Public Relations Agencies: What’s Right For Your Company?

Public relations agencies come in all sizes, shapes and flavors… So when considering a firm, you should weigh all of the variables before choosing from the myriad of public relations agencies you’re likely to find. Let’s take a look at some of kinds of public relations agencies you’ll encounter. First, there are generalist public relations agencies. These firms tend to service a wide variety of clients and will operate in the B2B sphere as well as in consumer markets. They can range in size and rank among the largest public relations agencies as well as the smallest. Somewhat counter to the generalists are the specialist public relations agencies. Just as it says on the label, these public relations agencies will specialize in a certain field or fields. Typically, you’ll find public relations agencies in this category specializing in health and related areas, financial services, entertainment and so on. Specialist public relations agencies offer a distinct advantage over their peers both large and small. Again, this type of agency offers a range of services for clients in a few select categories. By doing so, they develop a deep understanding of those clients’ needs and build important, strategic relationships with key industry players and the media that help maximize the client’s return on investment (that investment being the cost of hiring public relations agencies). One of the benefits of specialist public relations agencies is that their professionals often work together to offer clients a more comprehensive approach to public relations. For example, the professional services team may seek the help of investor relations and, say, branding and interactive to help round out a client communication plan. The professionals at specialist firm will typically possess a wealth of experience in those areas. Then there is the question of size and, perhaps to you, size matters. There are large public relations agencies and these are typically owned by an advertising agency conglomerate. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you will find boutique public relations agencies. These differ from their larger counterparts in that they have much smaller staffs and often have the reputation for delivering high octane creative. What can you expect in terms of costs and services? Generally, the larger the firm, the larger the fee… Simple, right? These firms tend to have higher overhead costs due in large part to having vast office networks. Smaller public relations agencies generally don’t have tremendous overhead burdens so their fee structures will be lower. In addition, smaller public relations agencies tend to be in a position to offer a higher level of service as the principal or principals may still be active with the firm.