We often hear from companies that are looking for PR but have not prepared a PR brief in advance. Some are surprised when asked for one. So why do you need a PR brief in the first place? Compare agencies When you search for a PR agency you will usually want to talk to more than one, and get quotes as to how much they might charge. Consider this: how will you compare the prices they come up with?  One agency may state £5000 a month which includes a long list of things they will do and lots of associated costs – and another PR consultancy may state £1500 but offer a narrower service or be stating  the fee element but excluding costs. A disciplined approach The discipline of writing a PR brief helps you to focus your thoughts on what you need, want and expect from a public relations consultancy, thus enabling agencies to respond properly on what is actually achievable. It is also an excellent tool for helping you to communicate to colleagues the reasons why you are planning to bring a new supplier partner onboard and why you believe the investment in public relations is a sensible one. Agencies use the starting brief to focus their thinking and align their proposals with what you want for your business. Writing a clear PR brief will help you to get better results from your new PR agency relationship and a better return on your PR investment. Tips on writing a PR brief Here are some tips to writing a great PR brief. If you would like our full PDF document on how to write a brief please email us at business@potionpr.com.

• Keep it short (or brief, if you will ...)
• Say what your business objectives are – not just your communications and PR aims
• Explain where your business is today and where you want it to be in 6 months, a year, two years – including any approaching changes or milestones
• “Fess up” about any knotty problems with your brand or reputation
• Be honest about what you do and what makes it different from competitors – and particularly if it is not that different ...
• Outline how you sell your product or service, and some of the questions you are asked in sales meetings
• Provide the link to your website and send a bundle of marketing materials if you can
• If you have had an agency relationship before, explain what worked and what did not
• Include the practical things – whether you do or don’t have someone to act as in-house liaison, and the plan for the PR agency selection process
• The PR budget – without this the agency will have to make assumptions which will be way off the mark, potentially wasting your time and theirs with impractical ideas