Right, let's get some PR...

You need public relations support. You’re a busy creative practice, or a solo operator, and your work needs to see the light of day. Projects are coming to fruition, and after blood sweat and tears going from concept to completion, people need to know about it. Your exacting standards mean you’ve been precise and specific throughout the whole project, your work is nothing short of genius. Now it’s time to hand it over to a PR to get publicity, right??

Yes, no, and, well, kind of.??

Yes, you do need PR, always.?

No, because good PR is about more than getting your (shiny) new work published

And kind of, because, yeah, getting your work publicised can be really, really valuable, short and long term.?I get it.

Those precise skills that you have honed over years of becoming the expert you are - perhaps taking a design from a mere bubble of a thought to a living breathing thing - need to come back in to play right now. I know, it’s probably the last thing you want to do. You’re a creative, and you want to do what you’re best at.?

But…?

Imagine doing your work without a brief. Heaven, you might say. But if your fabulous new client said, “make me a new home, I need a better one”, or “design me a new furniture collection”, you might come back with a few questions, and rightly so.?

Public relations is no different.?

Get the brief right, and you’ll be on course for an efficient, effective, and rewarding relationship that will get the best out of public relations. You’ll know what each other wants, you’ll establish where there’s room to collaborate, right from the off. There will be a clear direction of travel. And you’ll have a solid framework, you’ll be transparent with finances, and yes, you’ll talk about a realistic timeframe.

So, if you are serious about PR, spare a couple of minutes to read on. Find a good chunk of time, get a big pot of tea, block out your diary, and crack the brief. Creating the PR brief is simple, but it needs your full attention and best mind. It’s going to guide the professionals who will be serving you and your business, so it needs to be clear and considered.???

Follow these eight pointers, take a notebook, and get writing*:??

1.?????Your business objectives: be open and realistic. You don’t have a business plan? Blast it with a??two-hour session using the Orbit Model – and then come back here.?

2.?????The current situation: where are you now??Say it like it is.

3.?????Where do you want to be??Dream big. And then check back in with your business plan. If you're hazy on that, try visualising, dive into your imagination, look at other people you rate, in or out of your sector.

4.?????Who is your audience? In the PR sense, the audience is who, ultimately, you want to see your idea/work/business. If you have constructed marketing avatars, brilliant, chuck those in. If not, do some profiling and have some fun. What does your ideal client look like, where do they live, what’s their profession, what are their values, where do they shop? Try a couple of profiles, give them names, then write some more profiles.?Get under the skin of the people you want to talk to.

5.?????Your competitors. The good, the bad and the ugly. Write them down. We need to know who we’re dealing with.??

6.?????The issues. Are there any perennial problems? Are you working on change management? Are you planning a sale? Acquiring another organisation? Just can’t get the right people to stay? Keep making gorgeous work, but your next client wants something completely different? Do you have a nagging feeling that keeps cropping up? (hint – listen to that voice). Yes, that’s a string of questions, and I could go on. But you get the picture. Take a good look at the macro and micro issues in your business, write them all down. Maybe organise these notes into categories, and use the Eisenhower Matrix to help plan if it's overwhelming. PR works as the vanguard to your business, and to be effective we need to know all the nitty gritty.?

7.?????Resources: share any relevant research you have done, an outline of your new work, a portfolio of pieces not on your website, work in progess – anything that will help your PR professional to quickly understand your business. Having said that, keep it focussed and on point.?

8.?????Time and Money. That old chestnut. But this is the big one. This will help make an accurate framework for your PR professionals to pitch to.?

What is the timeframe, realistically? Keep in mind that good PR is a long-game, it’s a strategic business function, not a wham bam flash in the pan. Allocate 6 months’ time at least, with a bigger picture to back it up. Although if it is PR ER you need, like, yesterday, be prepared to pay a premium.

How much can you invest??Think about it and work out what you can invest. And invest is the key word here. Be transparent, give a from – to figure if it’s too difficult. But work it out. What’s your percentage of revenue going to be spent on investing on the future with your marketing and communications? Do you want to include internal comms here (I always recommend it)? Then that’s an investment directly in your teams.?There are a gazillion figures in the business books and blogs – have a read. Find someone you like and trust, and see what it looks like with your business if you allocate 10% revenue, or 12%. What could you do with 15%. Does that work??

That’s a whistle stop through writing a brief. Do the big thinking, then be precise and specific.?

And a couple more pointers…?

Wait, we’re one of how many? When you’re ready to contact PR professionals, keep in mind how you like to work with your business. You’d want to know how many people are pitching, perhaps. You’d want to make sure all the time and effort that goes into the pitch has got a good chance. And yup, it’s the same for PR consultancies.?

Give everyone the same amount of time to prepare the pitch. About two weeks is good. And make sure you have an even playing field. Everyone has the same Zoom time, or a phone call etc.?

The on-side rule: Hiring a PR consultant or agency can be a real boost for your employees. It signals you are investing in the company, in them, and all their hard work. Maybe their family will finally get to see what they do all day. Bonus.?

So get the teams involved. Make sure those who will manage the PR function, the teams affected, and the holders of the purse-strings all agree with the brief before you put it out there. Get your people on-side right at the start.?

Let me know how it goes!?

And if you’d like to know more, drop me an email, I’d love to talk.

Hannah X

*This is just because I know writing isn't for everyone. Record voice notes, get it transcribed, ask one of the team to take notes, but make sure you give a written brief by hook or by crook.

What's the image? Thanks for asking! It's one I took from a plane (remember those). I always love that moment, being above the clouds. I chose it to symbolise you taking the time and space out of your busy schedule to spend on PR.