Clicks 'n Conversions Blog

This article was first published  October 17, 2007 on the Tatum Marketing blog

You love your product / your company / your technology (pick one, two or all), and the world needs to know about it. It’s time to get a PR agency, right?

Maybe.

Engaging an agency too soon or without proper preparation can be a monumental waste. Before you commit the considerable time, energy and, ultimately, expense necessary to locate and hire the right agency, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you know what you want PR to do for you? Sounds simple, but it isn’t always. Think it through. How does PR fit into your overall marketing and sales strategy? Do you want to generate as much media coverage as is humanly possible? Are you looking for third-party endorsements? Do you need some good case studies your sales team can use? Are you living for the day you see your picture in Fortune magazine?
• Is your product or service or technology ready? Public relations activities do have lead times, and you don’t want to wait until the last minute to launch a PR program. But there’s no reason to fund a program unless or until you’ve got something to sell. For new product launches, try to have your PR program up and running 3-to-6 months ahead of general product availability. If you’re still trying to productize your technology, wait a while. Remember, the whole point of PR is to move you, your company and your products out of stealth mode and into the limelight. Are you sure you’re ready for the heat?
• Is your product and company messaging in place? Determining who you are and what you sell, identifying your target markets and value propositions, finding your competitive advantages, and determining how to communicate these are strategic decisions that should be made before a PR effort is launched. You can’t send the PR team out to spread the word if you don’t know yet what the “word” is.
• Do you have a good internal person who can manage the agency and the effort? PR agencies perform best when they are kept well informed of what’s going on in the company today and are provided good direction and timely feedback. They also need an inside person who’s highly responsive and in a position to get necessary input and internal approvals. This is rarely an easy job!
• Are you willing to commit the time to work with the agency and the media? Will you personally be available for interviews, presentations, consistent input and vision? If you’re not the top executive, do you have strong buy-in from that person? Are you sure?
• Do you have the budget? Can you afford $30K+ for a product launch and/or $15K+ for a monthly retainer? Good boutique agencies will cost about this much – although prices will vary depending on how much you can do in-house and how much you expect the agency to do. If you feel the need to work with one of the big name firms, these costs can easily double.
• Can you support other marketing programs as well? PR is an outstanding way to build visibility and credibility for a product, company or technology. However, it’s a key component of a process — not a magic bullet. It won’t be your greatest lead generation tool. It won’t replace your website or sales force. It can’t be used as a leave-behind in a meeting. It will, however, provide the 3rd party support that lends credibility to everything else you do.

Are you ready?

If you’ve answered “yes” to the above, you’re probably ready for a PR program. Ask yourself one last question: do you really need an agency? I could spend a lot of time and words arguing the pros and cons of in-house versus agency PR programs, but I won’t do it here. (You’re welcome.) In general, I’ve found that in-house programs can work well if you have the staff to handle it, a relatively small target list (say, 20 publications or less), and you’re primarily looking for coverage in trade publications. All others should at least consider an agency.