Expensive, inflexible and opaque - we have been working in the PR industry for 20 years and encounter them every day: the prejudices against PR agencies. But what are the facts behind the myths? In this blog post, we dispel seven common prejudices against PR agencies once and for all.
1. prejudice: "PR agencies have an eternally long lead time"
Dozens of meetings followed by no fewer concepts: PR agencies are said to have an eternally long lead time before they start their actual work. But we are just as good at thorough preparation as we are at speed and flexibility. For our clients Edelweiss and Visit Denver we have organized two major events in a very short space of time over the last two years. two major events at at Zurich's main railway station and for Selligent Marketing Cloud in just two weeks we created an international video campaign in just two weeks and placed it in the media.
2. prejudice: "PR agencies talk a good game but don't deliver"
PR advisors are all talkers? Yes, we can talk - to journalists, influencers, film producers and catering companies. We put our heart and soul into every project and type our fingers to the bone for our clients, make phone calls until our ears get hot, celebrate successes like our own birthday and most importantly: we deliver results.
3. prejudice: "PR agencies only send out mass mailings"
Of course, PR agencies use tools for broad-based mailings. But for us, we prefer quality over quantity. Instead of bombarding journalists with media releases with no news value, we supply the media with individual and customized stories - by e-mail and telephone. We use our large network for this and also research in advance which department is best suited to the topic.
4. prejudice: "PR agencies always want to sell you more"
In addition to the media dispatch event and a PR stunt organize? Sure, we're happy to do that, but only where it's necessary. If potential customers can't offer us an exciting story or unique content, we can't tell them anything. And if there is a lack of content we are happy to create it ourselves. As part of a project, our clients receive extensive content for their own channels in addition to media coverage.
5. prejudice: "PR agencies deliver no results, or only results that are difficult to measure"
If customers want measurable results, we are happy to provide them with tangible results. On the one hand, the result of PR work can be measured in terms of the number of reports published and the advertising value of an article. On the other hand, it can be measured by the impact on the customer, such as an increased number of visitors to the website after a report, inquiries for partnerships and much more. Incidentally, we always define the yardstick to be used at the end of the project with our clients at the outset.
6. prejudice: "Nobody needs PR agencies - anyone can do their work"
You can also write to media and influencers and send them products yourself. True, general editorial addresses are also easy to find online. But does this approach also pay off in terms of corporate strategy? And will the media always report on a product just because it is in their mailbox? Building long-term relationships with your target media and influencers and campaigns with a strategy behind them are more efficient. In the end, we may send out fewer products, but every mention hits the mark.
7. prejudice: "PR agencies have no cost transparency"
PR agencies have a reputation for regularly ripping off their clients and charging hefty commissions. Yes, of course we don't work for free, but our work often costs only a fraction of the price of traditional advertising. At the start of each project, we set a fixed agency budget with a corresponding catalog of services that can be monitored by the client at any time. We also keep our clients continuously informed about the current status of the project and the budget so that there are never any nasty surprises.
So there is much more behind the two letters P & R than all the common prejudices against PR agencies suggest. If you want to investigate the facts behind the seven myths mentioned yourself, you can read our storytelling and content agency at any time and contact us - we look forward to disproving all preconceptions!