7 Questions to Ask a PR Agency

Are you wondering “what questions should I ask a PR agency?” when you’re thinking about adding a PR partner to your team, you’ve come to the right place.

Whether you’re new to hiring a public relations agency, or you want to make tweaks to your vetting process, we’re here to help ensure you’re prepared as possible.

Hiring any service provider can feel daunting. It’s an investment of time, talent, and treasure. Ideally, you will find a go-to team you can rely on for years to come.

When it comes to hiring a public relations firm, you’re likely on a deadline, and you want your project to go well and for your organization to grow. 

So, what are the right questions to ask to help make sure you’re making the right decision for your business or nonprofit?

Question 1 - What is your process?

Every PR firm or provider has their own methodology. When you ask your prospective public relations partner what their process is, their answer should give you confidence that they can deliver a service and outcome you’re looking for.

At Kwedar & Co., we’ve been honing our process for over two decades. We always begin with strategy. 

For new clients wanting to make an announcement (launching a new product, service, or business; announcing a new executive or promotion, etc.), our first phase generally entails a distribution and messaging strategy, content creation, and a custom media list. 

In our second phase, we distribute your news, coordinate any interviews, report on any coverage (and more, depending on the client’s needs). The second phase lasts anywhere from two months to many years.

Our process accomplishes a few things:

1. The phased approach delivers value at each milestone

2. It allows you to budget accurately

3. It does not tie you to us longer than you would like 

4. You know exactly what deliverables to expect in each phase

So, when you ask this question, listen to see if the response is a fit for your needs and timeline.

Question 2 - How do your fees work?

There are three main fee structures for PR firms:

1. Billing by the hour - fees are structured based on the quantity of hours provided in a project or each month.

2. Billing by media result - the firm charges for every single successful media placement. If you appear in an article, you get a bill.

3. Billing based on deliverables - fees are structured based on services provided in a project or each month.

Which method do you feel most comfortable with? At Kwedar & Co., we build projects and retainers based on deliverables, so you always know what to expect from us. Some clients may prefer to buy time from their service provider. Others may only want to pay based on successful media placement. There are pros and cons to each (as well as ethical issues, particularly with #2), and, as the buyer, you can decide not to work with a PR firm if you don’t care for their fee structures. And, vice versa, the PR firm can decline to work with you if you only want to pay by the hour, for instance, and that’s not their billing model.

To learn more about how much a PR campaign costs, please click here.

Question 3 - Are you a specialist in my niche?

There are two kinds of service providers in pretty much every industry: specialists and generalists.

Full disclosure: at Kwedar & Co., we’re generalists. 

1. We’re so insatiably curious, it’s one of our core values (Delightfully Curious). To confine us to one niche would be soul-crushing. Instead, we get to be honeybees, cross pollinating ideas across disparate industries and organizations. We love it!

2. With decades upon decades of combined experience, we’ve worked in almost every single industry.

3. When it comes to PR, we’re actually deeply uncomfortable with specializing in a single niche because we want clients to feel safe knowing that there’s absolutely no conflict of interest with us representing a competitor in your vertical. If a reporter calls looking for an expert in your industry, guess what? We don’t have to choose between clients.

What does specialist v. generalist mean for you?

You get to decide what’s important to you and your project. Do you feel like you have to work with someone who has every single reporter in your industry niche on speed dial right this second, with no time to nurture a relationship on your behalf? Then that is absolutely your prerogative.

From our perspective, we have found that our ability to create compelling, smart content regardless of niche (and we’ve worked in the niche-iest of niches!) combined with our knack for establishing and nurturing relationships on our client’s behalf has proven to be extremely effective.

We strongly encourage you to think about who “gets you” versus who is bragging about their Rolodex. Reporters change jobs just like everyone else, and if someone is guaranteeing you news coverage, well… see #4.

Question 4 - Do you guarantee news coverage?

Confession: this is a trick question. 

We do not believe it is ethical to guarantee news coverage. News should be an unbiased report.

If you want guaranteed placement, buy an ad. If someone is guaranteeing you a news story, there’s something amiss, and, in our opinion, you should not proceed.

Question 5 - Is my story newsworthy?

You should definitely ask your prospective PR firm if they think your story has broad enough appeal to be a news announcement.

Some announcements are really more appropriate as a blog or social post, or an email to your database. If you’re announcing a promotion or sale, for instance, that’s really marketing. If the sale is connected to a broader story, then it might be worth it.

In general, a reporter won’t cover that you’re running a sale. You need to be able to answer the question “why is this happening?” with something other than “to make money” or “to move inventory.”

PR and marketing can and should work very well together, but knowing the difference between the two - and working with a service provider who understands that difference - will help set you up for success.

And, don’t worry if the story as it stands isn’t newsworthy. Pick a partner who can help you create news value beyond your initial idea.

Say you make pies and you want to have a sale to get some awareness. A great PR partner will guide you to host the sale around Pi Day, donate 3.14% of proceeds to a local elementary STEM program, and pitch you to local TV stations to bake your famous, no-fail crust on air. 

Now, we have a story.

Question 6 - What type of campaign do you recommend for my news?

Similar to the process question, this is a good question to ask to better understand how your prospective firm works with clients and how they think about client news. There’s no real right answer in a vacuum, but you should ask it to ensure you - again - feel comfortable with the response and that you feel like you’re being heard.

Do not, however, ask this question to get free advice, or to expect an in-depth response with creative ideas and strategy ready to go after 15 minutes of knowing each other.

Instead, listen to what their initial thoughts are, and see whether it goes against or enhances your expectations.

Question 7 - What length of engagement do you recommend for us?

Every PR firm is different, and we all do business differently. 

That said, we caution you to be wary of multi-year contracts, paying tens of thousands of dollars per month, without a clear understanding of the deliverables you can expect each month. 

The length of time, the budget, and the deliverables should make sense and work for you!

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This is just a beginning to help you feel more equipped as you start to meet PR partners in your region or niche. Hopefully you feel more informed about some great questions to ask, and how to determine if a PR firm is a great fit for your organization, needs, and goals.

If you’d like to discuss your PR project with us (and practice some of these questions!), please schedule a consultation today! We look forward to visiting with you and helping you get your journey started.

About The Author

Lauren Kwedar Cockerell is founder and president of Kwedar & Co. She is also the firm’s lead PR and marketing strategist, host of our podcast The Impatient Entrepreneur, as well as a frequent podcast guest.

Over the past 20+ years, she has worked with 100s of leaders and organizations to create PR and marketing strategies and tactics that support visions and reach goals.

To connect with Lauren, please send an email above, or book a consultation.