How to brief a PR agency

If you’re thinking of working with a PR agency, having a comprehensive brief for your prospective partners should be high on your priority list.

An agency needs to fully understand your business to be able to give you recommendations on how a PR campaign will look and work for you.

And it’s not just understanding your business but the sector you operate in too. Perhaps you're in the food and drink sector, fashion or automotive? Whatever sector your company operates in, PR can get you noticed.

There are some essential snippets of information every agency will need - a good understanding of your business, who your key customers are and an indication of the budget you have set aside for PR are just a few of them. Read on to find out what to include in your brief for a prospective PR partner. 

What’s in this article:

• What is a PR brief?
• The importance of a comprehensive PR brief
• What to include in a brief to an agency?
• PR brief examples 
• Key takeaways

What is a PR brief?

A solid PR brief is the foundation for a strong relationship between a client and a PR agency, helping brands establish objectives and understand how a PR partner could work for them. A comprehensive brief is crucial for launching a successful campaign and laying the groundwork for effective communication and strategic planning. Properly briefing the agency from the outset enables PR experts to gain deeper insights into the brand, its industry and its target audience, and therefore choose the right tactics to achieve the desired outcomes.

A PR brief should clearly outline the objectives of the campaign, whether it's increasing brand awareness, launching a new product, enhancing the company's reputation or improving SEO and website traffic. Clear objectives enable the PR agency to create a targeted strategy that aligns with the company’s marketing goals. 

The importance of a comprehensive PR brief

A comprehensive PR brief is crucial in ensuring the brand gets a good return on investment from its PR activities. By having clear targets for the campaign, the PR agency can develop strategies that directly contribute to achieving these goals and avoid wasting resources on activities that don’t benefit the brand. This means that your money and time are spent only on strategies that drive meaningful results and impact for your brand.

Crafting a thorough brief that includes key information about your brand’s background, target demographics and unique selling points will help the digital PR agency develop a deep understanding of the brand’s identity and values. This helps the agency craft messages that resonate with the brand. 

A good brief will also help build a stronger partnership between the agency and the client. Being transparent with the PR team and providing them with information they can work with will help them achieve the results you want. A relationship built on effective communication and mutual understanding is more likely to result in positive outcomes. 

What to include in a brief to an agency?

Business background

Be prepared to share details on your business with a prospective PR agency. They’ll want to know about your business objectives, your current position in the market and where you want to be in the future. Sharing this information means the agency can design a campaign which is aligned with the wider goals of your business.

Your USP

Your unique selling point is the factor that sets you apart from your competitors. Think about what differentiates your brand from other similar ones in your sector and make sure to let the agency know, as this piece of information can help shape a good campaign. PR experts can use your USPs to play to your strengths and attract new customers. For example, fashion brand Patagonia’s USP is their commitment to environmental sustainability and personal care brand Dove stands out with real beauty campaigns promoting body positivity. 

Your key demographic

Who’s buying your product or service? Who’s your key customer or the audience you’re trying to target? Making it clear to your PR agency at the outset who you’re trying to reach will make campaign planning and success a much smoother process. Some companies will have a huge demographic, and others will be very niche, but being clear on who they are is vital.

Key competitors

Give details on who your main competitors are. This helps an agency carry out some competitor analysis and allows them to truly understand the sector you operate in. The agency will be able to see which media sites have covered your competitors and will allow them to get started on replicating any links for you. 

Marketing activity

Are you doing any other marketing activity that an agency will need to factor in? This could mean tying in social and PR activity, or it could be a press release to work alongside an email campaign going out to customers. If you’ve used PR before, let the agency know what’s worked well and what hasn’t worked in the past. 

Time frame and deadlines

First of all, how long does an agency have to put a pitch document together for you? More importantly, what period of time will the prospective PR campaign run over? A 12-month retained campaign certainly gives more scope than a one-month project. You should also inform the agency of any important deadlines or key dates, such as the launch of a new product or company anniversary. Sharing these details will help the agency plan campaigns around these dates. 

Budget

This bit is really important. PR agencies will plan campaigns around the budget available so do have a sum in mind that you can commit to. The figure doesn’t have to be exact at the outset but even giving a guide price gives an agency some idea of the investment into PR.

Many prospective clients are tempted to leave this blank but doing so is only likely to waste time - both the client’s and the agency’s. There’s little point in an agency suggesting an incredible campaign costing six figures if the client only has a few grand to spend. So giving an indication of budget up front really is a must.

Goals and KPIs

What are you looking to achieve with the PR activity? Is it brand building or do you want to raise awareness of a new product or service? Do you want the agency to put you forward for awards or is it mass media coverage you are seeking? If so, what titles matter most to you? Does online coverage matter and how important are backlinks to your website? Being clear from the outset what you’re looking for will make the process of finding the right agency so much more simple. Additionally, don’t be afraid to suggest numbers and KPIs straight off the bat. 

Being as precise as possible will help the agency to cost the campaign and will ensure you are both on the same page regarding what success looks like. 

At Motive, we provide every client with a MAP - Motive Action Plan. It’s a very simple document which specifies our goals and objectives for the campaign along with our tactics and KPIs. Having an action plan that both our team and the client team can easily refer to ensures we’re all pulling in the same direction and are all keenly aware of expectations. 

PR brief examples 

This is an example of a comprehensive PR brief for a fictional company that specialises in home exercise equipment. 

Key takeaways

Before engaging with a PR agency, it’s crucial to understand the importance of a well-crafted PR brief. By providing detailed information about your business background, unique selling points, target audience, competitors, marketing activities, timeline, and budget, you provide the agency with the necessary insights to develop an effective and strategic PR campaign. 

A well-crafted PR brief not only aligns the agency's efforts with the company’s goals but also provides the foundations for a collaborative relationship which can lead to better results and a higher return on investment. 

It helps the agency understand your business, sector and objectives and ensures that you’re both on the same page on what success looks like. 

If you wish to make the most of your PR activities and want to learn more about briefing an agency, get in touch with us for a no-obligation chat. 

© MOTIVE