How to choose a PR agency in the Philippines.
Give every agency the same brief, then compare the answers. Five things separate a proposal you can act on from one that reads well and commits to nothing.
By Michaela Villaroman · Published · Updated
Look for work you can assess.
Read the case studies closest to your announcement, your audience or your market. Follow the coverage links. Check that the articles exist and that they say what the case study implies.
A recognisable client name is a starting point. The useful detail is the brief, what the agency was responsible for, and what happened as a result.
If you are considering MVR, start with the Sicilian Roast restaurant-opening case study or Michaela's communications work through Seedstars. Choose the example closest to your brief.
Find out who will lead the account.
Ask who develops the strategy, who writes the materials, who contacts journalists and who you will speak to week to week. Ask whether those are the same people in the room at the pitch.
At MVR the answer is Michaela Villaroman, on every account. The About page and the portfolio set out the background behind that.
Compare the proposed scope.
Ask for the activities, deliverables, markets and reporting to be written down. Where a launch involves an event, ask specifically which parts are media support and which are event production.
Ask how a retainer differs from a project in what you receive. An agency that cannot draw that line clearly in a proposal will not draw it clearly in month three either.
If that question is still open on your side, retainer or launch project lays out what each one buys and what to settle before you sign.
Ask what the numbers mean.
A useful report names the publications, the stories and the reporting period. Ask how placements are counted and how any audience figure is calculated.
Publication audience estimates describe a publication's reach, not verified readers of your article, and they can overlap heavily between outlets. Treat business results as a separate question that needs its own data.
Clear definitions are what make the numbers comparable between one proposal and the next. For a closer look, read how to assess a PR coverage report.
Watch what gets promised.
Ask how the agency would approach your announcement and what it needs from you to do it. Ask what it would decline to promise.
Editorial decisions belong to publications. Guaranteed coverage is not something an agency can commit to, and a straight answer on that is worth having in writing.
See how MVR approaches media relations, or use the free PR Scope Builder to turn what you know into one brief before you compare agencies.