PR agencies

[ss_collins]

Does anyone use them (c'mon own up) if so what sort of budget do you allocate, I'm not after your secrets just interested.

And no don't need or want one!

Also what experience have you had of them?

[midgetman]

We used to use one in my last job (motor sport related). Cost a retainer of £600 per month, plus exes.

She came and got to know the company. With her input we drew up a schedule of press releases based on activities we knew the company would be doing during the year. She was reasonably successful at getting us press coverage.

Was it worth the money? Well, during her time with us the press coverage helped increase business, but it was really difficult to allocate sales to a particular story. You need to know what your objectives are. If I had a sponsor whose coverage I wanted to maximise, then it may be a good investment towards retaining the sponsor - as long as the coverage aligns with the sponsor's objectives. But be very clear on what you want to achieve, otherwise it's just a nice warm feeling when you see your name mentioned.

The good part about an agent is they can place the right story with the right person at the right time.

Even working with an agent you need to have someone dedicated to dealing with the journalists when the agent is successful.

HTH

Max

[Peter Mallett]

Sam,

If we were using them you'd know! Unless you don't read the mags.

Fact is unless you can afford the £600 plus for a mensh in the press you are better off spending a grand on a website. Passive but you can position them.

[midgetman]

>>>>>>>you are better off spending a grand on a website

And then how do you get the web site in front of enough people to maximise your investment? SEO? SEM? PR? All costs money.

Wouldn't agree with "better", but it's a different part of the marketing mix and needs to be considered with your objectives in mind. For instance, if the chairman of your sponsor gets a nice warm feeling every time he sees his face in front of the great unwashed, then a PR agent will virtually guarantee next year's sponsorship money! If on the other hand you're trying to sell specialised sports clothing (something close to my heart!) then a PR agent is a waste if they don't know the market nor the niche magazines.

You pays yer money and takes yer choice - and remember the amount I stated above was MONTHLY on a 12-month contract so it wasn't cheap. However a good agent saves you a great deal of time and money, although a bad one just charges you and lets you do the work. Just set the objectives first and maybe even a pay-by-results campaign will work.

[ss_collins]

if it were pay by results how would you do it as % of media value accrued in a month?

[midgetman]

Sam

You'd have to do a deal with the agency in particular, maybe a small agency looking to make its name will be more amenable to this. I did it for a short time when we took the agent on - we agreed that she'd be paid her monthly fee only if she got us some coverage. Concentrated her mind, I must say but she wanted our business so she agreed.

Again, it's down to what you want to achieve. If it's purely awareness, then you can measure that (expensive but it can be done) and strike a deal that if awareness is raised among your target market by X% then you pay £y. Or you could just say "I'll pay you for every time you get my name in the paper" and agree a price - a good agent will have a handle on how much.

If your objective is sales related, then I admit the deal is harder to price but not impossible, and a %age of sales deal may be of interest. You can design a specific offer that is only advertised through the campaign, relating to a specific web page (see PM above) and you can measure the success very closely. Would an agent take it? Unlikely if they're established, but again it may be of interest to a young agency. At least, if you don't ask, you don't get!

Good luck!

Max