Understanding the How’s and Why’s about Hiring a PR Agency for Your Business

By Robert Udowitz, special to Overdrive and a principal of RFP Associates

Too often companies grumble about their experiences with public relations firms. Sometimes it’s over money, other times over strategy, and many times the hiring entity simply isn’t patient enough to see the fruits of an agency’s labors. At the end of the day, a rocky marriage between businesses and their PR firms can be traced to a lack of basic understanding of the public relations function – versus that of marketing or advertising. The result? Finger pointing, blame assigning and a lot of wasted time.