The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: How to Appoint and Manage the Right PR Firm

August 27, 2012

Morgan McLintic

EVP

Syreeta Mussante

Vice President

Introductions

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Why is this important?

Reputation drives sales, recruitment and valuation

Significant spend

Requires senior time

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Should you appoint an agency?

In-house Agency

Broad

Rapidly developing industries

Wide audiences

Niche

Highly complex industries

Narrow audiences

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When should you pull the trigger?

• A clear idea about your roadmap and product plan

• External interest in your company requiring response

• A vision for your space that you want to share

• A solid product, idea or technology but no storyline

• Funding or revenue to support an ongoing program

You Have

• Significant visibility increase with customers

• Ownership of an idea or innovation

• Credibility or air cover for sales

• Credibility for a financial audience

You Need

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How to appoint an agency• What business outcomes are you looking for?• Background to the company and situation• Requirements and selection process, budgets, timelines

Develop a brief

Interview 5-7 agencies

Brief 3 shortlisted agencies

• 90-minute presentation, 30-minutes for Q&A• Ensure all decision-makers are in attendance

Pitch with senior management

• Allow time for contract Ts & CsDecision, contracts, kick-off

• Range of sizes• Recommendations from contacts, VCs and research• Ideally visit in-person

• Hour long sessions to explore the brief• Expect and encourage follow up Q&A

30-60 days

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What should you look for?

Domain expertise and relevant track record

Creativity

Chemistry

Range of services

Price

Ability to scale

Professionalism

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What questions should you ask?

Who is my primary contact?

Is this the team?

Where have you done this before?

How many clients do you work on?

How much time will you spend?

Do you work on retainer?

Do you mark up costs?

How do I measure outcomes?

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Mistakes companies make

• Changes to timeframe, decision-makers, shortlist, budget

Having no process /

disrupting the process

• Looks disorganized, don’t get best thinkingToo aggressive a timeframe

• No consensus beforehand, situation changesThe brief changes

• Not a good basis for partnership, lacks focusBudget /

expectation mismatch

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How to manage the PR firm

Be a team

Don’t be a jerk

Be clear and consistent

Know your business and

industry

Commit to actionsBe available

Accept counsel

Give feedback – say thanks

Execute on your business

plan

Thank you

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