Questions to Ask a PR Agency
Written for whoever is choosing a public relations agency, usually a founder or the person who runs marketing or communications, to use in the pitch meeting and again before a retainer is signed. The questions run in the order the decision tends to go: the people who would work your account, their media contacts and past results, the plan for your first months, how the work is measured, what happens in a crisis, and then fees, contract length and the way out. No pitch has room for all of them, so take two or three from each group and send the factual ones ahead.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
The people
Who would run our account day to day, and who would be the one pitching reporters?
Why ask it
These are often two people, and the second is easy to overlook: whether a reporter opens the note can depend on who sent it. Meet both before you sign. If the person who pitches is not in the room, ask for twenty minutes with them.
How much would we see of the senior people in this meeting once the contract is signed?
Why ask it
Pitch teams tend to be the agency's best talkers, and some of them go back to winning new business the next day. Get a rough number of hours a month for each named person and have it written into the proposal. A founder who says 'I read every pitch that goes out' has made a promise you can check later.
How many clients does each person on our team look after at the same time?
Why ask it
Media relations is slow, attentive work, and someone spread across too many accounts ends up forwarding emails. No right number exists, since retainer sizes differ, so the better follow-up is where yours would rank by fee among theirs. The smallest account on a busy desk tends to wait.
Do you represent anyone we compete with, and where do you draw the line on a conflict?
Why ask it
Each agency sets that line in its own place: some will not take two clients in one category, others separate them by team. Name the companies you would not share an agency with and have that written into the contract. Check too what happens if they are offered a bigger rival a year in.
Who writes the pitches, press releases and bylined articles, and who reads them before they leave the building?
Why ask it
Writing samples should come from the person who would write for you, not from the agency's greatest hits. Press on the second reader, because a pitch with your company's name on it and a typo in the first line makes its first impression only once.
What does a normal week of contact with a client look like: a standing call, a shared channel, emails as things come up?
Why ask it
PR runs on small, quick exchanges, such as a reporter's query at noon or a quote needed by three, so the standing call matters less than what happens between calls. Agree who on each side is the first contact and how soon a message gets an answer. If the weekly call would be the only time you hear from them, the work is probably being done in batches.
If our account lead moves on, what happens to the reporter relationships and the plan?
Why ask it
Contacts in PR tend to belong to people more than to firms, so a resignation can take relationships out the door with it. A good answer describes shared notes on who was pitched what, a second person your key reporters already know, and a promise that you hear the news from the agency first.
Do you bring in freelancers or partner firms for any part of the work, such as other countries or specialist press?
Why ask it
Plenty of agencies cover a second country or a niche trade through someone else, and it can work well. You need to know who they are, whether you can speak to them directly, and whether their fee is marked up on the way through.
What would you need from our side each week to do this well?
Why ask it
The honest list is longer than buyers expect: a spokesperson who returns calls the same day, quick sign-off on quotes, customer stories, data nobody else has. If the agency says it needs very little from you, expect thin results, because reporters want access and facts, and only you hold those.
Media and results
What have you done for companies in our industry, or at our size and stage?
Why ask it
Sector experience means they already know which trade titles matter and what those editors are tired of hearing. Size counts as much: an agency whose clients are all large brands may not know how to open a door for a company nobody has heard of. If they have neither, hear how they would learn your market and who pays for that time.
Which reporters, editors and producers who cover our field have you placed stories with in the past six months?
Why ask it
Names and dates are the point. 'We know everyone at the business desks' cannot be checked, while 'she ran our client's funding story in March' can. Newsrooms change quickly, so an old contact book may be full of people who have moved on.
Can you show us coverage you earned for a company that was unknown when you started?
Why ask it
A well-known name gets calls from reporters without much help. The harder skill, and probably the one you are paying for, is making a stranger interesting. Find out what the angle was and how many reporters said no before one said yes.
Pick one story you placed. What did you pitch first, who turned it down, and what finally ran?
Why ask it
The middle is where you learn the most. An agency that can only show the finished headline may not remember how it got there, or may not have been the one who got it there. When the detail comes easily, the person telling it probably did the pitching.
What did that coverage do for the client's business once it was published?
Why ask it
A good agency stays curious after the clipping lands. Listen for something on the client's side, such as a jump in demo requests, an investor who called, or job applicants who mentioned the article. If they do not know, the client may never have told them, and that says something about how closely the two worked.
Which outlets do you think are realistic for us this year, and which are out of reach for now?
Why ask it
This is the question that sorts flatterers from advisers. An agency that names the trade titles and regional press you could win soon, and says plainly why a national front page is unlikely yet, is giving you a plan. Write the list down and bring it to the six-month review.
How do you pitch: one written note to a chosen reporter, or a release sent to a long list?
Why ask it
Both have a place, but mass mailing is cheap to do and easy to ignore. Two real pitches they sent recently, with the client's name removed if needed, settle it. A minute's reading shows whether the note was written for that reporter or for anyone with an inbox.
Tell us about a story you could not place. What did you do next?
Why ask it
Every agency has these, because editors owe nobody coverage. The useful answers describe a change of angle, a smaller outlet taken as a first step, or a frank call to the client saying the news was not strong enough. Be wary if every example of failure turns out to be the client's fault.
Which clients could we call for a reference, including one who stopped working with you?
Why ask it
Put the same three things to each: how fast the team replied, what surprised them on an invoice, and whether results slowed once the opening months had passed. A former client who still speaks well of the agency is about the strongest reference there is.
When did you last tell a company that PR was not what it needed yet?
Why ask it
Some businesses come too early, with no customers to quote and no news to tell, and a careful agency says so. A real example suggests they would be honest with you too. If the answer is never, weigh their view of your own readiness a little more lightly.
The plan
From what you have seen of us so far, what would you say our story is?
Why ask it
It shows whether they did any homework, and whether they will tell a prospect something it did not expect to hear. The story they pick is often not the one on your home page. Follow up with the kind of reporter it belongs to: trade, business, local or consumer.
What would the first 90 days look like, and how soon is a first piece of coverage realistic?
Why ask it
Expect a stretch of groundwork before anything appears: messaging, a media list, spokesperson prep, introductions. Have them put rough dates on each step. Then agree what counts as an early sign of progress, such as reporter briefings held, so nobody panics in a quiet first month.
Apart from press coverage, what else would you handle: awards, speaking slots, podcasts, analysts, social media, influencers?
Why ask it
Agencies define PR differently, and the proposal may assume a narrower job than you have in mind. Go down the list one item at a time and mark each as included, extra or not offered. Their enthusiasm is a clue as well: an agency that lights up about conference stages may be less keen on daily media work.
What do you do for a client in a month with no announcement to make?
Why ask it
Most months have no launch and no funding round, and that is where a retainer earns its fee or wastes it. Good answers involve commentary on stories already in the news, original data, bylined pieces or introductions with no ask attached. 'We would wait for your next release' is a reason to consider project work instead.
What happens when we want to announce something you think reporters will not care about?
Why ask it
You want an agency that will say so and then offer a better home for the same effort, such as a blog post, a customer email or a place inside a bigger story. Founders are close to their own product, and hearing early that a new feature will not interest a reporter saves months of disappointment. A time they talked a client out of a press release, and how the client took it, is the proof.
How would you prepare our spokespeople, and is media training part of the fee?
Why ask it
A strong pitch can still die in a rambling interview. Find out whether training means a one-off session or practice before each significant interview, who runs it, and whether it is charged separately. Mention it now if your founder dislikes interviews; a good agency will plan around that instead of ignoring it.
How do you handle exclusives and embargoes, and who decides which outlet gets the story first?
Why ask it
Giving one reporter the first look can win a bigger piece and annoy everyone else, so it is a judgment call you should be part of. The follow-up is what they did the last time an embargo was broken. How an agency treats reporters when things go wrong shapes how your name is received next time.
How many people on each side approve a quote or a release, and how quickly do you need it back?
Why ask it
Reporters often work to deadlines measured in hours, and a comment approved two days late is a comment nobody runs. Agree a fast lane for reactive requests, with one named approver on your side and a channel that does not wait for the weekly call. If your legal or compliance team must see everything, say so now so they can plan for it.
Do you ever arrange paid placements or sponsored articles, and how would you label those to us?
Why ask it
Earned coverage and paid space are different things, and reports sometimes blur them. Have anything paid for marked as such in every report, and nothing bought without your approval. Disclosure rules for sponsored content depend on the country and the outlet, so ask how they handle it where you operate.
Do you use AI tools to draft pitches or build media lists, and does any of our unannounced news go into them?
Why ask it
The practical points are which tasks, who checks the result, and whether confidential material is ever pasted into an outside tool. A pitch that reads as machine-written is easy for a reporter to ignore, so find out whether a person rewrites every one before it is sent.
Once an article runs, who makes sure our marketing and sales teams put it to use?
Why ask it
A piece of coverage does more when it is shared with prospects, quoted on the site and passed to the sales team the same day. Settle who on their side sends it over and in what form. If you have an SEO agency too, raise how the two would coordinate on links.
Measurement
At the six-month mark, what would you want us to judge you on?
Why ask it
Their choice tells you what they believe they control. Number of pitches sent is activity. Pieces in agreed target outlets carrying your key message is an outcome. Settle on two or three measures together and put them in the proposal, so the review is about evidence and not mood.
May we see a real monthly report you sent to another client?
Why ask it
A sample with the names blacked out shows more than any description. Check whether it explains what was tried and what comes next, or only lists links. Look for a section on what did not work, because a report with nothing but wins is leaving something out.
How do you tell a valuable piece of coverage from a mention that only adds to the count?
Why ask it
One feature in the title your buyers read can outweigh thirty syndicated pickups of a press release. Agencies that grade coverage look at the outlet, whether your message came through, whether you were quoted or only listed, and whether there was a link. See if the report keeps those grades apart or adds everything into one total.
Do you report advertising value equivalent or total reach figures, and what do you make of them?
Why ask it
AVE prices coverage as if it were ad space, and reach often counts every visitor a site has in a month, so both produce big numbers that are hard to act on. Many people who measure PR for a living have moved away from them. An agency that still leads with them is not disqualified, but find out what else it would show you.
How would you connect coverage to things we already track, such as site visits, inbound leads or searches for our name?
Why ask it
PR is hard to tie to sales and an honest agency says so, then offers what can be done: referral traffic from articles, a 'how did you hear about us' field, branded search before and after a campaign. They will need some access or data from you to set it up, so find out what.
Will you tell us about the pitches that went unanswered as well as the ones that landed?
Why ask it
Silence from reporters is information: the angle may be wrong, the timing off, or the outlet a poor match. A team that shares it lets you fix the story together. The strongest version of yes is access to the pitch tracker itself, not just a summary.
What results will you commit to in writing, and what will you refuse to promise?
Why ask it
No agency controls what an editor publishes, so a fixed number of articles in named outlets is a promise to be suspicious of. Commitments about effort and quality are fair: briefings arranged, a set number of tailored pitches, response times. The refusal is often the more reassuring half of the answer.
Crisis
What crisis have you handled for a client, in broad terms, and what would you do differently now?
Why ask it
They will not name the client, and should not. You are listening for sequence: who they called first, how fast a statement went out, how they dealt with staff and customers as well as the press. A lesson learned the hard way is a better sign than a story in which everything went to plan.
If a reporter called us tomorrow about a damaging story, what would you do in the first hour?
Why ask it
Put it as a live scenario and watch how they think. Sensible first moves include finding out exactly what the reporter has and when the deadline is, gathering the facts inside the company, and deciding who responds. Be cautious of an instant instinct either to say nothing or to say everything.
Is crisis support part of the retainer, or billed separately, and at what rate?
Why ask it
Many retainers cover planned work only, and a bad week can bring an invoice well above the usual one. Get the hourly or daily rate now, along with any cap or a promise of a call before the bill passes a set amount. It is far easier to agree this while nothing is on fire.
Who picks up the phone at ten at night or on a Sunday, and how soon would we hear back?
Why ask it
You want a name and a cell number, not a shared inbox. Check whether that person knows your business or is a duty officer meeting you for the first time. If out-of-hours cover is not offered at all, better to know before the night you need it.
Would you help us write a crisis plan before we need one?
Why ask it
A basic plan covers likely scenarios, draft holding statements, who speaks, who approves and how to reach each person after hours. Check whether building it is inside the fee and how often it would be reviewed. An agency that offers a short rehearsal earns extra credit, because the weak point is often simply reaching the right people at night.
How do you work with a client's lawyers when legal caution and openness pull in different directions?
Why ask it
In a serious situation the lawyers will usually want fewer words and the communications people more, and somebody has to settle it. An example of a statement both sides could accept shows how they manage that. What you can safely say is a legal question that depends on your situation and where you are, so the agency should expect your counsel in the room.
When a client is under pressure, is there anything you would refuse to say or do on its behalf?
Why ask it
An agency speaks to reporters in your name, so its standards become yours. Good answers are quick and concrete: no misleading a journalist, no fake reviews, no anonymous attacks on a rival. Hesitation is worth noting, since a reporter who has been misled once may remember the company as well as the agency.
Fees and terms
What is the monthly retainer, and what does it buy: hours, a team, or a list of deliverables?
Why ask it
The three models behave differently. Hours can run out mid-month, a deliverables list can be met with work that nobody reads, and a team model depends on who is really available. Whichever it is, have them explain how they would show you that you received what you paid for.
What is charged on top of the retainer?
Why ask it
Common extras include press release wire distribution, media database and monitoring subscriptions, photography, travel, event costs and award entry fees. Three figures are worth having: a typical month of extras for a client like you, whether costs are passed on at cost or with a markup, and the amount above which they check with you first.
What happens to unused hours in a slow month, and what happens when you go over?
Why ask it
Some agencies roll hours forward, some let them lapse, and some never count them at all. The overrun half matters more: you should get a warning before extra hours are worked, not an explanation after. Ask to see how time is recorded and whether that record comes with each invoice.
Would you start with a single project or a short trial before a long retainer?
Why ask it
A launch or a three-month pilot lets both sides see how the other works before committing. Agencies often resist because media relationships take time to pay off, and that is a fair point. If they decline, propose an early review date with a right to leave attached.
How long is the first term, does it renew by default, and how much notice ends it?
Why ask it
Read the renewal clause yourself: an agreement that rolls over for another year unless you write by a certain date can catch a busy team out. Work out the last day you could give notice and set a reminder a month ahead of it. Contract terms and what can be enforced vary by place, so have someone qualified read it before signing.
When the contract ends, who keeps the media list, the pitch notes and the drafts?
Why ask it
Add the archive of coverage and any unpublished material to that list. Some agencies treat the contacts they assembled as their own property, and others hand everything over. Whatever you agree belongs in the contract, since nobody feels generous during a breakup.
How do you keep unannounced news confidential?
Why ask it
You may be handing over funding plans, acquisitions, layoffs or product dates weeks before anyone else knows. The details that matter are who inside the agency sees the material, whether freelancers do, and whether they will sign your confidentiality agreement. If you are a listed company or about to become one, ask how they handle the disclosure rules that apply to you, and check with your own counsel.
What would make you resign our account?
Why ask it
It turns the interview around for a moment, and the answers are revealing: a client who hides facts, never makes a spokesperson available, or pays late. An agency with clear limits tends to be one that will be straight with you. Take note of the list, because it is also a description of how to be a client that gets its best work.
How to run a PR agency pitch and compare what you hear
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the agencies come in
Decide what you want PR to do
Write one paragraph on what should be different in a year: buyers in a certain trade recognizing your name, investors having read about you, a calmer response to bad news. Agencies pitch to the brief they are given, and a vague one gets you the same generic plan from everyone. It also tells you which group here deserves your time. A company with a sensitive product should spend longest on Crisis; one chasing its first coverage should stay with Media and results.
Read the agency's recent placements
Search the news for the agency's current clients before the meeting. Note which outlets ran the pieces and whether the client was the subject or a passing quote. Bring two examples and ask how each came about. Generalities are harder to offer when the buyer has the article open on the table.
Give a fee range early
PR retainers span a wide range, and an agency cannot scope sensibly without a figure. Even a rough range gets you proposals you can set side by side. Hiding it tends to produce one plan far above what you can spend and another trimmed to look affordable.
Send the brief and five questions ahead
Pick the five you care most about and send them with the brief. Factual ones, such as team size, fee model and notice period, can come back in writing, which keeps the meeting free for the ones that need a conversation. You also find out which agency reads what it is sent.
During the pitch
Put questions to the quietest person
The account manager who would handle your work is often the least senior person at the table and says the least. Direct two or three questions to them by name. How they talk about your story or a recent pitch of their own is the nearest thing to a preview you will get.
Swap ten minutes of slides for a live exercise
After the presentation, describe a piece of real news you expect in the coming quarter and ask who they would take it to and with what angle. Hearing them think aloud tells you more than the case studies do, and it asks for no unpaid work beyond the meeting itself.
Raise money with the person who can change the answer
Fees, extras and notice periods are best raised with whoever can alter them, usually a partner or the managing director. If that person is absent, ask for the answers in writing afterward and compare them with what was said across the table.
Disagree once and see what happens
Push back on one thing they recommend. An agency that listens, holds its ground where it should and gives way where you had a point will probably handle a skeptical editor the same way. One that agrees instantly will also agree with your worst press release idea.
Weighing what you heard
Score every agency under the same six headings
Use the six groups on this page as columns and write a line under each straight after the meeting, before the next agency blurs the memory. Chemistry counts in a relationship built on daily contact, but give it a column of its own so it does not color the others.
Prefer a named reporter to a wall of logos
A slide of famous mastheads says where coverage once appeared. A named reporter, a date and the story of how the piece came together says who did the work and whether they are still at the agency. Check one or two by reading the article yourself.
Divide the fee by the hours of real people
Take the monthly fee, divide it by the hours promised, and look at who supplies them. Two proposals at the same price can buy very different amounts of senior attention. The lower quote is no bargain if it is staffed by whoever happens to be free.
Give references a narrow question
General praise is easy to give. Ask each reference what the agency was like in the slowest month and in the worst week. Between them, those two answers describe most of what you would live with.
Where buyers go wrong
Hiring the contact book
One friendly editor does not make a program, and editors change jobs. Judgment about what is a story, and persistence when the first angle fails, outlast any single relationship.
Expecting sales by the second month
Coverage builds recognition and trust over time, and its link to revenue is usually indirect. If you need leads this quarter, say so in the pitch and ask whether PR is the right tool for that. A straight agency may point you toward paid channels first.
Signing for a year after one good meeting
A long first term that renews on its own is the hardest mistake to undo. Ask for a review point a few months in, with agreed measures and a way out, and make sure the spoken promises from the pitch appear in the written agreement.
Going quiet once the retainer starts
Agencies do their best work for clients who answer quickly, share bad news early and make a spokesperson available. If nobody on your side has a few hours a week for this, the retainer will underperform whichever agency you choose.