PR agency brief
Finding a PR agency who will deliver a successful PR campaign for your business can be tricky and time-consuming. Agencies will make promises in their pitches, but not always deliver. You pick the wrong agency and your business suffers, and you are back to square one.
What if there was a way to avoid this and make that successful match, quickly and effectively?
A well-written PR agency brief will help an agency understand you better, enabling them to identify your target audience and raise your profile with potential clients. It will attract quality agencies and weed out the agencies that won’t deliver.
A PR brief should be concise, relevant and well written. It will tell potential PR agencies what you want to achieve by partnering with them. Get it right, and the quicker you will find the agency able to help you build a successful PR strategy.
So where do you start?
Understanding your company’s background is critical to a potential PR partner. Providing the most up-to-date company information, competitor analysis and USP’s are good starting points. Explaining your business goals and identifying your company’s strengths and weaknesses will take it to another level – equipping them with the necessary know-how to present a time worthy pitch.
Now you need to think about why you are writing your PR agency brief. What are you trying to achieve? Why are you choosing a public relations agency? What results are you hoping for? Sounds simple enough, but this is the most important part of your brief. Get this right and your PR partners can develop a strong and powerful strategy.
Discovering the right PR agency is one thing, but how do you measure success? Growing a long-term relationship with a PR agency requires knowing what has worked for you before, and what hasn’t. Identifying your targets and KPI’s will help the agency develop an effective PR campaign.
Research is key
Doing your research on PR agencies before writing an agency brief will save you time. Consider the type of operation you are, the biggest challenges you face and the kind of agency that would suit your needs. The best creative agency isn’t always the right strategic partner, a global agency might not be strongest in your priority markets. Look at agency websites and client testimonials. Read the LinkedIn profiles of key people. It will all help build a picture of them as potential partners.
Don’t rush it
All too often, a PR brief is issued with too little time for an agency to give its best shot. If PR is important to you, let the agency know it is by giving them as much time as possible. Four weeks should be a minimum. Don’t risk success by cutting the process short.
Be strict with yourself
A PR brief is a clear and focused plan. Be strict on the information you include. Be clear on the messages you want to communicate. Test yourself by limiting messages to the single most important one to be communicated. Be directional and transparent with the challenge ahead. Show that you have devoted time to create the best brief possible to signpost that you expect the best responses possible.
Budget or not to budget?
For decades we have heard the line, “we don’t want to restrict your thinking by including a budget”. It sends the wrong signal. It says you’re either embarrassed by the size of the budget available or you’re not sure what the budget is. Either way, it is not the impression you want to give to agencies bidding for your business. A PR brief should always include a budget estimate together with a clear indication of what you expect in return.
If you are looking for a PR agency that adds value to their creative communication, then get in touch with Sentient to start the conversation and learn how we can help you.
+44 7730 711923
