In today’s PR industry, experts are constantly charged to ‘think outside the box’ and dare to be different in the delivery of service to clients. We need to be ahead of the curve in understanding consumers’ needs, and media consumption habits. The role of the consumer is vital in today’s media landscape, and their habits, wants and don’t-know-they-want-but-needs must be the influencers in brand messaging for smart companies. 

The media currently sits at the intersection between people, technology and marketing.  Hence, the reason PR professionals are constantly on their toes; masterfully working to promote facts, research, and stories that build brand trust. 

Agencies must challenge the status quo and lead the charge in coming up with solutions to meet clients’  expectations and consumers’ ever-changing needs.

Client Value Orientation

In the light of current global realities where budgets are being cut,  the marketing department’s budget is almost always the first one slashed. Return on investment becomes paramount to marketing executives, who are now seeking more value than ever before.

Gone are the days when clients just want to amplify their communication. The truth is that clients have certain needs in mind when they embark on any PR campaign. It is the task of the PR professional to figure out what the client’s business objectives are, and then develop strategies and tactics to lead them to success. 

At Curzon PR, we always embark on a baseline audit to first understand the public sentiments about the client’s brand or product; this way, we are able to fully understand the client’s current stance before we proffer any PR solutions. This requires data gathering through research and analytics. Driving a PR campaign without data is like going into battle with blindfolds on. 

Corporate Strategy Alignment

A common barrier we see in businesses of all types is silos between departments – teams who aren’t connected and who have different agendas. But when separate divisions – PR, marketing, sales and business development, for instance, – align their strategies, the results are much more rewarding.

As an agency, it is important to understand your client’s corporate strategy because, without it, you are communicating without understanding how your communication impacts or aligns with the client’s business. What are the long and short-term business needs of the client? Is the client sales and profit-driven, or looking to court investors, or build equity?  Evaluating these objectives and prioritising them will strongly inform your outreach strategy with core areas of focus. Agencies can use this info to get the brand name in front of a target audience of buyers, and on investors’ radars.

The bottom line is that PR must be aligned with the client’s central business drive to help create ­optimum results. In today’s data-driven digital PR landscape, agencies can collaborate with their clients at an unprecedented level to meet their shared business objectives.

Sector Expertise

Specialisation is essential and, frankly speaking, a real competitive advantage for both the PR firm and its clients. The benefits of specialisation are obvious. Clients benefit greatly because specialised PR agencies are able to create and maintain close relationships with the journalists in these areas.

By virtue of serving many organisations and individuals engaged within the same industry, a specialist agency becomes familiar with business systems and controls, planning activities, financial and operational metrics, leadership styles, IT infrastructure, cash management, management reporting and many other business-related nuances that empower them to generate superior results for their client base.

As you would only go to an ophthalmologist to take care of your eyes, it makes sense to work with a PR firm that specialises in the industry that your business lives in. Why entrust the well-being of your business to anyone other than an expert?

Curzon PR is a London-based PR firm working with clients globally. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Business Development Team [email protected]