Comments on: PR agency guarantees: media coverage or your money back

By: Queen fan

Queen fan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:42:46 +0000

Methinks some PRniks protesteth too much…go Queeny!

By: inspiredworlds

inspiredworlds — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:19:37 +0000

isn’t that the purpose of engaging with PR agencies – to get coverage? PR agencies should be accountable and have metrics like coverage. while it shouldn’t be the sole determinant of success or payment of fees, it plays a large part in a successful PR campaign.

kudos to them for trying this. especially in such a tough economic environment, their clients will feel their fees are well spent.

By: Hollie

Hollie — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:03:46 +0000

This is a great site!..just stumbled across it via googleista. Good to see a new PR discussion site coming through.

Anyways, i promise my clients coverage all the time. come on! we all do in some way or another…its all about how you present it. Doesn’t always work but hey.

We have also set up a new social media division…so hello, no problems getting coverage there! facebook group and youtube page here i come.
Can we charge the same though? thoughts?…I am still trying to work out how to bill my clients on CPM instead of a full page ad.

By: rebecca camilleri

rebecca camilleri — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:01:07 +0000

Bold move, and has certainly succeeded in stirring the pot, however I prefer to operate in a more transparent, open-handed way and explain the way the PR-media relationship works, and that there are no guarantees when it comes to media coverage, even when the editor says you’re getting run, it can still get bumped at the 11th hour. Clients usually respond well to honesty and a straightforward approach. It also opens up the question as to what is considered valid, relevant or valuable coverage.

By: Tracy Jones

Tracy Jones — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 03:28:25 +0000

The PRIA specifically requires its members not to base remuneration solely on achieving results because they are not in a position to guarantee those results. Guaranteeing a certain level of media coverage is impossible because of the wide range of factors outside of the PR professional’s control. These can include the news value of the story and competing issues of the day/week/month.

What our members can do is provide professional advice on the best way to achieve results based on our professional training and experience. We should also temper that advice by pointing out the limitations of our power. We will do everything we can to build good relationships with your publics but in the end it is the quality of your product and its value to the target audience that determines whether it gets a run in the media.

Can you trust a doctor that guarantees a cure for cancer that all other medical practitioners have found untreatable? Would you believe an accountant who promises you will make a profit? PR is a professional service, not a product that can be made to specifications.

Tracy Jones
National President
Public Relations Institute of Australia

By: Veronica

Veronica — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:10:12 +0000

It’s understandable that clients want measurable results from any spend on PR, and clearly PR agencies need to measure their results and NOT their effort. Who cares if a lot of effort is made without the desired results being achieved? But guaranteeing media coverage is problematic. Any half competent PR professional can usually secure some sort of publicity or media coverage for a client, that is not the main difficulty. The challenge is to make sure that any media coverage is the sort that achieves the client’s objectives. Is it going to lead to improved reputation, increased sales, and happier clients? It’s never true that there is no such thing as bad publicity as clearly some is most undesirable, or it may be totally irrelevant to achieving the strategic goals of the client. It’s getting measurable results that achieve the client’s goals that really matters.

By: kasey

kasey — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:52:42 +0000

While I agree that PR is not just about media relations, I believe a results based pay structure to the media relations element of the campaign is admirable.
Having worked in agencies for many years I was subjected to pressure from senior management to put forward media relations ideas that were hardly worthy of getting editorial coverage and was many times faced with a disappointed client. Yes, they did get the benefits of PR beyond media relations but unfortunately the poor media results tarnished the rest of the campaign.
While I myself would prefer a bonus based system – the agency has a retainer fee and if they achieve above and beyond the coverage agreed to by client and agency, they get a bonus fee – I believe either system will help weed out bad media relations ideas.

By: Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:07:36 +0000

PAY the journalist? Surely that doesn’t actually happen in this country?!

By: indiancurry

indiancurry — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:19:00 +0000

Jen forgot another way which is to pay the concerned editor or journalist to publish the material. It’s not as though everything in PR is hunky dory over the table, it’s been done before …

By: archie bayvel

archie bayvel — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:56:28 +0000

In my PR life my agency guaranteed coverage for media briefs that we accepted. These briefs were subject to our judgment on whether or not they had legs. If they didn’t, they weren’t accepted under the guarantee deal. Sometimes they were accepted on the premise of best effort and let’s see; plus fees in advance (I had a lot of children at expensive schools). That way our agency won a strong record of success, a cast-iron reputation for honest dealing and met normal business practice of standing on our results. Normal, that is except for poseurs masquerading as PR people. Have you noticed, by the way, how many spelling+grammatical errors and typos there are among the commentators on this subject? What ad agency or publication could hire them? – Archie Bayvel, freelance writer (Ex: Bayvel PR, Golden Target winner, Melvel Advertising, The Australian, The Daily Mail, etc, etc.)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:39:02 +0000

Nick – some of us ‘vacuous account managers don’t have a choice but to be cost driven. But thanks for giving us an insight into what agency staffers think of their clients.

By: Ben Gotto Smith

Ben Gotto Smith — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:39:53 +0000

This approach inevitably leads to quantity not quality of coverage and perpetuates the old school myth that all publicity is good publicity. In this day and age fewer articles, better written, strategically placed in the right media benefit clients, agencies, readers and journalists alike.

By: Sally Romano

Sally Romano — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:12:06 +0000

Hi all, it’s the Publicity Queen here.
Well it’s great to see this debate continuing but to be honest, I can’t see what all the furore is about!
Perhaps some of your fears will be allayed when you read my comments that I’ve just posted on the original dynamic business blog (the link is at the top of this page).
This guarantee is not about undermining PR, it’s about adding value – as you will see from my post.
This is great stuff…
Sally

By: Sharon M

Sharon M — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:09:53 +0000

She’s dreaming unless of course every single client has a breaking news story to tell! I agree that this can only happen if she’s buying advertorial. No self-respecting journalist will publish a story unless it has weight or is of current interest so, it depends really of course who her clients are.

By: Leilani

Leilani — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:53:33 +0000

Being accountable to clients and delivering a measurable ROI is certainly a positive business approach and one that I’ve built thrive pr + communications on, but the tactic of guarantees with media relations is a disturbing. A great agency delivers more than publicity/media relations and therefore the picture of success may have nothing to do with media coverage.

There are several agencies I know of who offer a ‘money back’ promise so it’s not a first.

Our challenge as agency owners is that companies are already confused about PR and what it can deliver so this doesn’t do much for the credibility of our industry.

Ultimately, this agency is saying “We’ll deliver and get you immediate traction” which is what clients want – but there are other ways to go about it.