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10 Questions A PR Agency Doesn’t Want A Client To Ask
Up until five-and-a-half years ago, I spent my entire career on the client side. As the head of marketing at numerous companies, in lots of different industries, I hired virtually every size and type of PR agency on the planet — from boutique to big agency. Since my heart, soul and roots are with the client, I decided to build the “anti-agency” agency. What does this approach mean? I refuse to do all the self-serving things I hated about PR agencies.
Here are the 10 questions a PR agency doesn’t want a client to ask. And the “Dirty Little Secrets” (DLS) they don’t want you to know.
1. Does your PR agency founder come from an agency background or the client side?
DLS: People who have spent their entire career at an agency just don’t get what it is like to be you — the client. They have never been responsible for a marketing budget, never had it cut, and certainly never had to get up in front of a board of directors (not a fun bunch) and articulate a fully-integrated marketing plan (beyond PR) that is going to drive the value of the company.
2. What involvement will your agency’s CEO have in my business?
DLS: Chances are none. He or she will be the captain of the “pitch & switch” team that pitches your business, wins the account and is never heard from again. Think vaporize.
3. How do you approach strategy and positioning?
DLS: Again, PR agencies are usually filled with people who have spent their entire careers at an agency. Most agency people wouldn’t know a client business objective if it jumped up and bit them in the a**. Watching them try to articulate a strategy to support the business objectives can be hilarious. You want the person who is driving the positioning and strategy to have walked – no, even better, run – a mile in your shoes. Most agencies develop campaigns, not strategies. There is a HUGE difference between the two. A campaign is a tactical execution of a bigger strategy. Push them on strategy.
4. What is the average age of the agency’s entire PR team and how old is the person that will be leading the account? Can I meet the lead person?
DLS: You want an agency that has an average PR team age of 40+/- years. Most agencies make a lot of margin by hiring junior people at low salaries. Having a 20-something-year-old lead your account is a quick trip to hell. I’ve been there. Most twenty-something-year-olds don’t have the experience to drive top-tier coverage across all mediums – TV, print, radio and the internet (including Digital Media). If the agency starts rambling on about how you need young people to understand Digital Media, see my post on 11.12.07, Digital Media Fear Factor.
5. How many clients does each PR team member work on?
DSL: The truth is way too many. You want an agency that doesn’t allow team members to work on more than four clients at once. The PR industry average is probably north of eight. Again, this is all about margin for the agency: Lots of clients + junior people = bigger margins. Unfortunately this equation also yields low client retention rates.
6. Can your agency list four recent examples (i.e. four different clients) of how it secured top-tier media coverage across each medium – TV, print, radio and the internet – for clients who had zero awareness?
DLS: Most agencies showcase clients that already had some level of awareness. The untouchable talent lies with the agencies that can secure top-tier coverage for clients with zero awareness. Most agencies do OK with print coverage, particularly trades. Most fall short with the higher-viewed hits like TV. Also, make sure the examples are recent. Agencies are notorious for reheating and showcasing old hits.
7. Is my retainer tied to a certain number of billable hours?
DLS: Many agencies have retainers tied to hours. This sucks for the client. All the client wants is great media coverage. At the end of the day, if the client is getting outstanding coverage, they don’t care whether it took two hours or 202 hours. As the client, I used to go through the ceiling when an agency told me I had used all my hours, yet I didn’t get any coverage. Tell the agency you refuse to accept having your retainer tied to billable hours.
8. What is the termination notification in the contract?
DLS: Chances are it is between 60 days and 6 months. Tell the agency this is unacceptable. If you are unhappy with your agency you shouldn’t be stuck with them for months on end because of a contract. Tell them you want a 30-day out.
9. Do you charge me for phone calls within the
November 15th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Well said, Kel! Even though my experience is limited, I have to say that my best experience as a (non-profit) client has been with our present agency, a smallish, woman-owned agency in Norwich, CT, which, as I think of it, is not unlike Kel and Partners. You go, girl!
March 10th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
great points.
kel hit us up.
we need national help.
matt
http://www.theaayp.org
August 18th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I think this is a powerful perspective!! All the best! Crystina
August 18th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
thanks crystina! always a bonus to get a comment on an older post and know it’s still kickin’.
September 12th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Are the comments made up or from buddies?
September 12th, 2008 at 7:58 am
art, thanks for posting. these comments are not from buddies and i certainly didn’t make them up. curious as to why you ask.
September 30th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
THANKS! You’ve blown it for us hacks!
November 5th, 2008 at 11:04 am
As a relatively young practitioner, I’ve been almost exclusively on the agency-side. I love these oints you;ve posted – is it okay to link to this post fom my blog?
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with two agencies (one that fin. industry PR and the other that does investor relations) that report directly to C-level execs. These agencies regularly make sure that their results aren;t just decorations, but actually contribute to clients’ top- and bottom-lines.
In front of clients they ask the question: What do these media hits mean for your business? Have we been able to drive new investors to you? Have we been abelt to sway investor sentiment? These can be a tough questions to answer, but as long as an agency keeps them in mind and makes sure that the client DOES ask these, they can be assured a healthy, productive relationship with any client.
Thanks for your insight, Kel!
Christopher
Media/IR Associate in Boston
November 5th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
christopher, thanks for the link! it’s good to hear these agencies are really plugged into their client’s objectives. it benefits everyone — the client, the agnecy & the pr industry as a whole.
December 8th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Hi Kel – How much should a small PR agency specializing in ethnic markets be charging per month? What is the industry average that a PR agency should bill?
December 9th, 2008 at 7:26 am
karla, unfortunately there is no single fee that fits all situations. it depends on how many resources are needed on the account. i would be happy to discuss with you. call me at my office at 508.366.2099 x111. thanks!
March 6th, 2009 at 2:57 am
Hey there…
the points raised were quite interesting…
but i also would like to know the flip side…
i tried googling ‘questions a PR agency should ask their clients’…dint get an impressive number of hits…infact the first page was full of the questions a client should ask an agency before or while hiring them…
now that you on the ‘anti -agency’ agency side…please tell me..what are the questions you ask your clients…you know…questions that can help an agency get better in terms of delivering…please do revert…regards.
March 6th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
cyril, thanks for your comment and inquiry. the answer probably varies by agency.
for kel & partners, the first thing we establish is if they are a fit for us. our sweet spot is consumer focused, internet-based brands.
once we get over that hurdle, i usually try to figure out if they are a “dog that will hunt.” see http://www.kelandpartners.com/kelkellyblog/2008/10/12/the-dog-that-wont-hunt/
next i try to root out what they believe pr is and isn’t and what they hope to achieve. if someone says, “i want to be on oprah” i usually run.
the rest of my decision is based on the energy and interaction between k&p and the prospect. my experience is that i can usually tell within the first three minutes of conversation if they are someone i want to bring into our agency environment. i look for intelligence, respect and humor.
red flags for me include:
* someone who talks endlessly and doesn’t listen
* someone who thinks they are so newsworthy that they are “deserving” of unlimited top-tier coverage and believes they are a slam dunk
* someone who thinks they know everything about pr and just wants us to execute their ideas
* someone who just fired an agency because they didn’t think they got enough coverage when in fact i thought they got great coverage
* someone who tries to drive down the retainer to a point of it being ridiculous and unfair
* someone who says “convince me why i need pr.” i never want to be in the position of ever having to convince anyone. if they don’t know why now, they will never get it and we are doomed out of the gate. i walk away the second i hear this.
again, i’m sure this varies by agency, but those are my visceral thoughts.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:55 am
Being someone who is very young and has been in PR for awhile I can’t completely agree with you on the age thing for obvious reasons but I really do agree with you on providing examples of coverage for those clients who came in with zero-awareness. It is always easy to gain more awareness for something that already has a huge story as it comes down to just taking the many phone calls of people wanting to cover them but I really measure a company by how they can take a client who has nothing and get them exposure. This shows how connected, creative, and hard working they really are.
April 2nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
brennan, i hear you and believe there are always exceptions to any general perception. nothing would make me happier than to have you prove me wrong!
May 15th, 2009 at 3:02 am
Good questions: You might make it a dirty dozen. For example:
11. How many people at your agency have actually been a working member of the press, TV, radio or print.
12. Do bill for faxing my news release or calling the media on your cell phone or is
it included in overall fee?
October 22nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Kel,
Thank you for this post! As the owner of a PR business for creative types and “kitchen table entrepreneurs” (who can’t afford retainers and high billable hours), I’ve struggled with how to set up my fee structure so that they aren’t raped, but still feel like they’re getting value. I ask clients to sign a one year contract, but they get to choose the number of hours they want a month based on their PR plan and budget. What do you think?
October 23rd, 2009 at 6:29 am
This all sounds very client-friendly and lovely and it might work if you are a one-person or very small agency and you want to keep it that way, but mostly it’s unrealistic if you accept that an agency exists primarily to grow, employ people and make a profit.
If a client has unlimited budgets and doesn’t mind overspending massively, then by all means look for an agency team with an average age of 40+. Of course, that means that average salaries will be extremely high and the client’s budget won’t go very far. In reality you need a team with a mix of experience and a sensible cost base.
You say it’s all about strategy – true up to a point, but a client shouldn’t hire an agency to tell them what their business strategy is. That’s the client’s job. The agency is there to turn that strategy into an effective campaign.
If you don’t tie your fees to team hours, then how else do you structure your agency cost base? Yes, clients don’t really care about the hours put in, but if there’s no correlation between fees and hours, how do you plan your agency’s resourcing, how do you know if the campaign is realistic and what’s the difference in resourcing levels between a client paying $2,000 per month and one paying $20,000?
Best of luck.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
eddie, thanks for swinging by my blog. i appreciate your perspective, but disagree. i have built a multi-million dollar, successful agency under the framework described above. my margins are tighter, but my client retention is through the ceiling and clients are our biggest source of new biz referrals. we have no billable hours. our average age is 40+. seems to be working for us. our clients — like zappos — love the model. i think you misunderstood my point bout strategy. we handle all the strategy work for our clients. peace out.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
robin, it sounds like you have come up with a creative and fair way to meet the needs of your clients. my guess is that even the smallest of results will help these kitchen table entrepreneurs. the fact that you ground your approach in fairness makes all the difference. as a fellow pr professional, i thank you for your contribution towards positively impacting the perception of our industry.