PR underdogs rule the roost

Why boutique PR agencies are starting to give the big corporations a run for their money

WHEN it comes to hiring the services of a company to boost your product or brand power, isn’t it a natural thought that ‘bigger’ is always ‘better’?

Regardless of whether you’re set to launch a world changing service or open up a new restaurant, thoughts naturally lead you to seek out the biggest public relations agency to implement and lead your PR campaign.

Why? Perhaps it’s the status of working with big boys. Maybe their size suggests they are financially stable. Or it might be something as simple by the fact you were dazzled by their slick, city centre offices.

Whatever the reasons, when you break it all down does it really pay off? Are there really that many differences between multi-nationals corporations and thriving independent boutique public relations agencies, such as Holyrood PR?

PR isn’t cheap, so if you are looking to invest, check out our essential business cheat sheet on some of the things you should be looking for, to help make sure you find exactly the right agency for your business.

Pleasingly, Holyrood PR’s results-driven approach and successes have been recognised by our peers after we were named the Outstanding Small Agency Public Relations Consultancy in the 2015 Scottish PRide Awards.

So if you are that business that is looking to boost its media profile, has a barnstorming new product to launch or maybe wants to talk about your latest expansion, here are a few bite sized ideas to get you thinking as to why it might work in your advantage to turn left, try a new direction and go smaller:

STRUCTURE V FLEXIBILITY

Simply put, big agencies are big bureaucracies. By nature, they operate in a methodological process which places traditional level of PR as core aspect of service delivery.

However, with the media landscape changing at a rate of knots – it can be seemingly difficult to move with the times and update your policies from a top down level.

Consumers are always looking for new and in demand technologies and new platforms to access and share news. And with a host of innovative media, apps, devices and systems to aid the functioning of public relations – how long would it take a multinational corporation to implement such new processes to all its staff?

Answer: Not as fast as it would take a boutique agency which is always on the pulse of innovation.

BRAND POWER OF BOUTIQUE

The appeal of a boutique agency, one that can deliver a more personalised service and be more flexible and
responsive, is something many brands are also embracing.

They, and their staff, can become ambassadors for their clients – acting as an additional sales team in promoting their brand at networking events or on social media channels.

At Holyrood PR, we take that added-value to new levels by offering clients access to our regular Holyrood PR TV video and monthly newsletter to profile their products to our sizeable database – all for free.

Find out how you can ensure you get maximum value from your PR agency with this essential guide on what to look for and what questions to ask

We also give every clients a dedicated online newsroom – a hub that is entirely devoted to them – on our highly optimised website to showcase all their PR activity, another free resource that not only provides clients with an extremely valuable NEWS tab to link to their own website, but a means to build their SEO value.

There’s plenty more we do to set ourselves apart – and we’d love the chance to chat with you about the possibilities for your business.

A CAN DO CULTURE

When an agency is described as ‘big’ it can mean the employ many staff.

But is also means clutter, competing interests and confusion. Rest assured a smaller team will work in sync to provide you with the best results for the campaign.

When hiring a boutique agency to lead on your campaign you’re also investing in a close knit team who know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and can combine together to provide you with an amalgamation of creativity, ingenuity and best of all – fantastic results.

As we like to say at Holyrood PR we hit the sweetspot in terms of our size – we’re big enough to deal with issues of scope and scale, as major clients will testify, including the £1 billion a year utility, Scottish Water, Britain’s biggest luxury house builder CALA Homes, and the health and care giant, Bupa.

ACCESS ALL AREAS

Want direct access to the CEO of the company? Then you’ve got it.

Sometimes the problem with the biggest of agencies in town is down to the fact that you really don’t know who you’re speaking to.

When signing on the dotted line with a boutique agency you can rest assured that the same faces you saw at the boardroom pitch are the same faces you’ll see when they’re running through the wave of national coverage they secured you at the next monthly meeting.

We’ve proved we’re big enough to work with giant companies and to deliver the most ambitious PR campaigns. However, our manageable size means the original founders of the company still lead from the front and ensure standards, ethos and commitment to quality and excellence are imbued in the entire team.

STREAMLINED FOR SUCCESS

Linking back to the all important theme of accessibility – a further advantage of the boutique agency is the streamlined work ethic it provides.

In a multinational company with departments full of employees, are you always assured as to who is working on your account?

Hungry for more advice and insights on how to find exactly the right PR agency for you? Then check out 10 Reasons why you should choose Holyrood PR

In a boutique agency there isn’t going to be tens of juniors, execs and managers all scrambling over the one account – rather a reliable, structured team who know the ins and outs and can describe your brand message in their sleep.

Structure is important and it pays to know exactly who is working on your account; what they are doing and why; how success will be reported and measured. Want to know more details? Then check out our guide, below

Our PR Starter Pack is a vital tool for businesses looking for public relations experts to work with. We’ve done all the hard work, so that you don’t have to!