There has been growing tension between PR agencies and in-house teams lately, fueled by the perception that agencies are not delivering what clients want from them. This trend has intensified due to the media environment in which there are many more communicators than journalists, as well as due to the increasing pressure on companies of different sizes and profiles to be as visible as possible to their customers, partners, and investors with reduced internal teams and budgets.
More and more often, we hear from communicators on the client side that their agency partners do not generate media releases in the quantity and quality that were expected at the beginning of the collaboration.
Although media relations are not the only role of a PR agency, it is still considered a key component of the agency’s offering—especially for companies in the early stages of development that are just starting to tell their story or for established brands that want to redefine themselves. Clients rely on their PR partners to be strategic storytellers, tailoring communications to capture the attention of journalists. However, some agencies easily give up on this approach, or worse, wait until clients complain and then offer to pay for media coverage.
Agencies rightly point to a challenging media environment in which it is increasingly difficult to get deserved posts, and paid content is a faster way to reach readers. That’s why it’s important to develop more tactics to reach the target audience, which starts with setting a measurable strategy, defining goals, and focusing on results. For example, a persuasive LinkedIn post about a new service might be more effective in reaching potential customers than a mention in a trade publication.
In order to adapt to change, agencies must proactively embrace the circumstances, educate clients, and offer creative alternatives.
Agencies are constantly expanding their services to meet client needs and increase revenue, but this can backfire if they don’t perform well in all categories. Before making such a leap, they should assess their core strengths and focus on strengthening those competencies.
Similarly, clients should be wary when an agency claims to “do it all.” While it might seem appealing to consolidate agency relationships, it’s worth asking if one agency can really excel in media relations, positioning, internal communications, social media, content creation, crisis management, etc.
Recently, there have been discussions about the advantages of “full-service” agencies in relation to specialized companies and the model of contractual cooperation in relation to project engagement. The bottom line is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Many agencies excel in multiple disciplines, but it is important to understand where they really have expertise and where they may be promising what they cannot fully deliver.
One of the solutions for the specific needs of clients can be encouraging openness to cooperation with external resources by agency leaders. Given that after the pandemic, a large number of communication experts decided to start their own businesses and now act as consultants for certain communication niches.
It is a devastating fact that more than half of procurement professionals, who play a key role in evaluating and selecting agency partners, believe that agencies make too many promises that they cannot deliver. In order to change this perception, internal communicators and agencies must jointly question the terms of cooperation and align on key performance indicators. It is important to have honest conversations about priorities and challenges, as soon as possible and as often as possible.