What to Expect When Working With a PR Agency

One common misconception about working with a PR team is that hiring an agency is as simple as sending over some information and quickly getting media coverage. In reality, PR is a much more collaborative process. A good agency needs to understand the business, its goals, audience, leadership, industry, differentiators, and even what the client doesn't want to say.

Before signing with a PR agency, it's helpful to understand what the relationship actually looks like—and what both sides need to bring to the table.

Expect An Initial Discovery Period

When you choose to work with a PR agency, expect the team to want to get to know your business and the why behind what you do. Getting to know your brand is typically one of the first steps, whether through a discovery call, consultation, or onboarding process.

A PR agency should focus on how its team can help your business achieve its goals, not simply what it can pitch.

Questions they may ask include:

• What does your company do?

• Who are you trying to reach?

• What are your business goals?

• What makes you different?

• Who are your competitors?

• What have you already been doing?

• What stories or milestones are coming up?

• Who are your spokespeople?

• What does success look like?

The better an agency understands your business, the more strategically it can communicate it.

Expect To Provide Information and Access

It's easy to assume that hiring a PR agency means the team will take over all outreach work from day one. While an agency can handle strategy, pitching, media relationships, messaging, and more, the client still needs to provide the information that makes that work possible.

Because PR is a collaborative relationship, brands should expect to provide:

• Timely information

• Company updates

• Executive availability

• Data

• Photos/assets

• Approvals

• Subject-matter expertise

• Upcoming announcements

Many strong stories can get lost simply because the PR team didn't know they were happening. Keeping your agency informed gives them more opportunities to identify relevant stories, timely angles, and potential media opportunities.

Expect Some Pitches To Get No Responses

PR doesn't come with a guarantee that every pitch will result in coverage. A pitch not getting picked up doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't well-written. Journalists have deadlines, competing stories, limited editorial space, changing assignments, and their own priorities to consider. PR teams will continue refining their strategy to make sure the right journalist picks up the right story and pitch for their audience. A good PR agency should use these outcomes as information. What angles are gaining traction? Which publications are responding? Is the story relevant right now? Does the pitch need to be adjusted?

It’s important to remember that one unanswered pitch doesn't equal a failed PR strategy.

Expect Your Strategy To Evolve

You shouldn't expect your PR strategy to remain exactly the same throughout the year. Timely trends, breaking news, competitor launches, industry developments, business changes, and new opportunities can all change what deserves attention.

A good PR agency should be able to adapt while keeping the larger business objectives in sight. Sometimes that means changing the pitch. Sometimes it means shifting priorities entirely. Adaptability is part of effective PR.

Expect More Than Media Coverage

PR can extend far beyond media pitching. Depending on the agency and your goals, a communications strategy can include:

• Media relations

• Executive visibility

• Thought leadership

• Social media

• Events

• Community relations

• Marketing communications

• Branding

• Strategic planning

• Strategic AI

Working with an agency can build a relationship that goes beyond securing media coverage. It can help strengthen your brand's visibility, credibility, and reputation across multiple areas of communications. The goal isn't simply to get your name in the news. It's to create a stronger, more connected presence for your brand.

Expect Measurement, But Not Just Impressions

Anyone can look at analytics and determine whether a number went up or down. Working with PR professionals gives you the opportunity to look at those numbers in the context of a larger strategy.

PR agencies may evaluate:

• Quality of coverage

• Relevant publications

• Website traffic

• Brand mentions

• Leads and inquiries

• Speaking opportunities

• Social engagement

• Search visibility

• Reputation

• Business objectives

The important part is understanding what those metrics actually mean for your brand.

A successful PR strategy isn't necessarily the one with the biggest number. It's the one where the results connect back to the objectives you originally set.

Expect PR To Be A Long-Term Investment

Hiring a PR team shouldn't be viewed as a one-time solution for a product launch, business development initiative, or brand announcement. PR can absolutely create short-term wins, but credibility, relationships, reputation, and visibility are built over time.

Consistent PR gives your brand more opportunities to become part of the right conversations, establish expertise, and build familiarity with the audiences that matter most. One media placement can be valuable. A sustained presence built around the right stories and relationships can be even more meaningful.

Working with a PR agency isn't about handing over your brand and waiting for someone else to make it successful. It's a partnership. Your agency brings strategy, media expertise, relationships, and an outside perspective. Your team brings the knowledge, access, information, and expertise that make the brand worth talking about. When those pieces work together, PR becomes more than publicity. It becomes part of a larger strategy for building visibility, credibility, and long-term growth.

At The McRae Agency, we don't view PR as a one-off publicity project. We view it as an ongoing partnership designed to understand where your brand is going and determine how communications can help get it there.

With more than 30 years of PR experience, we've expanded our capabilities to help brands navigate today's communications landscape– from publicity and media relations to social media, marketing, branding, and strategic AI.

Want more PR tips and insights? Subscribe to our newsletter at mcraeagency.com. Looking to build a stronger PR strategy for your brand? Contact beth@mcraeagency.com for a complimentary consultation.