When You Need A Specialist PR Agency… And When You Don’t

Let’s just say I’m considering taking part in next year’s Tour de France. Now at the time of writing this, I’ve got nine months to get ready. Only slight glitch is that I haven’t ridden a bike since I was 12. And even then, it was a candy pink townie with rainbow streamers on the handlebars. Great times.

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So, I have a goal, I have a deadline and I have to be very strict with my training to make sure I’m where I want to be, when I need to be there.

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It’s time to decide: do I train at the regular gym down the road, or do I go to the specialist cyclist training centre that’s a little bit further away, a little bit unfamiliar to me, but that specialises in exactly the sort of outcomes I’m aiming too achieve?

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I think you know where this is heading…

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When You Need A Specialist PR Agency… And When You Don’t

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Now, if I were really serious about my goal of riding in the Tour de France, it wouldn’t be a big stretch for me to choose the specialist gym. After all; they know exactly what I need to focus on, which other areas of my health & lifestyle I need to adapt to support my mission, and crucially, they have a proven track record of helping people exactly like me achieve specific outcomes for specific goals.

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On the other hand, I could choose Joe’s Gym just a few streets away: I wouldn’t be pushed too hard, I can chat with my friends during a gentle jog on the treadmill, I wouldn’t be required to curb my chocolate addiction and temptingly – even though deep down I know it’s not the right training setting for me – it would be nice and easy for me to blame my resulting failure on the gym. Not on my lack of commitment.

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My choice comes down to what kind of person I am: do I really want to be successful, or do I just want to go through the motions?

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We can use this analogy very successfully for businesses on the cusp of choosing a PR agency for the very first time. If this sounds like you, and you’re at this very crossroads trying to decide on which direction to take, start by asking yourself two very simple questions:

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• Do you have a specific goal?
• Do you want to reach that goal as quickly and efficiently as possible?

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Your answers will provide the foundation to decide whether to go with a specialist agency that caters to your exact requirements, or a generalist agency that’s a little bit softer round the edges, even if they are vague on your critical path of results, measurement and exposure?

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Like many specialist PR agencies, we chose our niche for 3 main reasons:

• We’re passionate about product businesses in the food, luxury and lifestyle markets (genuine passion is vital in your agency partner!)
• We have the contacts and relationships with key media to help get your message in front of the audiences that matter. And this works both ways: specialist journalists come to specialist agencies when they want to feature a certain type of brand or product. Relationships matter.
• Because we know what works within our industry, our approach is tried and tested and we’re able to use this knowledge on new clients.

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If you don’t have a set goal and are uncomfortable being professionally challenged in order to make your brand the very best it can be, then a generalist agency is the clear option for you at this time.

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But if you DO have a specific mission and a timeframe in which you hope to achieve it, then a specialist PR agency will help get you there faster. Even if it means you have to go out of your comfort zone, or work on other areas of your business in the process.

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What type of person are you?

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To your product PR success!

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