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When it comes to public relations, there are really only three options, either keep it in-house, employ an agency to take on the work for you or do you ignore it altogether. 

Agency or In-house, you choos

A wise person is the one who deliberates between the first two points.  The options are narrowed down considerably and it’s now thatthe choices become a little more difficult.

Which Way?

So, how does a company best choose to handle its PR and Marcoms?  Well to answer this question we need to look at the two options and see whether we can draw any satisfactory conclusions.  So let’s look at keeping things in-house.  Well not wishing to paint a bleak picture, but first of all there is finding the right person to run your communications department. It takes time for any new employee to get to understand the business, but when it comes to communications you want someone who will get off to a flying start. If you decide to go with someone who is experienced in your area of industry then you’re going to pay top dollar for them.

So you decided to employ a general all rounder, someone who can write a bit and has one or two media contacts, but are you getting value for money with this person?  Is there enough work within your communications department to keep them fully employed and if they are working on a part time basis are you, as a business, getting the publicity exposure you want/need, are they creative enough and finally are they adding real cost value to your operation?

The PRO’s tend to split into two distinct camps and in doing so it’s easy to see why each is a creature of its own habitat. But which adds real value?

The ‘Maverick’ verses ‘The Trojan’

The Maverick is the agency PRO. Outgoing, creative and savvy they embrace new technology they involve themselves with network communities. As the media platform rapidly increases, they’re generic experience grows, they are able to evaluate the bigger picture and take risks accordingly.  The Maverick will to deal with a multitude of different clients each bringing its own unique experiences and challenges.

The Trojan is different. The in-house PRO may work within a small team or as is often the case on their own, but they are part of a wider team.  They are less likely to blog and will avoid the media industry limelight. Within the business they all rise to the same challenge, there focus is but one goal and that is victory.  However they all approach this goal from different positions and although they share the same ethos they never really achieve total unity.

Opting to employ an agency is the most cost effective way to manage your communications. All the benefits may not be apparent first hand but as a company begins to work with an agency, it begins to see more and more benefits come to the surface.  Firstly the agency not only has the systems in place to provide a complete service, from copy writing and proof reading through to using a distribution network to issue the press release.  Agencies tend to focus on a specific sector of business, so the expertise is already there so the need to come up to speed isn’t as applicable.  The major factor is that the Agency PRO generally has a wealth of experience in campaigning, and can tailor that experience, when it comes to your business.

So, when deciding who to trust with your communications, you need to balance cost effectiveness and added value to the business but don’t forget the creativity factor.

Whether you choose to employ someone to look after your communications or you engage an agency, it is essential that you have the correct evaluation procedures in place. More on this next time.