10 Tips to Stretch Your PR Agency Budget

It takes two to tango. And it takes two committed parties … that is, a good client and a good agency, to generate great PR return on investment. 

Here are a few tips, learned over years of building and maintaining long-term client-agency relationships, that can help keep your PR agency relationship efficient, productive and enjoyable … and stretch your budget:

1) Create a partnership – The best results come when the client and agency work together as partners, not when there’s an adversarial or vendor/buyer relationship. As a client, your budget is most effective when your agency does PR with you, not to or for you. You’re in this together.

 2) Communicate – There should be no surprises for either party. Open dialogue between both partners and at all levels is crucial. You can’t communicate too much. Better to share too much information than not enough. Take the time to help all teammates to understand the big picture and build trust.

3) Pay attention – High-level attention from both sides of the partnership is just as important as the attention of day-to-day contacts. If your agency’s senior people aren’t involved, you may not be getting the agency’s best thinking. If you want the agency to allocate a dedicated team to focus on your business, make sure you allocate the budget to engage them. Retainers can go a long way to ensure consistent effort by the right people – and can provide financial predictability for both you and the agency.

4) Agree on policies upfront – Make sure everyone shares the expectations with regard to reporting, invoicing, communicating, etc. at the onset. Although these procedures may be less important than strategy, service and creativity, if they’re not established early on, you risk friction within the relationship which can drain energy and resources.

5) Isolate and attack problems together – Don’t wait for issues to build up. Take a continuous improvement approach to identify the problem without blame, work together for a sound resolution, and move on.

6) Agree on the program’s goals and success measures – The team can’t hit the target if they don’t know what it is. Get everyone on the same page, early on.

7) Be fair – The golden rule applies. If you’re the client, it helps to set realistic budgets, establish fair deadlines, and provide clear direction and complete information. If you’re the agency, be accountable, keep the client informed, give the client your best efforts, and understand the constraints/politics the client faces. Instead of presenting the client with new problems, help them solve the problems they have.

8) Respect and encourage each other – Learn all you can about your partner. Each partner brings something different to the team, and if we understand each other’s viewpoint and respect each other’s ideas, talents and perspective, we can create a better outcome for everyone.

9) Be a good steward – If you’re the agency, be thrifty with the client’s budget (spend it like it’s your own money) and get your invoices out on a timely basis. If you’re the client, take care of the housekeeping issues upfront to ensure the agency can get paid on a timely basis. Nothing builds more resentment or frustration – or wastes more time and effort – than overdue payables. Every minute that the agency principal is focused on getting an overdue invoice paid is a minute that she/he is not generating ideas or results for you.

10) Celebrate – Celebrating successes with your partner along the way helps to unify and uplift your team members on both sides of the partnership. A little fun and recognition can go a long way to supercharge your team’s members … and will spark them to stretch even further, together.

What else do you think helps to stretch the value of the agency PR budget?

Finding Your Perfect PR Agency Match

Guest post from Jessica Killenberg, VP – Account Services, Bianchi Public Relations, Inc.

Choosing a PR firm that is the right fit for your company – in terms of size, as well as experience – is crucial to the success of your PR program. Selecting a firm that is too large may mean higher fees, less attention and fewer results, while selecting a firm that is too small that can’t execute your program can doom you to inconsistent effort, stress and criticism.

To determine your true needs, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my PR budget going to be? Be honest. You need to agree on a number (or at least a range) to help define the size and scope of your effort.
• What am I trying to accomplish? Be specific. This will help you define the types of talent and experience you’ll need from your agency.
• What PR firm capabilities will be most important to me? Be real. If most of the work you need is media relations, news release development and speech support, the fact that the agency has an impressive art department or financial relations section may not add much value for you.

Once you’ve outlined your parameters, you are better prepared to meet with potential PR agency matches. Seven key questions to ask your agency candidates include:

1. How big is your staff? For some clients, the proverbial one-man band works well, until that one man – or woman – gets sick, goes on vacation or decides to take another job. For many companies, a smaller agency with multiple staff members can offer the expertise, scale of economy and flexibility they need, without adding unnecessary overhead.

2. What kind of resources/infrastructure do you have in place? It’s important to know that the agency is large enough to have the resources in-house to get the job done efficiently and effectively. This would include back-office capabilities, such as a consistent billing/budget tracking system, IT infrastructure, online media directories and compatible software, as well as a full-time staff and a record of financial stability.

3. What’s your firm’s focus? If the firm offers PR, advertising, marketing communications and website development in-house, you have to decide if you really want a jack-of-all-trades or a specialist. If you’re looking specifically for PR and media relations, why pay for the overhead of the agency’s artist or web designer that you aren’t using? A good PR firm has relationships with other specialists and can help you find the right art studio or web design firm to fit your needs and budget, without burdening you with the overhead … or the limited style/capabilities … of the in-house guy.

4. How long have you been in business? Lots of small PR shops pop up when times get tough and former corporate PR people retire early and decide to become PR consultants. While such executives offer interesting experience, you want to make sure that their agency business is not just a stop-gap measure to sustain them until the next corporate job comes along. You want to deal with a PR firm principal that has a solid, stable track record. Ask your peers and the reporters who cover your industry for recommendations.

5. Who are your other clients? You want to make sure that they have experience in your industry – or an industry that faces similar challenges – and in your product/service segment, but that they do not work for any of your direct competitors. If your work is business-to-business and most of their clients’ work is business-to-consumer, you may want to probe a little deeper to make sure they understand the trends and issues that affect your business specifically and have the skill set to help you. 

6. How will my budget rank among those of your other clients? If your budget is substantially smaller than most of the agency’s clients, you may not get all the attention you want or deserve. Conversely, if you will be their largest client, they may not have the infrastructure or capacity to adequately handle your work.

7. Who will be on my account team? It’s important to know who the core members on your account will be and what their roles will be. While you want senior attention, you don’t want to waste your budget having the president of the firm handle the lowest level tasks. A good agency will maximize the impact of your budget by assigning different tasks to different staffer members at the appropriate level.

Once you’ve obtained answers to these questions, you’ll be able to make a more informed and more objective decision. Before deciding, though, ask yourself one final question: How’s your chemistry with the firm’s personnel? Make sure they have the energy level and the enthusiasm you’re looking for and, ultimately, that you will enjoy working with them.

Lessons They Don’t Teach in College

Over the holiday break, a few students shared with me some of the things they were learning in their college courses. And, to tap my experience, they asked me about the things that aren’t taught in college.

Now, experience is said to be what you get when you make a mistake. So in some 30 years of working with more than 75 client organizations, I guess I’ve gained more than my share of “experience.”

Here are the first 10 lessons learned that came to mind from our discussions:

1. You can’t proofread your materials enough. Don’t trust your PC’s spell-check function, because it does not catch everything, especially when your typo spells another word. Have another set of eyes look it over.

2. If there’s a typo in your document, it’s going to be where it will do the most damage and/or cause the most embarrassment – such as in a phone number, the chairman’s name or the company’s name. Triple check those areas!

3. To go fast, start slow. Take the time to think something through before you act or respond. Otherwise, if you rush too quickly, you may end up spending a lot more time doing damage control and trying to dig yourself out of a hole.

4. Be very careful with your email messages. Take time to carefully consider your message – and assume that it will be shared with the world. Once you hit the “send” button, you’ve lost all control of its audience. An accidental click on “reply all” has torpedoed many careers.

5. Don’t forget the human touch. Be nice and treat others the way you’d like to be treated. Your mother was right – being nice doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it can make someone’s day. In the crush of daily business, we all welcome a little courtesy and warmth.

6. Maintain a positive attitude, so that people actually look forward to dealing with you. I once knew someone who found fault with everything. While his work was great, his toxic attitude made people hate his calls … and that cost him several opportunities.

7. Keep your word and do what you say you’re going to do … if not a little more. Make honesty and integrity your hallmarks. They lead to trust, and trust is everything in today’s world.

8. Keep a sense of humor. A laugh can break the ice, defuse an explosive situation, put someone at ease, relieve stress or help you to move beyond a problem.

9. Never disparage anyone, no matter how much they deserve it. I know, it’s hard. But the person you want to call an idiot will turn out to be the boss’s or client’s friend, nephew, sister-in-law, golfing partner, fraternity brother, etc. Trust me on this one!

10. Business is still all about relationships. Technology is great, when applied properly, but it’s no substitute for real relationships. Success today is not just what you know or who you know, it’s who knows – and trusts – you.

What lessons learned would you share with a student?

Your Biggest PR Priority for 2010

With the coming of a New Year, we typically set new priorities.

For many companies, our 2009 priorities leaned toward survival … such as keeping the business alive, shifting market focus, keeping employee morale up during dreaded downsizing and finding new business.

In 2010, many companies have already made the tough decisions, done the most difficult work and are now able to focus on rebuilding their businesses.

But the big question is: Where do we start?

Our corporate actions of 2009 may have weakened or changed our relationships with our most important constituents, our customers, our employees, our regulators or our shareholders.

Or perhaps our silence amidst the economic storms made the marketplace think we didn’t survive the storms.

With that in mind, what is your biggest PR priority for 2010? Perhaps it’s regaining the trust of a key public, abandoning the bunker mentality or coming out with new messaging … maybe it’s repositioning the company in the market place or implementing a social media strategy … maybe it’s staying the course.

Whatever it is, please share. And let us know how your 2010 top PR priority differs from your biggest PR priority of 2009.

After all, a new year with new priorities should give us all new energy, direction and achievement.

Business Phrases You’d Like to Kill

In our unscientific survey of communicators and executives to find the business buzzwords that should be banned, many of you nominated phrases that drove you nuts.

So, as a follow-up to last week’s post on biz buzzwords to be banned, here are the phrases that  you’d like banished from business communications – along with some of your comments related to the offending phrases:

1. At the end of the day (Has displaced “the bottom line”)

2. It is what it is (Of course it is. Isn’t it?)

3. Teachable moment (Aren’t they all?)

4. Having said that / That being said (I’m going to keep talking)

5. It’s all about the brand / Live the brand (What happened to the customer?)

6. Let’s take (the discussion) offline (So I can beat you up in private!)

7. Let me wrap my head around that (Imagine the mess that would make!)

8. Out of the box / Outside the box (… and into the toilet)

9. Reach out (Can’t you just say “call” or “write”?)

10. User engagement (When’s the wedding? For the ring, he went to Jared!)

Thanks to all for contributing!

We also received a few contributions – real-world quotes – that go beyond mere irritation and I just don’t know how to categorize them. But still, they’re worth sharing:

A. “The glide path of mission critical work streams”

B. “We need to market our green initiative, although we really don’t have one.”

Amazing! You can’t make this kind of stuff up.

What similar one-liners have you heard someone utter?

Results of Biz Buzzwords to be Banned Survey

The results are in. A few weeks ago, in a rather unscientific survey of LinkedIn group members and Bianchi Biz Blog followers, we asked you for the business buzzwords that bug you to distraction. You responded with all kinds of words … and a few phrases, to boot.

Without further ado, here are the “winners” you selected for the Top Business Buzzwords of 2009 to Be Banned:

1. Right-size (Verb, to reduce staff and/or make budget cuts)

2. Onboard (Verb, to bring in a new hire or client)

3. Dashboard (Noun, for a quick report)

4. Blow-back (Noun, for strong reaction or resistance)

5. Engage (Verb, as in “engage in meaningful conversation” rather than “talk with”)

6. Circle back (Verb, to follow up)

7. Ping (Verb, to reach out electronically)

8. Cloud (Adjective, as in “cloud computing, cloud CRM, cloud data storage,” etc.)

9. Stimulus (Noun-turned-adjective, coupled with the words plan, package or program, ad nauseam)

10. Solution (Noun, used instead of product or service, as in “We sell transportation solutions … not cars.”)

Some of these winners (losers?) are perfectly fine words, but their overuse, misuse or “re-purposing” (another buzzword?) has put them on the hit list for many people.

Next time, we’ll post some of the phrases that drove you crazy in 2009. Thanks for your contributions … and feel free to keep sharing!

What’s Your Do-over for 2009?

As the line in the old Frank Sinatra hit “My Way” (http://bit.ly/6GsL1s) said, “Regrets, I’ve had a few …”

This past year, in my personal life AND in my business life, there were a few things that I wish I could do over. Perhaps there are a few things you would like a “do-over” on, too. 

As we anticipate the New Year, it’s good to look at what we could have done better in 2009 … in hope that it will help guide us to further improvement in 2010.

If I had one “do-over” on the business side in 2009, it would be the same as my do-over for my personal life – to spend more time with the people who are most important to me … and to let them know how special they are. This includes employees, clients, journalists, peers, suppliers, friends and family.

Because ultimately, in spite of all of the attention on apps, social media and technology, success — in business and in life – still comes down to relationships.

There were a few things we did right this year, which helped to position us for a better 2010, such as:

• Stepped up  our pro bono PR support for several local charities — enabling us to give back to the community, earn some new friends and keep a talented PR staff intact, productive and motivated;
• Added some new project clients and continued to diversify our client base in the business-to-business realm;
• Jumped into social media with both feet, allowing us to share our earned experience and insight with clients; and
• Worked with our clients to find more effective methods and increase the ROI of their PR, in spite of reduced budgets.

But it’s what we learn from those things we’d like to do over that is most enlightening.

What did you do in your professional life this year that you would like to do over?

Go ahead, share with us via the Reply button. Admitting the mistake is the first step.

(Next week, we’ll post the winning entries in our unscientific “Business Buzzwords to Be Banned” survey.)

Business Buzzwords to be Banned

Here are some of the early nominations for the Top 10 Business Buzzwords of 2009 to Be Banned … words that have been driven some folks to distraction. These nominations (and annotations) came from business executives, marketers and communicators across about a sampling of about a dozen different LinkedIn Groups.

1. Takeaway (Noun, for what we learned)

2. Right-sizing (Euphemism for layoffs and/or budget cuts)

3. Repositioning (Euphemism for the euphemism “right-sizing”)

4. Obamanomics (Try saying that one five times fast!)

5. Cloud (Adjective, as in “cloud computing, cloud CRM, cloud data storage,” etc.)

6. Ping (Verb, to “reach out” electronically)

7. Onboard  (Verb, to bring in a new hire or client)

8. Outboard (Like the verb outplace, but more in the pirate spirit of forcing someone to walk the plank)

9. Stimulus (Becomes an ugly word when you repeat it several million times)

10. Socialize (As in “socialize a proposal” to mean share or get another opinion)

11. Engage (As in “engage our audience in a meaningful conversation” instead of “talk with”)

12. Dashboard (Instead of report)

13. Reimagining (Remaking something different from the original)

14. Circle back (For follow up)

15. Blow-back (For strong reaction or resistance)

Even though we asked for words, several contributors offered phrases they love to hate (along with their reaction to said phrases), including:

1. At the end of the day (Has this replaced “the bottom line is …”?)

2. Going over the wall (Is this the sibling of “out of the box?”)

3. Reach out (Instead of call or write)

4. It is what it is (Of course it is! Isn’t it?)

5. It’s all about the brand (Except when it’s all about the customer)

6. Teachable moment (Aren’t they all?)

7. Social networking (Isn’t networking inherently social?)

8. User engagement (When’s the wedding?)

9. The glide path of mission critical work streams (Wait. What?)

Don’t see the business buzzwords that you would like to be banned? Send your nomination in as a comment to this post. Don’t wait. Nominations close Dec. 5.

5 Tips for Pitching Your Story in the 24/7 Web World

Guest blogger: Media relations expert Jessica Killenberg, Vice President – Account Services, Bianchi PR      

       According to a recent 2009 Journalist Survey on Media Relations Practices by Bulldog Reporter/TEKgroup International, Web demands are “insane” for journalists. Digital media often requires more work without more staff. In some cases, triple the amount of output volume is expected from journalists, who are expected to feed the voracious web monster 24/7.

         As PR practitioners, we must be mindful of the strain journalists are under and be respectful when pitching story ideas. So, how can we help journalists cut through the clutter and deliver content that is applicable to their readers?

        Here are five tips that can help YOU help THEM:

 1.      It all starts with a well-tailored media list. And by that we mean pitching the right story to the right reporter on the right beat. There are plenty of resources that can help you accomplish this MediAtlas, Cision, specific publication Web sites, etc. You can also use Wikipedia as a starting point for media in a particular city or Google for publication categories, such as “healthcare management magazines” or “automotive aftermarket magazines.”

 2.      Opt for targeted one-on-one media pitching. While mass distribution of a news release is often standard, in most cases a targeted pitch to a few key media can bring the results you are ultimately looking for. Develop your media “wish list” and go for it one at a time. Keeping in mind that your topic needs to be worthy of that publication and its audience. Unfortunately, not every story idea will be front page Wall Street Journal material, but it could be just the right story for a key trade or local publication.

 3.      Provide the reporter with as much background information as possible. But make sure the information is synthesized for ease of use. Provide key points and important data. This can be in the form of a brief fact sheet, backgrounder or a chart/graph. It can even be past news releases, if they help provide bench depth on the topic you are pitching.

 4.      Have appropriate expert sources available. Not only within your organization, but perhaps outside as well, so the reporter can get the complete story. For example, consumers of your product, participants in your study, beneficiaries of your charitable contribution, etc. And make sure those sources are well prepared with a briefing memo that contains possible questions, talking points and information on the reporter and publication. 

 5.      Have hi-res images ready. We can’t say this enough … “EVERYONE READS PICTURES” and with every story you pitch, you ought to make sure there is a high-resolution image to go along with it. It will certainly help increase the chances of your story making it in print. For print publications, you’ll want to provide 300 to 600 dpi (dots per inch) images in a .jpg format. For newspapers, 300 dpi in a .jpg format will work best. And for online publications, resolution is irrelevant, as the web image will need to expand or shrink to 72 dpi due to computer monitor settings.

        Any other tips come to mind? Let us know …

Five Lean Steps to Stretch Your PR Budget

It’s no secret that corporate PR clients are under increasingly intense pressure to do more with less – less money, less staff and less time. If there’s anything we can learn from the product design and manufacturing industries, it’s that there are ways to make our PR processes leaner – that is, more efficient, faster and at higher quality levels.

As overworked executives, corporate PR folks are often forced to be reactive. To keep tasks moving, they pass them off to their staff or their agency as soon as possible … sometimes just a little too soon.

In many cases, we can go faster by starting slowly. By forcing ourselves to take extra time upfront, we gain the benefit of considering the entire task at hand – from start to finish. We can gather everything needed to accomplish the task. And we can identify and explain our goals, preferences and specifications to those who will be involved.

Here are five steps that can help accelerate your PR projects, while stretching your budget by cutting costs, eliminating re-work and reducing cycle time:

1) Take the time to define the project in detail – approach, objectives, resources, timing, budget, targets, key messages, etc.;

2) Once the project is defined, share this definition with the internal people who will be involved in the final approval, so there’s a consensus of purpose. Get them on-board and alerted to the timing at the onset. For example, on news release projects, we’ve found that nothing causes more delays and changes than the approval process … in some cases this back-and-forth can double or triple the project’s total cost;

3) Once internal alignment is secured, gather and pass all the necessary information to the staff or agency person who’s going to handle the project. The more complete the information and direction provided upfront, the more likely the first iteration will be on-target … meaning less or no re-work (as well as more satisfaction);

4) Start working immediately on artwork, photos or video needed to support the project. There’s no sense in streamlining the writing portion of the project if the artwork delays the project’s completion or adds rush charges in order to meet the deadline; and

5) After the project is completed, identify improvements that could be made to your process for the next project.

What have you done to make your PR processes leaner?