Helping manage PR agency relations and selection

PR agency relationships  – finding, briefing, selecting, managing, reviewing, or simply getting the best results from your PR agency – doesn’t come easy.  And too many Australian organisations, when the first signs of disharmony with their public relations agency begin, go to the PR agency pitch process, instead of working through the issues.

That’s where my 30 years of experience on the PR agency side can be put to good use by PR Directors and PR Managers.  I’m a Sydney based senior independent corporate PR consultant, available to work anywhere in Australia (and outside it if required!) to help PR directors and managers get the best out of their PR agency relationships.

These days many companies have elevated public relations in the supplier/partner hierarchy resulting in increased levels of transparency and accountability. 

As a partnership both parties are expected to meet certain standards of conduct. That means that proper processes need to be incorporated into the relationship protocols. Relationship problems can’t be allowed to fester, and PR agencies can’t just be dumped because the participants aren’t ‘getting on’.

Likewise when a new PR agency partner is being sought its becoming increasingly important (and standard practice) to go through a proper – and fully transparent – pitch process.

It has become an accepted practice for marketers from Australia’s major companies to enlist an independent external consultant to advise and assist in the selection and review of advertising agency accounts. The time has arrived for similar processes and disciplines to be applied to the PR industry.

That’s why my service – that makes available the discrete ‘helping hand’ in either helping keep an existing relationship on track or bringing an independent and unbiased perspective to a PR agency pitch process - can be a smart choice for Australian in-house PR directors and managers.

As PR is becoming more sophisticated and PR directors are under pressure to be more internally accountable.

I can help you manage aspects of your PR agency relationship better

Client- PR agency relationships need to work for both parties. I can function as an independent, objective third party who can help build important processes and procedures – including periodic formal reviews- to help keep the PR relationship on track and the agency performance high. I can even act as a ‘relationship counsellor’ in the event that issues in the relationship arise. Read more…

I can help you achieve better PR outcomes through preparing better briefs and requests for proposal

If you want to get the best out of your existing PR agency, then it is critical to get the brief right. The RFP -‘request for proposal’ – is equally as important when going through an open selection or tendering process. Seeking external professional input for a specialist task can reduce internal pressure and put you in a stronger position to seek the best from your existing PR agency or to select a new one. Read more…

I can help you identify a quality short-list of PR agencies if you plan a competitive pitch

Often, in-house staff have only a superficial knowledge of the agency world, and find it difficult to see beyond the PR agency gloss. I can bring processes and procedures and my 30 years of knowledge and public relations experience to the agency identification process, so that you arrive at a quality short-list of PR agencies that all meet carefully pre-determined criteria.

I can help you run an agency selection process that will identify the very best PR agency

Even with the best short-list of PR agencies the actual competitive pitch process can be difficult for the client. With my long PR agency experience I can bring an independent and disciplined approach to the selection process, making the whole process thoroughly professional, transparent and above criticism. I can also provide discreet advice to aide the transition from the incumbent to the chosen PR agency. Read more…

For more insights into managing and selecting PR agencies see the articles I have written in PR Influences.

If you want to have a no obligation chat about issues, challenges and directions you wish to head in please contact me.