PR Perspective: Hiring and Use of PR Agencies

by Jane Baxter Lynn, Principal

JBL Public Relations Strategies

jbl@jblprstrategies.com

Hired a PR agency in the past two years? Fired the PR agency recently? Searching for a new PR agency to replace them? STOP RIGHT THERE!

Won an account in the past two years and lost it recently? Understand the reason? If not, STOP RIGHT THERE!

There are always two sides to every story and I'm hoping to address them both in this month's PR Perspective.

In my experience the average turnover for PR agencies representing a client is around 18 months to two years. This seems to be particularly true for small to medium-size firms and non-profit associations, which outsource all their PR and communications needs.

Why would this be? The relationship usually breaks down for the same one or two reasons or, in some cases, both - lack of clear communication and unfulfilled expectations.

Let's take a look at where it falls down.

The client side

On the client-side, very often the hiring organization does not have a defined strategy and goals for its communications activities. As a result, they are unable to give the agency a clear brief. What they ask for in the Request for Proposal (RFP) is not always in line with their needs, which can lead to misunderstandings once the project has begun.

As many organizations do not have experienced PR personnel involved in hiring and managing the agency, the client doesn't necessarily know what he or she can expect from the agency. If they're paying a retainer fee, what does that include? If the arrangement is for a specific project, how will its success be evaluated?

Without a clear brief and good direction from the client, the agency is often forced to be primarily reactive and becomes spread too broadly, providing services from packing press kits through to strategic advice, and everything in between.

This raises another reason for client-agency breakdown - a lack of understanding by the client of the billing process. The amount of work done doesn't necessarily match the client's perception of what they should get for the money they're paying.

One of my clients some years ago was Budget Rent a Car. They hired me to assist with the reorganization of their internal and external communications. As part of the process, we did an agency review, ultimately gaining a 50 percent decrease in the fee (more than $350,000 a year) and significantly increasing efficiencies. What we found was an agreement, signed some five years before, specifically for the launch of the company's new branding campaign, which was still in place and had been automatically renewing each year. No one at Budget had questioned the amount of money being paid annually versus the relatively limited services provided. Budget was using the agency as arms and legs, mainly for tactical activities, not realizing that every time a phone call was made or a minor service requested there was a charge involved because it was a project not a retainer contract.

The agency side

On the other hand, the hired agency does not give or is not able to give good value. Assuming that the hired agency has the necessary experience and skills, there are two main reasons for a lack of good service. Either the client did not give them a clear brief and on-going direction, or the person or people who did the original pitch are not the ones who ultimately handle the account.

The decision to hire an agency is typically based on the personality of the initial team, which usually includes senior management. However, once the project is underway, it is often delegated to an inexperienced junior account executive who, for no fault of his or her own, doesn't necessarily know how to handle clients and doesn't have the experience to effectively implement the agreed activities. The senior people are not seen again, at least not until the client becomes unhappy!

Agencies sometimes also fall into the trap of doing the same thing for every client - it worked for client X so it should work for client Y. As a result there is a lack of creative thinking, which helps to differentiate one company from another.

The result

The result is everyone gets frustrated and the relationship ends. Often, the client immediately starts to search for a new PR agency without evaluating why the last relationship didn't work out. And so the cycle continues, almost guaranteed to end in dissatisfaction.

The solution

This doesn't need to be that way. If the brief and expectations are clear up front the relationship has a greater chance of success. This assumes of course that the PR firm has the ability to do the job. The role of a PR agency should be to add value to the company or organization's internal efforts. Through the agency's contact network and using its creative resources, it should generate proactive opportunities to raise awareness of the company and support marketing initiatives from launch to end.

There are two main areas in which an agency can support a company:

• Strategy (counseling, training, guidelines, planning and evaluation)
• Tactics (preparation of news releases and media pitching, organization of promotions and product launches, senior executive communications, community relations outreach and so forth)