Choosing an International Tech PR Agency: How Many Should You Review?

There’s an age-old adage that when working with suppliers, you review multiple quotes. After all, how else can you be sure you’ve secured good value and found the best partner?

The same principle applies when considering a global PR campaign with an international tech PR agency. How can you know if you’ve made the right choice if you only speak to one potential agency partner? It’s understandable that you would want to compare “apples to apples” before proceeding.

However, consider this from the PR agency’s perspective. 

Whilst it’s always good to be speaking to a tech company that understands how agencies operate and the benefits they bring, there’s no greater agency challenge than discovering that you’re competing against multiple other agencies for the same campaign.

Preparing proposals and pitches takes significant investment, and the chances of winning and recouping that upfront effort decreases with every additional agency in the mix.

Mathematically, if you’re taking proposals from five agencies, our chances of success are 1 in 5, or 20%. In other words, an agency has an 80% chance of investing a lot of time and resources without seeing a return.

So, what’s the solution?

Desk Research (Unlimited Number of Agencies)

Why not start by spending time upfront researching agencies before speaking to them? Ask yourself questions like:

• Do they have relevant tech experience?
• Can you read case studies and references?
• Are the cultural clues in alignment with your own values?
• And, gut-feeling-wise, do you think you could work together?

Chemistry Calls (4-5 Agencies)

These are no-commitment calls, where both sides aim to get to know each other over a virtual coffee. What are you hoping to learn?

• Did we listen?
• Can we challenge each other?
• Do we ask insightful questions?
• Can we laugh together?
• Could we work together?

Pitches and Proposals (1-2 Agencies)

If you’ve conducted thorough desk research and had chemistry calls with a few agencies to ensure a good fit, you’re in a strong position to share a brief and then request a campaign proposal. At this stage, most agencies will appreciate knowing they have a 50:50 chance of winning. Both you and the agency have solid odds of success.

Collectivist – International Tech PR Agency

You can learn all about the agencies in the Collectivist network as part of your desk research on our insights page or through our 3-minute Coffee With interviews. Alternatively, if you feel like you are ready for a real coffee and chemistry meeting, please do get in touch and signup to our newsletter.