How to Easily Manage Multiple International Tech PR Agencies

If you want to deliver PR, marketing, and communications campaigns across multiple countries — the whole of Europe, or even globally — you’re almost certainly going to need external agency support for strategic thinking, creative input, and local campaign delivery.

Managing International Tech PR Agencies

Then, you’ll face the puzzle of choosing a single agency with multiple offices, independent agencies in each country, or a network of like-minded, connected agencies like Collectivist. As you can imagine, I’d favour the latter.  

In any case, you’ll need to think carefully about how to manage all of those agencies. If you’re seriously considering taking your tech PR truly global, you might need up to 15 agencies to cover major markets. That’s no small task — it’s a full-time job for someone. Do you really want to manage 15 agencies yourself on top of everything else?

Here are a few practicalities to consider before launching your international tech PR plans:

Single Point of Contact

I recommend appointing a single PR agency to serve as your central point of contact. A hub-and-spoke model can work well, where one lead agency (often the one closest to you geographically) sets direction and coordinates with the local PR agencies. This significantly reduces the burden on you. 

A single agency with multiple offices — or an agency part of a connected network like Collectivist — is far more likely to succeed in this role.

Consider a Regional PR Agency Leadership Team

Alternatively, rather than relying on a single PR agency, you could appoint a small external leadership team to provide a blend of inputs. For example, you might designate one agency in Europe to manage all the smaller agencies in local European countries. This European lead agency could then work alongside your US and LATAM agency leads. Again, this model works best when the agencies already know and trust each other.

I touched on this previously in a post on centralised vs decentralised approaches. The amount of external support you take from a centrally located PR agency — the hub — depends on your preference and appetite for delegation. How much control do you personally want? For instance, it’s possible to create all your content in one country and distribute it for local media outreach — a highly centralised model. Alternatively, you could give PR teams in local markets more autonomy to craft their own storylines and campaigns — a more decentralised approach. In my view, the best campaigns happen when local teams tell local stories.

Clear Communication

Define clear reporting lines and responsibilities. How and when should teams communicate with the global lead PR agency — or directly with you? Regular sync calls work well: weekly or biweekly regional check-ins, for example. But there’s a real risk these calls turn into dry status reports, with teams reading updates line by line from an agenda.

Instead, try to bring agencies together to brainstorm challenges, bring fresh ideas, and thrash out new ways of working. This can be a much more valuable use of everyone’s time. A Stop, Start Continue retro session could work well. 

Make Use of Tools

Use a unified project management tool (e.g., Asana, Monday.com, Trello) to simplify workload tracking. Alternatively, implement a single weekly or monthly reporting template — your lead agency can manage this. Tools like these help reduce time spent on phone calls going through status updates and allow meetings to focus on deeper insights and collaboration.

Share documents via centralised platforms like Google Drive or SharePoint, and create a shared calendar to track key milestones (e.g., launches, embargoes, and events).

Be careful that these tracking documents don’t turn into never ending lists of tasks to be completed. The lead agency should be really focussed on helping the local agencies to deliver and execute.   

Get Your Measurement Right

Be clear on what you value and ensure this is communicated — at least to your lead PR agency, if not to every local agency. Do you care about hours logged? Is your focus on content creation, media interviews, press briefings, coverage volume, or share of voice? Are you more interested in sentiment, awareness, or changes in reputation? Do you need to demonstrate clear business impact for CEO-level reporting?

Use tools like Meltwater for global media monitoring and reporting.

Help Your International Tech PR Agencies To Thrive

At Collectivist, we support our lead agencies by promoting collaboration and motivation right across our agency network by encouraging agencies to share learnings, challenges, and wins. We do this through weekly email updates, monthly newsletters, and annual meetups — sharing success metrics and standout coverage to build momentum and pride.

How will you foster this kind of environment if you’re managing the agencies yourself?

Managing an international tech PR campaign doesn’t happen by accident. It requires structure, clarity, and the right partnerships. Whether you choose a centralised hub, a network of connected local agencies, or a hybrid model, your success depends on how well you set expectations, enable collaboration, and keep communication flowing.