes. The magical part is this: it doesn’t matter whether you’re recruiting for executives or recent graduates, a strategic PR plan makes attracting the right talent easier and even keeps your best employees.

  1. Strong Brand Values Attract The Right Candidates

    You want candidates to be a good fit for your company’s culture and values. This is one way PR improves recruiting, especially important for companies in emerging industries and hyper-growth companies who may not have the resources for fancy employment retention programs. Your PR should underscore your company’s values and contributions to society, your industry, and yes, your employees. And candidates who care about culture are more valuable employees. Brand values are an inside-out job. But you should celebrate those values with purpose-driven activations with recruitment in mind. Not every activation is worthy of the Wall Street Journal, but if that’s a goal, then make it newsworthy. Otherwise, this is where social media can be an outstanding messenger of your PR initiatives. But make no doubt about it, the best candidates do a Google search and check out your social profiles before they accept your job offer.

  2. Give Employees an Opportunity to Brag

    Everyone wants to work in a place where their co-workers are happy to be there. Here, activate your earned media with your employees. Every time you receive coverage, be sure to tell your employees and let them brag about the company to their friends and community. You can encourage sharing with recruitment bonuses, and other internal spotlights on employees who share your good news far and wide. Employee advocacy is a really effective way that PR can improve recruiting. There’s another benefit to encouraging employees to share content:

  3. Reduce Employee Turnover with PR

    Everyone wants to feel proud of where they work, and the more they talk about how proud they are, the more committed they become to that feeling of loyalty and pride. That’s a Captivation Motivation fact, it’s akin to sunk costs. The more we sink into something, the harder it is to walk away. So PR improves recruiting through increased employee pride, and that pride reduces costly turnover. It’s a lot harder to complain about your job on social media if you’re regularly posting about how much you love your company and job.

  4. Reputation Management Matters

    You definitely want someone monitoring your overall reputation. That includes everything a potential candidate might see from Glass Door to news coverage and even reviews. You also want someone to identify how certain audiences perceive your overall communications and what you can do to improve your communications. For example, if you’re emphasizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in your recruitment, but no one on your website reflects DEI values, it feels very shallow and unwelcoming to those candidates. Do your job descriptions match the education levels and pay ranges you’re hiring for?   If you’re hiring for people with college degrees, those job descriptions should look and feel differently than your job descriptions for roles that don’t require a college degree. Consider blind hiring initiatives that remove age, gender, race, location, and even college degree from the search qualifications.

  5. Appeal To The Ego

    When high-potential or high-level candidates see that news articles and media coverage of company executives, that’s a pretty compelling benefit for ambitious executives. It’s an outstanding way for your company to attract talent, even in the tightest recruitment markets. Plus, your that coverage adds benefits to your company’s brand values as well. Make sure your recruitment pages include executive coverage so potential employees can envision thier own name in the headlines too.

 

Using PR to improve recruiting outcomes is only one of the ways PR supports the most important business strategies, read more about the other 5 ways PR improves business outcomes.

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Why Do PR: 5 Reasons Why PR is Vital to Success

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Do we need PR? Possibly. Possibly not. It all starts with your goals. These are the 5 reasons why PR is vital to growth. Straight up: PR is the only way to differentiate yourself. While it might be tempting for businesses to focus on sales and marketing only and, it’s technically possible to operate a business without PR, it’s virtually impossible to become an industry leader or a household name without PR. Emerging industries, which need to establish credibility to investors and consumers, and hyper-growth companies with very ambitious growth plans need PR.

For emerging industries and hypergrowth brands in particular, PR is a vital partner to business goals that have long-term effects on the success of growing companies.

5 Reasons WhyDoing PR is Vital for Emerging Industries and Hyper-Growth Brand Success

At Avaans Media, we specialize in emerging industries and hyper-growth brands, be they B2B or B2C. From raising awareness with consistent media placement to aligning social media with your most important key messaging, to crisis prevention and management, having a cohesive and active PR presence is the secret ingredient to building brand equity and awareness. We’re so committed to helping you get to the next level; we base our PR pricing on your strategic objectives.

 

  1. Increase Revenue: PR has genuine and exciting implications for revenue growth. More credible than advertising PR contributes to increased sales conversion and deal flow improvement, as well as decreasing churn and increasing customer lifetime value (CLTV). Working with your top PR firm to develop baselines and KPIs for your business goals not only allows you to see the impact on your bottom line, but also enables your PR firm to develop a strategy that is effective and long-lasting.
  2. Attract Investors: For many emerging industry companies and hyper-growth brands, attracting investment is a key goal for scale. Investors like to see that your product has legs. There is no better endorsement of your product’s potential than media placement. It might be tempting to only use PR after you’ve secured investment, but PR can increase deal flow, give you more brand equity, and improve the quality of investment.
  3. Competitive Advantages: If you’re in an industry where there are a lot of competitors, then you absolutely need public relations. PR will help you clarify your messaging and ensure you know where and when you can stand out. Further, in crowded fields, what do consumers do? They Google brands to find reviews and articles. If your brand has this critical 3rd party social proof, it’s a massive edge for your brand.
  4. Recruitment: The best candidates know their value and want to work for companies that are known entities in their industry, no matter whether the job market is tight. Great candidates are rarely interested in growing a business that hasn’t committed resources to growing the business. No one ever became an industry leader by focusing solely on cutting costs. PR shouts from the rooftops: “we’re serious about our future,” and that’s just the message to appeal to the best and brightest talent at all levels.
  5. Attract Acquisition or an IPO: Sometimes the next stage in a company’s growth is an acquisition or an IPO. For both scenarios, completely integrated PR and marketing efforts are critical. For emerging industry companies and hyper-growth brands, if you’re serious about being acquired or an IPO, AND you want the best price for your company, now is the time to double down on brand equity investment. These strategic objectives require an aligned pre-IPO PR strategy that may differ from what you’ve done in the past. But since our company has done this many times, we can help you navigate and implement the strategy flawlessly.

Why is PR your secret weapon? These are only the most critical to business goals; there are hundreds of smaller PR advantages that increase revenue and even save you money. At Avaans Media, we’re exceptionally proud of our A-team, a group of experienced and insightful communication experts who never stop working for our clients. Get started being the most important brand you can be. Contact us today for a discussion about your business goals.

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How to Decide When Choosing PR, Marketing or Branding Agency?

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At Avaans,  we offer those services to our clients, but sometimes we find our clients think they need one thing when what they actually need is another. So what’s the difference and when should you use each as a strategy.

In truth, your business probably needs ongoing campaigns for each of those, but breaking it down helps prioritize when choosing an agency, it helps to know which of the three disciplines (branding, PR, and, marketing) you should select the agency for. Many agencies offer services in all three categories, like Avaans, but most lead with one of the primary disciplines. So how do you decide when choosing a PR, Marketing or Branding Agency?

What’s the difference between marketing, branding and PR?

Branding: Building Loyalty and Affinity

When to do use it: At brand launch, product launch and throughout the brand’s existence to ensure consistency.

Many people think creating a logo is the extent of branding, but nothing could be further from the truth. brand is your company’s personality.

Branding drives the emotional response your audience has to your message and brand. Branding means having a solid understanding of your audience, their emotional triggers. Branding will touch every single thing you do in marketing and PR too. Think about your social media voice – is it sassy or supportive? That’s a branding decision.

B2B firms often think they can skip the branding step, but it’s even more important for B2B brands to invest in clear, concise, industry consistent branding.

A strong brand has a clear voice and gives their customers & clients something they can self-identify with. When your brand fits into their self-story of how they seem themselves you’ll increase affinity and loyalty. The strongest brands have simple identities that rarely change. Think: Coca-Cola (happiness), Apple (innovation) Lady Gaga (acceptance). The strongest brands also always consider their brand when making big decisions (is this consistent with our brand and our customer’s expectations of us?)

All of the below-mentioned tools will support a brand initiative, the biggest key to a branding initiative is to be sure your company has complete clarity on the audience, key messages, and the desired emotional connection. Branding initiatives may include a call to action, but most prominently elicit an emotional reaction or response.

  • Website: with an emphasis design and layout that matches desired emotional response
  • Content: whether 3rd party or branded, designed and selected to enhance brand’s status in the customer’s mind
  • Advertising: with an emphasis on “WHY” the brand is relevant rather than the “how or where”
  • Events: designed with imprint a memorable experience, or attach a brand to a memorable experience, in the customer’s mind, as opposed to a “lead retrieval” strategy

PR: Influence & Social Proof


When to use it: to create awareness, educate consumers, develop trust with stakeholders.
PR is the art of influence and raising awareness. It’s the ultimate in social proof.

In this bucket, we find tactics like:

  • Events: brand-hosted events for customers, community or likely customers
  • Word of Mouth: campaigns that get people talking about your product, brand and key message
  • Media Relations: relationship building with journalists, writers, and bloggers with an emphasis on collaboration
  • Social Media: with an emphasis on key messaging and influencing the market

In PR you may not get editorial control, so don’t count on a strong call to action, although you may get a link or product recommendation, it will rarely come with a heavy sales action. The best PR is earned PR which means it didn’t come with a quid-pro-quo and that’s part of what gives PR enhanced credibility over marketing.

It’s not as if these tactics aren’t supportive of one another (of COURSE you can get leads from PR tactics), but your brand’s maturity, customers, and community will determine your overall mix among other things.

Marketing: Driving Leads

When to use it: after your brand is established and you’ve earned some brand trust.

Acquiring leads is job number 1 for marketing. Depending on your product marketing may also be the science/artform of conversion also.

In this bucket, we find top-of-the-funnel tactics including:

DIGITAL 

  • Website: Landing pages with a strong call to action
  • Content: blogging, lead magnets designed to support the customer’s buying cycle
  • Content: Webinars
  • Social Media: with a link-building and custom content emphasis
  • Email marketing: shopping cart abandonment, new product announcements, customer campaigns and promotions
  • Digital Ads: social ads and banner ads with a strong call to action for potential customers
  • Remarketing: including shopping cart abandonment and past and current customers

IN PERSON

  • Tradeshows/Festivals
  • Seminars

When to use marketing tactics:
Use marketing when your sales people are trained and ready to follow up with leads. Training your sales people to understand the lead source and where the customer is in the decision-making funnel will help increase conversion. Notice one of the key differences between marketing and branding content is the use of a strong call to action.

Have more questions about how and when to use these tactics? Get in touch with us.

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How Independent CPG Brands Use PR to Compete

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If you’re a smaller consumer brand, it might feel impossible to compete with the big guys. But according to Nielsen, in the United States “manufacturers outside of the top 100 have contributed to 52% of their region’s annual fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) growth,” that’s an incredibly promising trend for any consumer product, from skincare to cannabis. But the challenges to increasing market share aren’t imagined. In some categories, especially consumables, over 50% of consumers have no brand preference. This underscores the importance of small, independent CPG brands to invest in branding with awareness and loyalty strategies. Neilsen IQ has done some fantastic research for small, independent DTC and CPG brands.

Nielsen Chart for Consumer Product Brand Loyalty

 

 

 

 

 

69% of consumers are actively looking for new and trendy CPG products. Tapping into current trends is a key way to appeal to this audience.  Whether the brand is launching, or already launched, there are always PR opportunities to increase sales by driving awareness and loyalty. The key takeaway on all the most recent Neilsen data: premiumization is absolutely key for small, independent CPG brands. 

Driving Awareness for Small Consumer Brands

When Snapple tea was a small independent brand, it relied on PR, including crazy stunts with two ambitions in mind: acquisition and sales. When they were acquired by Quaker Oats, the PR stunts stopped and sales decreased. In fact, PR is often responsible for trends that drive consumers. Before CBD, a wellness ingredient that almost everyone now knows was allowed to advertise, it relied on firms like Avaans Media to create PR campaigns that educated consumers and created awareness for their brands. PR is almost single-handedly responsible for launching CBD into the public’s general knowledge. Other wellness products have benefited from PR, including melatonin.

Independent brands often turn to PR because while PR is an investment, it’s still more affordable than many other branding initiatives such as advertising, especially when you include videography costs. Facebook is famous for launching thousands of new DTC brands, but of late, many independent CPG brands are finding Facebook’s advertising to be less effective. Ambitious consumer product brands are turning to PR in ever greater numbers to reach consumers, and stay in front of buyers. A PR campaign can reach hundreds of billions of annual impressions. Is it any wonder that everyone from new consumer products to old standbys is moving dollars to PR?

New CPG brands can use PR to validate the brand. An upfront burst of PR is a powerful trust indicator. Many consumer brand startups showcase PR wins on their website and in advertising as a way to increase consumer trust. Independent boutique products use PR to nail their launch because they need to appeal directly and immediately to their consumer. As Nielsen notes in small brand, “There is little room for error in small launches. Nailing your activation requires planning and strategic execution. Whatever your differentiation—hitting your target, justifying your premium or communicating a new usage occasion—it must land, and land well,”

 

Driving Loyalty for Independent CPG Brands

If your consumer brand isn’t exactly new, but also isn’t a household name, then using PR to increase loyalty and awareness is effective. 25% of consumers are mainstream followers who sometimes try new products, but don’t seek them. This is a critical audience to penetrate. If you’re broadening your audience to this important but slightly elusive group, you want to make sure your customer product reviews are solid, and that your early PR had at least 1-2 tier 1 press hits so you can use the ever-so-important social proof to lure this audience in.  Good PR also allows existing customers to have their choice validated and is a great opportunity for them to sing your praises to their friends.

But that’s not the only way PR helps early and mid-stage CPG brands. PR helps your customers see you understand who they really are. Bob’s Red Mill used PR to improve its already stellar reputation through purpose-driven storytelling. Not only does PR help new consumers find your product, but it also reinforces the good choice your current customers have made. A good PR firm will help you identify ways to differentiate and to secure brand-improving earned media.

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6 Questions to Ask and What To Look For Before Hiring A PR Firm

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What Should You Really Be Look For In A PR Firm?

Whenever I talk to someone hiring a PR firm, I really have empathy. We know, hiring a PR firm can be daunting. With increasing frequency, we’re hearing stories from clients who have experienced “bad PR.” We hate to hear that, because we know it’s important for our entire professional to provide exceptional services. More importantly, we know it’s important to you when making a PR investment. What should you ask before hiring a modern PR firm?

We truly believe many of these stories are because of client and agency being a mismatch rather than a “bad PR firm.” Taking a deeper look at PR before hiring a PR firm can save you money, and time. We can attribute much of this to the vast distinctions between how PR agencies operate and handle their clients. The intention of this piece is to provide you with questions we would be asking OUR PR firm before we hired them, and why those questions are important. Also, consider these “6 great questions you can ask us before hiring Avvans PR”

6 Questions to Ask Before Hiring Your Next PR Firm

Do You Understand Our Product?

Ask yourself how important a baseline understanding of your product or industry is to your communications. We’ve heard story after story of people unhappy with their PR firm because their PR firm doesn’t understand an emerging industry’s regulations or technology. Understanding the industry isn’t just important from a regulatory and technical perspective, it’s also the ability to monitor relevant news, understand what’s relevant (and what isn’t) and move quickly. Now, that’s not to say that a beauty PR can’t handle B2B PR for the industry, but expect to educate your firm.

What tradeshows and conferences has your team attended?
Does your PR firm understand what makes your product distinct within your industry?
What publications are writing about your vertical?

Before Hiring a PR Firm, Establish Clearly Defined Ways of Measuring Success for PR

Most companies today want consistent placement, strategic oversight, and outstanding communication. But what else? In a mature, less regulated industry, a PR firm typically works with multiple other firms from branding to experiential to an ad agency.

PR is THE leading brand trust and awareness tool.

In addition to earned media, companies should be looking at additional metrics for PR, such as SEO value. Website traffic, brand mentions, brand name reach, and even share of voice are all KPIs that are relevant, depending on the overall strategy. Your PR firm should be ready and able to provide those kinds of metrics to you every month. Changes in public perception or decreased sales cycle are also metrics with which PR can support. If you’re measuring your PR firm against KPIs like this, work with your PR firm to set a baseline and a reasonable timeframe.

To really maximize your PR, look to incorporate your content, whether it’s through your PR agency’s content services, or your own, be sure to align the key messages and the topics.

Is the Fee Structure Fair & Does It Make Sense?

Most PR firms work on a retainer, so make sure you have an understanding of what’s included in your retainer?

Does the firm charge for wire releases?
Is branded content included, and if so, does that extend to graphic design?
Is there a markup on expenses incurred by the PR agency and if so, what is it?
Are off-site activations included?
How are hours tracked?

There’s no single way to manage a retainer, so asking questions like this upfront will give you a deeper understanding. Be fearless about asking these questions, after all, you’re the client. You should expect a rationale that isn’t arbitrary. While you may view this as a negotiation opportunity, be wary of cutting the budget to the point where your brand isn’t on the radar daily. You want your PR firm engaged with your brand on a daily basis – make sure you’re getting that because the alternative often provides unsatisfactory results. A great PR firm will be transparent about their billing methods.  Financial terms form the foundation of your relationship with your PR firm. Get that right and find a balance that works for you and your PR firm.

Look for Good Personal Chemistry in Your PR Firm

While this one is tough to put on a spreadsheet, asking some tough questions will often reveal the quality of the chemistry. As an engaged client, you should be working with your cannabis PR experts regularly and you REALLY want that process to be enjoyable. Make sure your company culture meshes well with your cannabis PR firm’s value system.  Teams who like one another, work better together. If you’re not gelling with someone in the first call, chances are, that’s not going to change.

Compatability breeds productivity and results.

Before Hiring Your Next PR Firm, Consider: Location, Location, Location

Before you start narrowing down your PR firms, decide how important location is to you. We think having account presence in major journalism markets, like Los Angeles and New York is a priority, but if you’re the person who needs to meet face-to-face once a week, acknowledge that and find a firm close to your base of operations and hire a PR firm that’s near by.

Flexibility AND Systems

Pay close attention to the systems your PR firm uses and also take notice of their flexibility.

For starters, there should also be a clearly defined exit clause in the contract.

Who owns content?
How will the PR firm handle future press inquires when/if the engagement ends?
What is the cancelation agreement?

Your PR should have systems and processes in place, but those systems and processes should also be nimble enough to manage the PR world. For example, getting a press release right is exceptionally important, but it shouldn’t take your PR firm a week to write it. You should be able to review the first draft within hours on an emergency or breaking news circumstance. On the other hand, there should be a consistent drum beat and strategy behind media relations.  Which bring us to:

A Strategic Approach That Makes Sense

Before hiring, your  PR firm should be able to articulate an approach and strategy that makes sense to you. While credible PR firms won’t reveal details about clients, they should be able to articulate some case studies of  PR strategies and why they worked. For example, provide an experience that required a decision to respond to industry news. When, where, and how you respond to breaking industry news is determined by your brand strategy, BUT your PR should be able to articulate a strategy and when/why it worked. Your PR firm should have some strategic storylines and outlines in mind for your brand, which proves they’ve done a little research. Even if they aren’t perfectly on-brand, at least you’re starting with a strategy that is better than starting from zero. Avaans takes a slightly different approach by providing strategic research and competitive analysis before you even work with us.

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