Putting a financial value on the importance of good public relations is virtually impossible, so making the right choices is critical. Lisa Miles talks to businesses about the ups and downs of working with PR firms
You will find no one better at self- promotion than a public relations (PR) professional. Used to spending many long days singing the praises and pushing the success stories of their multifarious clients, they will jump at the opportunity to talk about their own firm's achievements until blue in the face.
However, as is the case with all business advisers, the people best placed to comment on ability, success rate and overall demeanour are actually their clients. So, courageously putting aside all personal views on the PR industry, Insider has been speaking to those who really know the value of good PR.
Each business has a range of PR and marketing needs that are best fulfilled by different firms, perhaps in different locations, while some companies choose to keep certain functions in-house. It is critical to the success of any PR campaign that the right questions are answered and the right choices made.
"Most marketeers will say that raising the profile of their company by achieving regular, consistent and positive media coverage is the single most important role their PR provider can play," says Simon Brownbill, director of marketing at Hurst Accountants in Stockport and Liverpool. "So when choosing PR people, find out how capable they are in actually delivering that."
It can be difficult to measure the success of your PR and marketing campaigns, unless you opt for the old-fashioned measurement of column inches. "The most important thing is how much on message they are," says Simon Smith, marketing director at Park Cakes in Oldham. "It's fairly straightforward to get column inches but it's whether they are of the content you want and the level of influence the PR company has and their understanding of briefs."
It's easy to be sceptical about the benefits of PR if a business measures everything on direct financial value. "In our field, in the medium-sized insurance broking market, there is no one else doing PR in our group and everyone is sceptical about PR because it is hard to judge, but we've focused on certain areas of our business to promote," says Dave Riley, managing director of A&B Insurance Brokers in Adlington.
Pressure from a company's board can see PR budgets slashed if a business is not performing well. "We all answer to boards and everyone questions where the value is so you have to be demonstrating that you are getting something out of it," says Philip Doyle, director in the Manchester office of HKR Architects. "A lot of boards ask how often you are in the press, but that's not always fair because you should measure input, not output. A PR company is not just going to win you a commission. They are there to reinforce your brand, get you exposure and open a few doors. It's up to you to kick that door open and get the job. You can't expect a PR company to do that."
Once a company has made the decision to use PR as a marketing tool, choosing which firm to use and for what functions is the next step.
Andy Egan, chief executive of AIM-listed Felix, the Cheshire-based creator of sales promotion tools, found that his business had three distinct PR needs: financial press, to keep shareholders happy in between announcements with well-placed stories; trade press, to create a buzz around new products in developments; and consumer, to explain exactly what, say, a Max Box is.
If you're wondering, it's a flexible and bespoke digital retail kiosk that can be tailored to suit retail, leisure, hospitality, travel and entertainment venues.
"We did have three firms covering these needs," says Egan. "Now we have one because PR firms are very good at telling you at the pitch stage what they are good at, but don't always deliver.
We were with the same firm for three years, who did a great job on the trade side, but we didn't feel we were really moving on the consumer side.
RMS PR, who we use now, have a good reputation on the consumer side as well. We are doing the financial PR ourselves."
Doyle at HKR has a similarly complex set of needs as the practice promotes itself to new and existing clients through publicising projects, contributing opinions to articles and holding events. It promotes itself in the architectural press as a means of impressing potential staff and celebrating the work of existing employees.
"We actually have three PR companies who work for HKR," says Doyle. "Crush Communications look after us in the north and deal with regional press. We have on occasion used them for national coverage. We have a separate company to deal with our London office and another PR for our main office in Dublin. It's about using people who have local contacts to get you the exposure in the areas you're looking for."
Some PR briefs are not as simple as promoting a product or a set of skills.
At regeneration partnership Kensington Regeneration, chief executive Lynn Spencer needs PR that will communicate with local people, raise the profile of Kensington regionally and nationally and remain relentlessly positive about the £360m scheme even in the face of demolition and compulsory purchase orders. There are also a lot of stakeholders to keep happy, from residents to public sector agencies.
"Within the same community and the same street you might have very different expectations to manage so it's a matter of explaining, being very positive and very honest," says Spencer. "It's very difficult to do that through the local paper because it's more difficult to put forward a positive story than a negative one. We use Kenyon Fraser and although part of their role is to handle the media and talk to journalists, we get three main things from them: event management, when we bring the community together for our big annual fun day; media training; and press releases." When choosing a firm ask questions about recent track record and experience, price and contacts. Do they have a full knowledge of your target publications and do they know how to approach journalists?
"Find out what relationships he or she has with editors and writers in the media you most want to appear in. Does he deliver the goods? Do the editors take his calls? Have they ever heard of him?" says Brownbill.
"Check out your PR candidate with a couple of key journalists in your sector. Journalists are as keen as anyone to improve PR standards so you should get a frank and honest answer. It's surprising how few companies actually do seek opinions from journalists before dedicating a significant part of their marketing budget to PR."
The relationship between PR firm and client is one based on mutual understanding and trust. An ability to pick up a complicated brief and transform it into something magical is a must.
Smith at Park Cakes, which uses Connectpoint, says he looks for people who are able to understand a brief rapidly. "I want people that will look beyond the day-to-day and find opportunities, people who are willing to be bold and challenging," he says. "And people should be prepared to be measured on the value they've created - a degree of reward by results."
Of course, size is definitely not everything - it's all about finding the right fit for you. Riley has tried five firms of various sizes over the last seven years, from national names to individuals. "The big national firms were not great for a firm of our size with 25 staff. They were geared up for huge companies," he says. "The private individuals were not good because they were trying to take too much on. What's been fantastic about the firm we have now is how much they take on and how much they listen to you. As boring as insurance is, they've got to at least understand what you do and be able to talk about it. Where it goes terribly wrong is if you're paying a lot of money and getting nothing."
A PR campaign is a big investment for any business and making the wrong decision can be costly. Success or failure will often come down to the individuals concerned. "The individuals you work with are crucial," says Egan. "Some bigger agencies give you a great presentation and then say: "Here's Gladys who's dealing with you.' PR is very much a people industry." Spencer agrees that a central question when choosing a firm is the opportunity to develop a personal relationship.
"You don't have to be best friends, but you've got to be on the same wavelength, otherwise there is a lot of in-built tension," she says. "No matter how glossy or professional someone comes across, if you don't gel with them it won't work."
Hurst's Brownbill observes that, while PR doesn't usually go badly wrong, a lack of sparkle and energy is often down to the abilities of the individuals working on your account.
"All too often this is because PR practitioners do not have enough experience of what editors and journalist actually want. How many of us have been sold the dream at a whiz bang PR presentation by a top PR agency director, only to find out that the day-to-day work on your behalf is subsequently carried out by inexperienced juniors with little or no knowledge of how the media works?" he says.
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