Looking for
an outstanding PR/design/digital agency? There are plenty to choose from and
the vast majority of them are honest, hard-working and will do a great job for
you.
The most
important thing as a client is to be clear about what you need from an agency,
and it’s vital to go in with a firm and realistic budget.
Depending on
the size of the project and your budget, you may choose to put the work out to
tender which will involve inviting a reasonable number of appropriate agencies
to pitch their ideas and approaches.
Never think
that you have to go to big city agencies for good work and great results: there
are many smaller agencies around the provinces that can deliver first class
work and offer a more personalised but equally effective approach, often at a
more competitive cost.
Alternatively,
make an appointment to visit two or three established local agencies and talk
to them about what you're looking for and what you want to achieve. Satisfy yourself
they have the skills you need, that they are people you can work with and that
they really understand what you want. Was there a buzz around the place? Did
they make you feel good? That’s important too.
If media
relations is to form part of the approach, look for good writing skills and
established media contacts. Also ensure they have the necessary digital skills
for social media work. These days it’s not about just a press release – it’s
all about ‘content’ and making sure messages are communicated through all the
relevant channels.
Your chosen
agency should be able to discuss and demonstrate the advantages of an
integrated approach using as many channels as are appropriate.
If it’s a
website you’re after, remember that there are three main elements: the content -
words and images; the design of the site, and finally the actual building and
maintenance of the site.
Some PR
agencies offer all the skills in-house for all these elements but do ask the
right questions. There’s no harm at all in an agency subcontracting some
elements of a project as long as they tell you that’s what they’re doing.
Perhaps most
importantly of all, look for creativity, passion and transparency. Choose an
agency that makes you feel comfortable, that places adding long term
sustainable value above short-term commercial gain, and that has real integrity.
Whoever you
talk with, ask which members of the team will be working on your account and
put in place a reporting structure with regular meetings. Any good agency will
welcome scrutiny and embrace accountability. Agreeing KPIs is essential: these
should be geared as much to outcomes as outputs.
Membership of
a professional body such as the CIPR or PRCA is also reassuring.
Don’t worry too
much about whether they have experience of your specific sector. It helps, but
it’s the skills that matter most. And please don’t be nervous about telling an
agency what budget you’ve set aside! It’s not about being mercenary, it’s knowing what we have to work with so that we
can use your hard-earned resources to best effect.
Any agency
worth its salt will want to deliver great results so that they can keep and
hopefully grow your business.
Look for an
agency that will challenge your views and assumptions: they’re the experts.
That’s what you’re paying for.
For example,
we’ve had several clients asking us to quote for a website. They believe that’s
what they need when they come in to talk to us. When we challenge them, it
quickly becomes clear that what they actually want is more clients and
customers. A website may have a role in achieving that objective but it may not
be the most effective or only approach.
We’re
immensely proud to have celebrated our 25th anniversary this month.
How have we survived so long in such a fast-changing and competitive marketplace?
It helps to
be good at what you do, and we are: 14 awards in the last three years alone, including
Agency of the Year and achieving the honour of being voted one of the UK’s top
150 agencies. We’re really proud of that.
But it isn’t
just about being good t what you do and delivering results. People expect you
to deliver. That’s what they pay for. It’s how you do it that gives you
sustainability.
We work hard
to build and develop a great team made up of people who support and genuinely
care for each other, who are willing to leave their own egos at the door for
the good of the clients and the business, and who trust each other enough to be
comfortable in robustly challenging each other. Team de Winter is a great entity
to belong to and it’s a massive compliment that people genuinely want to be
part of it.
Our people
understand and fully embrace the concept of ‘moments of truth’ where every
email, call, welcome, report and meeting is a massive opportunity to engage,
influence and develop relationships.
We have
incredibly close relationships with all of our clients, some of whom we’ve
worked with for over 22 years. It’s no coincidence, since we work only with
people and organisations that share our values and for whom we know we can make
a difference. Grasping for short-term commercial gain is simply unsustainable.
Openness,
authenticity and trust are the cornerstones of our client relationships. They
are our friends and which of us would ever wish to let down our friends?
We understand
the importance of matching external perceptions with internal realities and we
recognise that if you set out first and foremost to help your clients as
people, add real value and make them feel good, financial success inevitably
follows.
We’re a team
in which people do what they say they’re going to do when they say it's going
to do it. We practice stakeholder alignment: if we look after our people, they
will give of their best, that will delight our clients, helping us to grow our
business, please our shareholders and enable us to improve the team’s standard
of living, completing the virtuous circle.
So, if you’re
looking for an agency, look for:
• Shared values
• Genuine
passion
• The right
skills
•
Transparency
•
Accountability
