PR and ad agencies are subcontracting to local market PR pros for one-time projects more and more these days. These "quick hit" product launches or special events are fun to do and can showcase a PR firm's local media and events planning skills to great advantage.
What can benefit the client, however, can sometimes severely impact the local firm's bottom line because of the extra time and out-of-pocket expenses, not to mention the aggravation. Pay special attention to potential pitfalls and a PR firm can ensure great results AND a profit.
What to avoid:
Information Deficit: Initially, the agency promises to send you a pitch letter, news release and backgrounder to use. Unfortunately, all you end up getting is regurgitated pablum based on ad copy and you're forced to scour news articles for any useful tidbits. What to do: Hold out for the information or send an estimate for press material development.
Endless Conference Calls: You get a reasonable budget for a local project that suddenly gets severely eaten up with lengthy conference calls, even lengthier emails and complicated reports. What to do: See if a project manager can be appointed if it's a multi-market effort. The manager can present any questions or problems to the agency and save time for everyone in the process.
Project Creep: What starts out as a simple event can suddenly grow to gargantuan proportions. If you're just paid for staffing it, make sure that the venue is selected; permits are applied for and all out of pocket expenses are covered. We've had to find event locations with no funds and no advance notice, warehouse pallet loads of materials, drive for hours to deliver items in person and shop for props without compensation. What to do: Make sure that you clearly indicate what you will do in a scope of work document; then stick to it.
The Paltry Pitch: You're given an enthusiastic project description by your agency contact, with promises to supply loads of local stories. These local angles don't materialize, and the media folks aren't interested in something that is happening 1,000 miles away. What to do: Establish in your initial confirmation and scope of work document that success, while never guaranteed in PR, is virtually unattainable without a local story to tell.
The Vanishing Spokesperson: Oh, joy. You pitch a celebrity spokesperson to the media and then find out that she's only available for 15 minutes between 6 and 7 pm. Or she's booked for the top morning show and she can't POSSIBLY get up that early. What to do: Again, indicate in your scope of work that getting interviews will depend on the spokesperson's availability.
We've all been there, but by determining needs and expectations way ahead of time, you can ensure that your agency clients get great media results and you reap the appropriate monetary rewards.
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