The Best PR Consultancy for you
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The term Public Relations means different things to different people, hinging on your definition of 'the public'. This will mean very different things to a politician or a trade union than to a soft drinks manufacturer or investment bank. Different publics require a different approach to public relations.
When it comes to finding a PR Consultancy for your company or organisation, it therefore helps to be familiar with all the different kinds of PR, the kinds of firms that carry them out and the methods they use to do it.
In this Buyers Guide we aim to split the PR sector up into different sub-sectors and categories to help you identify the kind of company you should be looking for.
Consumer/Lifestyle PR
Companies which sell products or services to the consumer market generally use PR as an alternative method of marketing to advertising. Getting your product featured in articles or programmes or websites that the public know and trust not only gains it extra publicity but can improve its cache and status.
Unlike advertising’s scattergun approach, consumer PR is focused and targeted and can help your product become associated with certain groups or trends.
Consumer and lifestyle PR consultants will have contacts in the consumer media – glossy newspaper supplements, commuter press, consumer websites and TV shows are all excellent channels through which to publicise consumer goods.
Financial Public Relations
Publicly traded companies, stock exchanges, ratings agencies, banks and investment houses, accountancy firms and even the government all need to communicate with the financial press from time to time.
Whether it’s a case of creating a buzz around an IPO or putting an optimistic spin on high inflation figures, a good financial PR consultancy will have the right contacts in the right publications and know exactly who to go to for quotes to back up your angle. They’ll be specialists at presenting a story to financial journalists in such a way as to maximise the chance of publication.
Crisis Communications
When things go wrong and your misfortune results in a big news story you can find yourself drowning in a sea of negative publicity despite all your best efforts to put things right.
PR Consultants specialising in Crisis Communications can help you find out what’s being published or broadcast and help you make sure there’s an alternative angle included to redress the balance.
Internal/Corporate Communications
Companies or organisations with large workforces can sometimes find it hard to speak to all employees with a consistent message and tone of voice. At times of uncertainty such as during changes of ownership, redundancies, changes to pensions, organisational restructuring etc this can cause problems.
Internal Communications specialists can help you make sure you’re getting the right message out to your workforce at the right time to prevent disruptions to productivity and morale.
Industrial Relations
Not just limited to gaining coverage in the trade journals. Industrial relations can also cover maintaining good relationships with trade bodies, professional associations, industry analysts and consultants, trade unions and government departments.
Each industry sector will have PR consultants that specialise in that area, having built up contacts over a long period.
Government Relations
For some organisations the realm of public policy is a constant battlefield, as changes can impact massively upon their members’ lives or business prospects.
Government Relations specialists, through media relationships and direct lobbying of policymakers themselves can make sure the concerns of your organisation are not neglected by those in office. PR consultants in this field will know who to talk to and when, which channels to use and who to hire to provide evidence to back up your position.
The above categories are not set in stone and the boundaries between them can be fuzzy. Large PR consultancies may work in all of the above sectors and there may be small consultancies that are even more specialised.
The type of PR company and its suitability for your needs are largely determined by the contacts and influence they have amassed in your particular area. By looking at a company’s list of current and previous clients as well as a portfolio of their recent work, you can get a snapshot of how relevant and influential they currently are.
