Why use a PR agency?
You can download a PDF of this whitepaper here.
Deciding whether to use PR as a promotional tool is an important decision for any business, but for smaller organisations with limited budgets and perhaps limited or no prior experience of PR, it is particularly crucial. To help aid this situation, here is some food for thought to help explain the value a PR agency can offer:
Agencies provide a filter
Filtering is required to ensure that you (the client) focus on the information and opportunities that will achieve results and that you are not distracted by 'noise'. In addition, agencies also act as a filter for journalists. A company represented by a PR agency is considered a 'qualified' and therefore trusted source of information that journalists can use routinely
Agencies provide strategic guidance
It can be difficult to see the wood for the trees when it comes to communication. Your PR agency should provide independent advice on areas such as messaging in order to help you maximise the PR campaign as a whole. An external influencer of this nature can help to provide a different view and offer some clarity
Agencies are specialists
Whilst clients are often adept at generating some news and coverage, an agency is ideally placed to identify and secure the less obvious opportunities by knowing the media inside and out. These are the opportunities which often elevate a PR campaign beyond product and company news to a thought leadership campaign
Agencies have a breadth of experience
Most agencies represent a cross section of clients. They may fall into a similar 'horizontal' sector such as technology, but the range of technologies within the client portfolio is likely to be vast. This encourages the cross pollination of ideas throughout the agency which can generate more frequent and better quality media opportunities
Agencies are creative
Creativity does not come easily for everyone. By their very nature, PR agencies are populated by creative thinkers and campaign planners. These skills can be capitalised on, particularly by in-house teams that may be more focused on business or processes where creativity is not integral to the role
Agencies are exactly that - your agent
Like any agent, your PR agency adds value by representing your interests to the who's who of the media world. Their knowledge and experience of what a particular publication or journalist likes or dislikes, coupled with an in depth knowledge about their client puts the agency in a position to present information to the media in the most appealing way, giving your news or information the best possible opportunity of being covered
