A client of mine told me about a PR firm that offered to do his advertising creative. It turned out to be ineffective work because, in the end, it didn't address his marketing objectives, nor did it communicate to his target audiences. He was surprised because this firm did such a bang-up job at PR. His disappointment led to a complete dissolution of his company's relationship with the PR firm.
Why the failure? In this case, the PR firm did not recognize its limitations, and therefore did not recognize the opportunity to come through for their client by bringing in qualified, experienced creative professionals. The assumption that because a person can write a press release means they can come up with creative concepts, or even write effective ad copy, is a bold one and, more often than not, a mistaken one.
I relayed this story to a friend of mine who has been a successful freelance copywriter for more than 15 years. She rolled her eyes and said, "Been there. Done that." In her experiences, she has worked with consultants who insisted on acting as "account executives," but lacked advertising and marketing expertise. Still, they would not bring her into the room to meet with their clients. As a result, they couldn't help their clients determine their objectives, and were therefore unable to communicate those objectives to the creative team. As a successful creative professional, my friend possesses a great deal of marketing savvy, or else she would not have been able to do successful work for so many clients over the years. "My work is only as good as the input I get," she told me, adding that she can spend an hour with a client and usually glean more than she needs to know because she knows what questions to ask. She felt that the consultants with whom she worked in some instances were well aware that they were not needed in the creative process, and feared that their clients would realize the same thing if they were to meet the creative team face-to-face. So they tried to fake their way through client meetings alone and then expected the creatives to perform miracles with inadequate input.
Risking your reputation and your client relationship for the sake of making a mark-up is short-sighted. Imagine if my client had been told by his PR firm that the work he needed done was out of their depth. My client would have found someone else to do the work and would have respected the firm's honesty. If the PR firm had told him they couldn't do the work, but referred him to a top-notch creative who could, they would have been heroes and shown their commitment to helping their client succeed. In doing so, they would have retained the account.
I'm glad to be guided by the experiences of other professionals. I find that I learn something in virtually every conversation I have that's related to business. Of the things I've learned, some of the most important are: 1) How to recognize talent; 2) How to recognize an organization's needs; and 3) When to get out of the middle in order to let talent and organizations make magic together. And I'm proud to make such referrals.
The lesson? There are truly remarkable, highly talented PR firms out there. They're top shelf in every respect. The principals of these types of firms and their top administrators don't misrepresent their reach, their in-house talent or the clout they will bring to your team. But if you're in the market for PR, do your homework at the outset before signing on -- especially with smaller firms. Ask the tough questions. A firm that delivered supernatural performances for one business may not offer the in-house talent that your business needs. Ask them who on their team delivers the goods you need. Be smart -- meet them!
Don't let consultants misrepresent themselves -- those who do are the ones that give all of us with such hung shingles a bad name. The bottom line is that some projects are out of a firm's comfort zones. The unprincipled ones will be very hesitant to declare that with consulting ducats on the line. The rock-solid ones are generally quick to size up your wishes and requirements, and to point you in another direction if someone amongst their stable of professional connections can better serve you.
My passion is words and their power to inspire and bring about action, leading recently to fulfillment of a life-long dream -- launch of my own consulting gig (http://www.polishedimage.com). As an editor, I'm even more persnickety than I am as an administrator. I have run point on monthly and quarterly magazines, website launches, flier and brochure development, advertising "creative," and marketing initiatives, as well as the more mundane writing of HR- and admin-related manuscripts, handbooks, annual reports, etc. I have also written a great many speeches that have been extremely well received. My background includes a journalism degree and a career principally in the nonprofit community. And all of that has added up to some "thoughts" on words, writing and business. Lee Cooke.
