Yesterday I wrote about the process of finding a new PR agency. Today, I want to continue that (admittedly lengthy) discussion by providing feedback to the PR agencies in general.

I participated in a lot of pitches during my tenure at an agency, so it was interesting to me to be on the receiving side of the final presentations. During all of the presentations, a few things stood out to me:

  • Many agencies spent up to a third of their presentation time discussing the state of my company’s market. It led to an interesting discussion, and certainly showed they had done their homework. But it wasn’t new information to us, and I would have preferred they spend more time talking about their recommendations based on the data.
  • Almost all agencies claimed to be social media experts and introduced their version of the social media release and blogger relations. Yet only a few could produce client references to talk about social media beyond having a blog. And only one of those references actually used the agency to execute.
  • During the initial round of calls through the presentation stage, some agencies presented some very cool ideas. Coming from an agency, I had the sense to confirm they were included in the budget parameters provided. Not surprisingly, none were. I’m all for showing out-of-the-box thinking, but I really wanted to see agencies get creative within my budget parameters.

I realize I’m focusing on the negative, but I do want to say that I was impressed with how many smart PR folks I got to meet during the process. Two agencies in particular had incredible presentations that provided brilliant insight and very creative approaches. They weren’t the flashiest or the most graphic – but they had the best and most relevant content. And they provided out-of-the box ideas that fit within the existing program and budget, and showed the most creativity I’ve seen. It put me in a fantastic position of having two really strong candidates to choose from.

For agencies pitching new clients, I offer the following tidbits to consider (realizing that each client is looking for something slightly different):

  • Make the initial fact-finding process easy. I don’t want to wait for a specific VP to return from vacation to get the basic questions asked – particularly when almost anyone can address them.
  • Use your time wisely. It’s great that your executives have a lot of history, but we all know they won’t be running the day-to-day activity. I need to be comfortable with the entire team.
  • Focus less on me, and more on how you can help me. If you need to state the obvious, do it quickly. But remember we’re more interested in how you can impact the program than hearing the same market sizing stats that we’ve already memorized.
  • Creativity counts. But it’s not simply about coming up with snazzy graphics. Content is still king in this industry, and showing that you can be creative with the existing assets is huge.
  • Be original. Your client case studies are interesting, but it’s obvious when you’re repurposing their plans for ours. And it’s sad when your plan looks a lot like the other agencies’.
  • Be realistic. Don’t wow my executives with consumer projects that will never work in my space, or with ideas that you know I don’t have the money or resources for.
  • Be smart about the references you provide. A laundry list of CEOs from past clients is impressive, but hearing how an agency helped a peer of mine be successful is much more meaningful.

For those of you on the client side, did I miss anything?