Tips for Recruiting PR and Advertising Agencies: Cost of Hiring, Media Relations, Networks, Use of New Media
The advent of new media and the internet in particular, has changed the dynamics of business transactions and marketing to the extent that companies and organisations desirous of staying in business, have no option but to make good use of PR and advertising agencies or professionals to boost demand for their products or outcompete others for image.
Strategic Marketing Skills
Taking strategic marketing decisions that ensure the development of brand loyalty by existing customers while building pools of new customers on daily basis, is no longer an issue of gamble but one that is a necessity for ensuring business success. The adoption of strategic decisions that are born out of strategic planning on how to meaningfully engage a company’s publics, are the hallmark of good PR and advertising agencies that should be hired by organisations and businesses.
It should be pointed out, therefore, that the decision to hire a Public Relations or advertising firm, is just as important as getting the right kind of firm to work with. In order to recruit the appropriate PR agency, and/or advertising firm, business managers and CEOs may consider the following guidelines:
Media Relations Skills
Media relations have been and continue to be one of the key branches and tools for effective Public Relations and advertising. For PR agencies, media relations skills and networking with media professionals, are necessary for running effective public relations campaigns through the mass media. This is also true for advertising firms.
Making the maximum marketing impacts through media campaigns does not only involve getting a statement or a piece of ad in the media. How quick and prompt one can get a message or ad in the right media for targeted audience is a skill of media relations. How the message is structured, how the ad is designed, where the message or ad is placed in a newspaper or magazine are all important considerations. In the case of radio and television, when and how a message or ad is aired or broadcast is important.
Business leaders and managers, therefore, need to assess the media relations capabilities of PR agencies and advertising firms before taking a decision to hire one firm or the other. One best way of doing this assessment is through a quick market research and survey of media houses and journalists about which PR agencies and advertising firms they feel convenient dealing with and why.
Networks of PR and Advertising Agencies
In recruiting a firm for Public Relations or advertising jobs, organisations need to assess the networking capabilities of potential firms to be recruited. Knowing and dealing with the appropriate people at the right time is what matters most in PR. Decisions that affect businesses negatively or positively are taken by people and having a network that allows for easy access to the people who matter when issues crop up, should be a fundamental asset of good PR and advertising firms. Before going in for a firm, therefore, it is important to assess whether the firm has strong links with people who matter as far as matters affecting a particular business sector is concerned.
Right Agency for Right PR Job
Simply, don’t recruit a firm that specialises in mobile phone advertising to advertise or market clothing or automobiles. Similarly, PR professionals and agencies have their areas of specialisations. So for example, you don’t hire a public relations firm that specialises in crises management in the oil and mining industry, to help market a political candidate.
Web Advertising and Web Public Relations
Web advertising and web public relations are fast replacing traditional media advertising and public relations. This has been the result of the advent of new media such as the internet, iPods, and mobile phones, among others which have brought about online marketing or e-marketing. Today, social networking platforms like face book and others have become popular platforms for advertising and doing public relations campaigns. Good PR and advertising firms cannot, but acquaint themselves with these new trends.
In recruiting a firm, therefore, there is the need to find out if it is capable of meeting the challenges of having to integrate traditional media advertising or public relations as the case may be, with online advertising, marketing or public relations.
Cost of Hiring PR or Ad Agency
The other considerations after the above factors have been taking into account, will be the cost of recruiting the agency. The ultimate concern should be quality of service but the best is to get an agency that cherishes excellence and operates on the basis of value for money. Such firms will usually charge based on the services it renders.
