While they may make it look easy, event planners actually have a challenging job. After all, they need to make the right choices for different aspects of the program they are handling.
Before moving on to the actual event operations, planners must find the perfect PR agency to provide the necessary exposure to the affair. With all the things they need to look for, event planners may need some help in choosing the right event PR agency which is why we have compiled the following criteria:
- Purpose-Driven
The first thing an event planner should do when searching for PR companies for an affair is to determine if they are purpose-driven. The success of public relations can be measured by the purpose set from the very beginning which is why it is imperative for event planners to choose an agency that can align their PR plan with the event’s ultimate goal.
- Flexible
Every event is unique, so PR agencies should be flexible. If an event planner is looking to hire a team that will handle public relations related to all their projects, it is important that the people or firm can provide campaigns appropriate to each one of them.
- Professional
Professionalism should be a given for any type of job and it is an even more important criterion when it comes to choosing a PR agency. One way to determine this is through client reviews. You can also try to talk to the people in the PR firm to determine how well they handle their customers’ inquiries and start digging for possible flaws. Of course, keep in mind that no one— not even a company— is perfect, so be sure to weigh your options objectively.
- Experienced
Experience is a must in PR for their campaigns to be effective. Of course, the type of experience also plays a critical role.
Back in the day, PR only makes use of the tri-media— print, radio, and TV. Now, the Internet has expanded the scope of public relations as the worldwide web allows event planners to reach more audience than ever before.
With that said, be sure to ask the PR agency about their experience in social media because if they only pitch campaigns involving the tri-media, the campaign isn’t assured of success. The best part of it is that you can actually check their work online and be sure that you aren’t being fooled for a sap.
- Highly Recommended
The PR agency you are looking to hire for your event should also be highly recommended by their previous clients as well as reputable other people who have knowledge of how well they perform the services they offer. Reviews are indispensable in an event planner’s line of work as it provides a hint of how well contractors like PR agencies do their jobs. With that said, be sure to check Reddit and other community platforms covering the niche online to see comments about the agency you are planning to hire.
- Result-Oriented
A PR agency for an event should also be result-oriented. This means they should have a metric which can determine how well they did their job. Key performance indicators vary depending on the type of event you wish to promote, so be sure to do some research on it and see if it matches their campaign success metrics.
Also, experts in the industry believe that PR firms shouldn’t be a “Yes man.” Instead, they should pitch multimedia campaigns that would actually work and not just agree with what you tell them to do. After all, this is the very reason why event planners like you are hiring PR experts like them in the first place.
