Understanding A Public Relations Agency

Friends, Thank you very much for taking out time from your very busy schedule to read my blog(s). I really feel encouraged after reading your feedback in the comments column. Friends, presenting 65th blog titled “Understanding a P R Agency”.

Friends, as you very well know that PR is a Persuasion Business because most of the time we’re  trying to convince our client’s target  audience, internal as well as external, to promote the idea, purchase a product or service, support  client’s  position, or recognize  accomplishments of the clients. We, being  a PR professional, are responsible for enhancing the image and promoting the viewpoint of our clients and we do this through using earned media,  such as news stories or articles,  as they carry much more weight among the target audience.

A PR agency is basically a consultancy that gives sound communications advice to its clients. It’s of immense importance that the PR agency and the client work in tandem to achieve best results.  It has been experienced that the PR agency is a very useful resource, one that sits outside of  the business sphere and helps the business in seeing the ‘bigger picture’ which cannot be seen from inside due to diverse reasons.  

The ultimate goal of a PR agency is to promote its clients image and brand reputation through a mix of communications tools. This might be through earned media (e.g. articles and reviews) , shared media (e.g. social media), paid media (e.g. advertorials and sponsored articles), speaking opportunities on suitable platforms, influencer engagement and digital marketing services, like SEO, PPC, email marketing and so on. PR agencies uses media pitches, press releases or press conferences  as the main PR tools to get  free editorial coverage for their clients i.e. stories appearing on news websites, blogs, newspapers, news magazines and TV News programs as compared to "paid media" or Advertising.

Not every story makes to the pages of newspapers. But, with a media atmosphere that includes blogs, news websites, TV news shows, news magazines and other media that evolves every day, PR agency can help its clients to increase their visibility via increased recognition on as many reputed editorial platforms as possible.

Friends, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines public relations as:

1. Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact, for good or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.

2. Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.

3. Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organization’s aims which may include marketing; financial; fund raising; employee, community or government relations; and other programs.

4. Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy.

5. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities - in short, managing the resources needed to perform all of the above."

That's one of the best and clear overview of the general functions of a public relations agency.  

Friends, following PR Strategies are applied by PR agencies to achieve PR and communication objectives of their clients.

Ø  Writing  and distributing  the press releases

Ø  Writing media pitches (fast balls) about  their clients and send them directly to the concerned journalists

Ø  Writing Speeches.

Ø  Organising Press briefings or conferences

Ø  Creating and executing special events e.g. conferences, seminars, workshops  designed for public outreach.

Ø  Managing Media relations

Ø  Organising Media Trainings

Ø  Conducting  market research

Ø  Augmenting  business contacts through attending networking events or sponsoring the events

Ø  Copy writing,  content  creation or blogging  

Ø  Crisis Management

Ø  Crises public relations strategies

Ø  Social media promotions and responses to negative opinions online

Friends, Business using services of a PR agency should always consider them as their strategic partner because the PR agency helps them talk to and with their audiences successfully and meaningfully. PR agency is always considered to be a good listener to the marketplace and knows what conversation starters will work for its client, but also what just might catch fire. The PR agency can analyze the organization, find the positive messages and translate those messages into positive media stories.  And when the news is bad, A PR agency can formulate the best response and mitigate the damage. In long term, public relations can be an investment in the brand and the visibility of a firm or individual that results in increased recognition and reputation.

Main functions of a PR agency are……

1. Understanding what a client wants to achieve

PR agencies will first try to understand what a client wants to get out of the relationship. PR can be about changing negative perceptions, telling potential customers about a new product or service and demonstrating that the client company is trustworthy and one to do business with. The goal of successful PR is to build long-standing positive rapport with the people who matter, including customers, employees, investors and the public-at-large.

2. Developing a PR plan

The PR agency creates a communications plan after having a detailed discussion with the client. The plan may consider competitive advantage, positioning in the market, challenges faced by the client, a PR strategy, timings, measurement and tactics/methods and use of best suited PR tools.

3. Using best PR methods to reach clients goals

There are a number of tactics that a PR agency uses. The most common is media and now increasingly blogger relations. The PR agency will work with a client to create content, from press releases, articles, research, whitepapers, case studies and blog posts. With this content, PR agencies will target media/bloggers by pitching them and offering information for a story. The content can be used by marketing / sales teams on client's website too.

Whilst print articles, such as those in newspapers, industry journals and magazines formed a key component of an effective PR campaign, with the expanding access to information online, PR companies are increasingly taking advantage of online resources such as online news sites, blogs and forums. For technology companies, industry analysts are influential, so PR agencies also target analysts for briefings to help their clients get mentions in industry reports or ensure that the clients are on the analysts’ radar. PR Agencies also help to arrange analyst participation in a client’s event or joint whitepapers or surveys. 

There is no substitute for face-to-face contact for establishing positive rapport with the target public and that is why PR agencies also research and recommend for speaking opportunities, panel discussions and workshops to their clients.  PR agencies also assist in writing or creating presentations and pitches, enabling clients to establish themselves as leading experts in their fields and to increase their networking opportunities. Third party endorsement through awards is another popular PR tool and the PR agencies identify the awards, write the award entry and then use any win in subsequent PR campaign or promotional activity.

Organizational structure of a PR Agency can, of course, have an impact on communication because of the reporting structures and flow of information in the organization. Also, the PR agency structure can vary a great deal from agency to agency based on size…large, medium and small, but it is mostly based upon a consulting relationship to the client. The PR agency world can be a confusing one - especially for someone looking in from the outside.

Let’s take a look at the basic structure of a PR agency and what the different people do. I’ll start with the most essential part of the organization: the teams that serve clients. These teams look similar across most of the PR agencies with a few customary twists, functionally; however, most PR agencies operate in roughly the same manner.

Intern

Internships are all about learning. First step on the PR career track is intern. Interns learn the PR business through the most basic of tasks and learn whether the agency and the PR world is what they want to pursue.

Account Coordinator

After INTERN, first full time position on the PR career track is the Account Coordinator. Account Coordinator spend a great deal of time writing, compiling reports, working with media lists, doing social media and traditional media monitoring, maintaining databases and lists, and generally providing a solid foundation for their team to build on.

Account Executive

Account Executives are the relationship people who build relationships with journalists, analysts, influencers, publishers, and anyone who can get the word out about what clients are trying to publicize. Very often they’re the ones writing press releases, media releases, analyst briefs, social posts, etc.

Senior Account Executives

Account Executives become Senior Account Executives when they establish a solid track record for relationship building and a long list of wins under their belts. When a pitch needs to find a home under the most difficult conditions, the Sr. Account Executive is the one at bat. They have the best of media persons in their vertical or niche and are on such good terms with their media contacts that a quick text, Tweet, or message is all that’s needed to get the ball rolling. They facilitate in-person meetings, do media training to prepare their clients for difficult interviews, and even help to win new business. This position is traditionally the last non-management position in a PR agency organizational structure.

Organisational Structure of a PR Agency…….

·         Managing Director or President or CEO

·         VP - Media, VP - Marketing, VP - Creative, VP - Events, VP- Accounts or Clients

·         Account Director <– Sr. Acct. Manager <– Acct. Manager <– Sr. Acct. Executive <– Acct. Executive < – Acct. Coordinator <– Intern

·         Researchers  & Media Trackers

·         Accounts & Finance Head

·         I T Head & Support staff

·         Human Resource & support  Head

—  Admin & Coordination Head & support staff

 

Thank you for reading the blog.

 

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