Search for a PR agency in Ireland and you will find a hundred versions of the same promise: storytelling, cut-through, coverage. The promises are cheap. The difference between agencies shows up in how they answer awkward questions.
Here are the twelve we would want a client to put to us.
Strategy
1. What business problem do you think we have? A consultancy that has read your accounts, your website and your last six months of coverage will have a view before the meeting. One that asks you to describe your challenge from scratch is selling hours, not thinking.
2. What would you not do? Good advisers decline things. If everything you suggest is a great idea, you are talking to a supplier.
3. Who actually does the work? In small markets, the person in the pitch is frequently not the person on the account. Ask for names and time commitments in writing.
Media relations
4. Which journalists have you spoken to this month, and about what? Relationships are current or they are anecdotes.
5. Show me a story you placed that had no news hook, and how you built one. Anyone can announce funding. Manufacturing relevance is the skill.
6. What happens when a journalist says no? The answer should involve a different angle or a different outlet, not a bigger press release.
Measurement
7. How will we know this worked in 90 days? Ask for leading indicators — inbound enquiries, share of voice against two named competitors, inbound links, search demand for your brand name.
8. Do you report advertising value equivalent? If yes, be careful. AVE prices coverage as if it were advertising, which it is not. It flatters everybody and explains nothing.
9. What will you report when a quarter goes badly? The honest answer is a specific one.
Commercials
10. What is the minimum commitment, and why that long? Communications compounds; three-month trials rarely show the compounding. But the reason should be argued, not assumed.
11. What is excluded? Photography, media training, paid amplification, event support, out-of-hours crisis cover. Get the list.
12. Who owns the assets? Your media list, your key messages, your content library. It should be you.
A note on size
Irish businesses often assume the choice is between a large agency and a freelancer. In practice a senior-led consultancy sits between the two: the seniority of the first without the account-handling layer, and the accountability of the second with more capacity behind it.
The question is not headcount. It is whether the person advising you has personally done the thing they are advising you to do.
What to do next
Write your twelve answers down before the pitch. Score each agency against them within an hour of the meeting, while the impression is fresh. The scores are usually more honest than the feeling in the room.
If you would like an unfiltered read on where your communications is losing value, that is exactly what a first consultation with TIDE Studio is for.