Public Relations Network buddy system: Gaining insights from PR agencies around the world!

 

Sitting at your desk in the bubble which is your own agency, do you ever wonder what goes on behind the walls of other PR agencies around Sydney, Australia… the world?

Often agencies are rather closed when it comes to internal practices and client processes and for good reason – it’s a jungle out there and one needs to keep a competitive mind set.

However perhaps opportunities are being missed while existing entirely within your closed in, sealed tight box. Letting the walls down slightly and sharing with others in your industry can have its benefits.

As a member of the Public Relations Network (PRN)  – an international collective of like-minded independent PR consultancies – we recently realised the power of the amazing resource we have at our fingertips, i.e. the knowledge and experiences of 20 odd PR agencies worldwide all with different ideas, customs and procedures.

To maximise our experience with PRN and increase our sharing of information, we’ve decided at DRPR to create a ‘PRN buddy system’. Each of us has been assigned a couple of PRN member countries to get in touch with once in a while and ask questions as well as share our own information.

We recently utilised our PRN buddy system by going to each of our buddies with questions regarding the infamous measurement and ROI of a PR program. At our last monthly meeting we shared the insights gathered from the following PRN members:

• Aleph Communication, Spain
• Creative Crest, India
• Mantra, USA
• RCA, Belgium  
• Soluzione, Italy
• Boman Communications, Denmark

Here is a summary of what came to the fore:

Managing expectations

 -          All agencies set objectives for their PR campaigns / programs to ensure both parties have realistic and clear expectations of what needs to be achieved

-          Most agencies reinforced the importance of managing client expectations

-          Two agencies claimed to work by the mantra of “under promising and over delivering” to ensure clients remain happy

-          Agencies agreed that no PR agency can guarantee media coverage as at the end of the day, we don’t control the media

-          One agency made special note of ensuring that the client’s budget and the number of hours of PR work required remain in alignment

 Reporting

 -          All agencies have similar reporting process, producing weekly, monthly and/or annual activity reports

-          Two agencies reported the use of clipping books with others mentioning the use of past case studies to convince potential clients of the agency’s ability and credibility

-          Two agencies have developed backend systems allowing each client to login for access to the latest news from the agency. This feature has proven quite popular with the clients who usually login to check their account results and progress.

 Measurement

 -          Agencies agreed that client reputation is difficult to measure and that full benefits of PR are maximised over time with persistent and consistent efforts

-          One agency invests in annual market research/PR audit undertaken by an external third party vendor to assist with the measurement of their success

-          All agencies measured the quality of the coverage by looking at the media outlet, readership, tone of voice, content, key messages and placement

-          Five out of the seven agencies also measured the quantitative value of the media coverage with the use of advertising equalivalents to measure the ROI

-          One agency stated “almost anyone can make a media placement, but it takes a pro to ‘manage’ a media campaign for maximum results”

-          When pitching to a potential client, one of the agencies interviewed forecasts the number of press cuttings to be obtained or journalists that will attend a particular event

  Social media

-          Four out of the seven agencies claim to be just beginning to tap into the social media realm

-          Of those who are engaging in social media for their clients, agencies are measuring social media ROI by:

• Analysing the client’s web statistics
• Utilising the lead generation method: How many leads have been generated and where did the leads come taking into consideration the relevance of the target audience
• Alexa rankings and Google page index
• Measuring the number of followers/ members/ fans
• Measuring number of times information was forwarded/ shared/ number of relevant comments
• Utilising an in-house developed measurement program
• Employing a dedicated web analytics team
• Use of Technorati.com, Twittorati.com and Google analytics

  

I’d strongly encourage you to make the most of your business affiliates by mutually sharing ideas and experiences. Share and see what others share with you in return – you will be amazed at what you can learn!  

@GemCrowley