Time-Honored Agency/Client Partnership Techniques to Get the Most from Your PR Agency
Provide for Us
We don’t know your business (yet). You know your business. Provide us with your company’s vital statistics: key personnel, projects, philosophy, priorities, goals, competition, history and sales strategy. Tell us what makes you unique and special.
Don’t Stint
Tell us everything. Regularly update us on company news and information. Tell us about even mildly interesting events or activities. While you may not see its newsworthiness, we might find, know of, or develop an opportunity to use it on your behalf.
Partner with Us
Make yourself available for media interviews, meetings and informational and networking events. We’ll coordinate, consult, coach. We’ll plot, plan and pitch, but in the end, we’d like you to bask in the limelight yourself. Do, and you’ll get better results for the effort.
Alert Us
Inform us if the media contacts you. The call may result from our efforts, but they might call you direct, as well. In either case, your agency will help provide the right information, visuals, and/or insights to help you prepare your position or statements.
Appoint a Liaison
We know you’re busy, but, we can’t work in a vacuum. Assign a key employee to be our day-to-day contact. That way, we can spend more time on strategy and execution and less on chasing information. Expect to invest approximately 10 percent of company time in PR, because your responsiveness to us is vital. We use hard facts along with strategic ideas and angles to “sell” you, but you must always be in on the action.
Agree to Media Training
What you say and how you say it to the media and/or public takes skill and experience.
Give Us Time
Unless you’re dealing with breaking news, PR agencies generally need a few weeks (or months, for promotions or events) to develop effective PR strategies, media interest and results.
Too Many Cooks ……
Develop an efficient “approval” process, and give our liaison the power to approve simple issues. And please, no more than two or three of you on more complex issues.
Make Us Accountable
PR is not an exact science. In the event plans don’t produce the expected results, insist on knowing why. Agencies are often at the mercy of dwindling newsrooms, sloppy reporters, breaking news, a social media storm. Plans occasionally go awry. Understanding why a plan doesn’t work helps in redesigning it for success or taking an altogether different approach.
Respect Our Industry
Please don’t ask your agency to stretch or evade the truth. Don’t ask us to stonewall. Don’t scream when a story didn’t turn out exactly as it should have if YOU wrote it, that’s the value and the challenge behind PR. For the most part, we are depending on third-party testimonials to build your brand or tell your story. If you want direct promotion, buy an ad. Also, we won’t post a negative Yelp review about your competitor down the street; we won’t cross that line, don’t ask it of us.
(With props to Laura Walcher for her original article)
While we all know the common rules that apply to job interviews (hopefully), like wear a suit, be prepared with copies of your resume and perhaps, most importantly, BE ON TIME – there are a few things practicing PR professionals or those pursuing careers in PR should know NEVER to say.
As public relations professionals it is our job to be creative and to stand out amidst a sea of similar faces, places and products to present what makes our clients special and worthy of media coverage. So why wouldn’t we look at potential employees in the same manner?
So here’s what we DON’T want to hear during an interview when asked the following:
- Why do you want to work in public relations? “I like to talk to people.”
Yes, while this is an important aspect of public relations (after all, what good would an anti-social PR person be?), it should not be the sole reason you want to get into public relations – there has to be something more … substantial.
- What is PR to you? “Relating to the public” or “Creating positive relations between a business and its clients.”
We work in PR; we don’t need a textbook definition of what we do every day, thank you very much. However, we would like for you to demonstrate that you actually know how to do the job, or rather, explain what tools we use in order to “create positive relations between a business and its clients.”
- What aspect of PR do you like most? “I like planning and going to parties.”
Then become a party planner. Despite what pop-culture depicts, public relations is not all about parties and events – it’s an office job.
- What kind of clients do you like to work with? “Well, I don’t like…”
We didn’t ask what you don’t like, but while we’re on the topic – don’t highlight what you hate! Especially if what you hate happens to be an industry many of our clients belong to.
- What attracts you to a career in public relations? (I know – this is very similar to item #1 on our list, but we’ve actually gotten this answer more than once) “I want to be like Samantha from Sex and the City.”
I don’t really think this needs any explanation.
Yes, we at J. Walcher Communications are the people who will let a restaurant know when a word is misspelled on the menu. We will exclaim in horror at random apostrophes (used for no reason!!!). And we cannot stand a person using the wrong “their” or “they’re.” We are beholden to the AP Stylebook and have a deep affection for spell check (although we cannot understand why it refuses to recognize the term “triathlete”).
So when Judgment Day (May 21, 2011) arrived, The Huffington Post contacted us — not to discuss the end of the world, but why our spelling shouldn’t go to hell in the process (see last two paragraphs):
Rapture 2011: Apocalypse Now… No, Now! (LIVE BLOG) – Huffington Post
by David Moye, Posted on May 21, 2011
Today’s rapture is supposed to herald the coming of Judgment Day.
Passing judgment is supposed to be God’s job, but a lot of word experts, spelling sticklers and — though they hate the term “grammar Nazis” — are passing judgment on the millions of internet postings that are adding an extra “e” between the “g” and “m” in “judgment.”
Seriously, do a Google search. We can wait….
OK, see what I mean?
Although the Good Book says, “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” surely, that didn’t refer to incorrect spelling, right?
Steven Murray, who is the Communications Director at the First Baptist Church in Houston, is praying that’s not the case.
“I try to express grace more than judgment, but spelling it with the extra ‘e’ is a pet peeve of mine,” Murray said. “It’s right up there with people who use the term ‘irregardless.’”
Murray personally cringes when he sees judgment spelled “judgement,” but suspects that the correct spelling is a casualty of a world where Twitter and Facebook influence people to “let spelling slide in the interest of speed.”
Although the Lord works in strange and mysterious ways, he’s not sure if the spelling of “judgment” without the “e” between the “g” and the “m” is his doing.
“It’s more one of the mysterious ways of the people who founded the English language,” he said.
But San Diego-based copy editor Phyllis de Blanche is a little more merciful to those who dare besmirch the proper spelling of “judgment.”
“There are two accepted spellings,” she insisted. “Although that extra ‘e’ is not standard, it is acceptable. I think the reason it’s the standard with journalists is because Associated Press prefers to use the shorter version. For instance, they allow ‘OK’ to be spelled with just two capital letters instead of ‘o-k-a-y.’”
Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based copy editor Karen Spiegelman has strong words for people who add that extra “e.”
“Spelling it that way makes it easier to make fun of you,” she said. “Seriously, it’s not big a deal, but if you, like some people, try and justify after the fact by pointing out the alternate spelling, you just look silly.
“However, being able to spell ‘judgment’ correctly is like a secret handshake.”
To be fair, “judgment” is spelled with the offending “e” in England — except when referring to a legal judgment. But like many things that are different in the United Kingdom than the United States — such as warm beer — this distinction is illogical to editors like Jill Kuraitis in Boise, Idaho.
“It drives me crazy!” she said. “Yeah, there are English variations, but this one makes no sense. It jumps off the page when I see it spelled with that ‘e.’ It’s one of the words on my 50 most annoying word screw-ups list.
“However, it’s not as bad as when people screw up the difference between ‘less’ and ‘fewer.’”
If the judgment day scheduled for Saturday fails to pass, Kuraitis thinks her fellow word nerds should band together to make sure that people start spelling ‘judgment’ correctly by the next scheduled apocalypse on December 21, 2012.
“We could probably get Bill Gates to fund us,” she said.
Passing judgment over the spelling of a word sounds a little extreme, but manuscript editor Stephanie Thompson sees it differently.
“To me, correct spelling is the difference between taking a story seriously or not at all,” she said. “If you can’t figure out the spelling of a word, what else might be wrong in the story?”
As for the final word on this issue, Public Relations executive Sandra Fong Young, who frequently blogs about AP style and word usage, looks to a higher power.
“Just now, I checked the King James Bible and judgment is spelled without the ‘e’ there,” she said.
Luckily, we now all have until 2012 to work on our spelling.
Top Take-Aways from PRSA Counselor’s Academy Conference, May, 2011, Las Vegas
While conferences are designed to teach us new things, they also remind us of what we’re not, but should, be doing. Here are my best take-aways:
1. Do one less old thing you already know a client doesn’t care about – and one new thing you know they do
2. Watch your staff time! For instance, if an SAE is doing AAE tasks, he/she’s working at the wrong level for efficiency – and income! Also, not all staff needs to be at all meetings, nor does every meeting require composing time-intensive reports.
3. “Find out what they want, how they want it – and give it to ‘em just that way!” (that’s a line from a famous musical which I found out some PRSA Counselor Academy members love but some hate – musicals, that is). This is applicable to client communication too. What’s their favorite style of communicating? E-mail, phone, meetings? Do they need prose in reports, or will bullets suffice? Are they formal or casual? What should you know about a hobby, a family, their non-profit involvements? Clients are people, too!
4. Become specialists in specific industries, professions. Doesn’t mean you can’t serve others.
5. Grow your current clients vs. hunting for new ones. Organic is in.
6. Immerse yourselves in your clients’ industries and issues. It’ll help broaden and deepen your services, and be educational as well.
7. Mandate and budget time for creative ideas – you know, the ones your clients didn’t necessarily ask for …
8. Potential clients: can you proudly include them on your roster? Do they fit your specialties? Value PR? Have any money? Develop a process for evaluating new business.
Props go to Roger M. Friedensen, @rogerfriedensen; Ken Jacobs, @kensviews; Bret Werner, @bret_werner; Kelly Womer, @linhartpr; Michael Lasky
We’re looking for our next incredible intern. If you think you’ve got what it takes, send us your resume, cover letter and writing samples.
Job description and requirements below:
J. Walcher Communications is seeking a creative and enthusiastic individual to work part-time as public relations intern (minimum 16 hours per week).
J. Walcher Communications is a boutique agency specializing in local, regional and national public relations, and strategic communication campaigns. Working in a wide range of industries including real estate, consumer products, professional services, health and fitness, nonprofit and association, sports/entertainment, hospitality, and more, we help our clients build their businesses with smart and effective campaigns that set them apart from the competition.
Scope of Work
The J. Walcher Communications intern will be involved in all aspects of the agency including media relations and research, writing, event coordination, and client and product research for a variety of businesses. He/She will gain a practical understanding of the public relations industry as well as how to develop the tools necessary to compete and excel in this exciting and growing field.
Specific responsibilities include research, database management, maintaining media lists and client clip files, writing, proofreading, preparing presentation materials, as well as administrative support which includes phones, faxing/scanning, word processing, filing, copying and mail distribution.
Requirements
* A college junior or senior majoring in journalism, public relations or communications or related discipline
* Strong oral and written communication skills
* Minimum 3.0 GPA
* Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, internet and database experience necessary. Adobe Photoshop and media database knowledge a plus.
* Social media knowledge required
*Internship begins A.S.A.P.
*For College Credit Only
*Flexible Hours
Interested candidates should send cover letter, résumé and writing samples to:
Email: jacqueline@jwalcher.com
Visit us at www.jwalcher.com
