Working with a PR agency can be a very efficient way of managing your external communications campaigns and strategies. By treating that agency as an extension of your team and sharing information with them, you will make the most out of the relationship and achieve positive results.
Investing time in preparing an agency brief will save you time in the long run. The more information you provide, the better they can tailor their work to your business needs. As a general rule, the following points should be covered:
describe your current situation
Give an overview of the company background, your sector’s current climate and your overall business objectives. Identify the reason and need for a PR campaign and who will be their main point of contact.
what do you want pr to achieve?
Give a concise statement of the effect the campaign should have on your audience, your timelines and state your objectives, e.g.:
- To raise awareness of your company, product, service or charity
- To educate audiences or provide practical help or instruction
identify our audience
Whether your audience is consumer or business based, it is important to include as much information as possible in your PR brief. Any customer data you already have can be valuable in order to identify the sector and type of media appropriate for PR targeting.
existing materials
Any existing copy, statistics, presentations or links to articles make useful background information and providing these to a PR agency may well save you time and money. In addition, information from any complementary advertising and marketing campaigns running alongside the potential PR activity, and any collateral that has been effective in the past will give a clear indication of what your company likes or dislikes.
corporate identity
All creative campaigns will comply with your corporate guidelines. If you provide details of these when giving a brief, any proposal or PR plan will take these into consideration at the outset.
Brand considerations, straplines or other mandatory elements can also be communicated at this point.
make sure you communicate what you don’t want
From campaigns that didn’t work to budget limitations and corporate constraints, most people have a good idea of what they don’t want. In order to give a really clear brief that will hit the mark, it is a good idea to share these experiences with your PR agency.
To find out more about how to brief a PR agency, get in touch with a member of our team at thebluedoor on 01252 899 969 or e-mail info[at]thebluedoor.com.
