It may seem simple, but it’s amazing how many clients come on board to kickstart a PR campaign and struggle to produce the assets we need to hit the ground running.
So, we thought we would make it easy for anyone diving into the world of PR by creating a checklist that covers everything they may need ahead of the ‘clock ticking’.
Images
As they say, ‘a picture tells 1,000 words’. Having high res and low res, professionally produced images of your product or people using your service, of the main spokespeople and your logo, is an absolutely must to accompany any storytelling we do. And if you don’t have these on hand, Agent99 can assist you to create the perfect photoshoot that will have them in your dropbox by the end of the day!
Bios/backgrounders
Even if not crafted perfectly, having background information on your key spokespeople, your company and your products, will help your PR agent to understand the offering. It will also assist us to provide further information to media prior to interviews or be used to accompany a specific story pitch.
If you have these in various places (online, LinkedIn, presentations, or as bullet points in your mind, etc), never fear – send these sources our way and we’ll do the rest!
Where do you want your audience to go?
When those key editorial opportunities arise, make sure that the destination you want them to get to is ready to go. Whether this is a specific website, landing page, social channels, hashtags, etc. they have to be completely ready by launch. This is not only to be able to capture your audience, but it assists in measuring the campaign’s success.
Availability
Particularly relevant for company spokespeople, authors, speakers, etc. Always let the team know if you are away and unavailable to media at any point in the campaign. This can be worked around, it’s just a matter of incorporating it into the timelines or making someone available instead of you.
On that note, media training is also really important to consider if you haven’t faced media before. It will ensure that you feel confident in getting the most out of each interview opportunity and you’ll be able to get your key messages across.
Pre-existing relationships with media
As they say, ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know!’. If you have had media dealings in the past, or have connections to certain influencers, let your team know ahead of time so that they may leverage these throughout your campaign.
KPI’s + Media ‘Wish List’
Whilst it is very much our responsibility as your team to recommend the most appropriate media and influencers to reach your audience, it also helps to think about it from your brand’s perspective – after all, there is no one better than you in knowing and understanding your customer. Have a list of these ideal media outlets, as well as some potential KPIs that you can discuss with your PR team to ensure that you can measure your success throughout the campaign (and pivot if you need to), and post campaign to inform future outreach.
If you have these assets ready, you are further ahead than 99% of marketers! And it will ensure that your agency’s time will be used fruitfully in securing meaningful results, rather than being a pest chasing you!
Agent Sharon
