In today's fast-paced business landscape, effective communication is paramount for success. Whether you're a small startup or a multinational corporation, having a robust public relations (PR) strategy is essential for maintaining a positive brand image, fostering relationships with stakeholders, and driving business growth.

However, for some in-house communication teams, securing or even requesting budget approval for external PR initiatives can be a daunting task. It’s a delicate balance between communicating effectively why you need both inhouse knowledge and external support, while still ensuring your value and contribution to the organisation is clear.

In this blog, we'll explore how to navigate the process and make a compelling case for investing in a PR agency.

1. Crafting a persuasive pitch

When presenting your proposal to boards or the decision-makers, it's crucial to articulate the value of engaging a PR agency, highlighting their relevant expertise, industry insights, and established media relationships.

However, one of the primary advantages of partnering with an agency is the ability to leverage their resources to boost your in-house team's efforts. By outsourcing certain tasks, such as creative development and press release distribution, you can streamline your workload and focus on managing internal communications more effectively. This allows your team to allocate time and resources more efficiently, leading to greater productivity and better results.

2. Leverage media relationships

Securing press coverage stands as the foremost objective for PR agencies. It necessitates a blend of media relationships, adeptness in navigating news cycles, and innovative pitching strategies to secure positive and compelling media narratives.

PR agencies specialise in navigating the complex media landscape and have established relationships with journalists across print, digital, TV, radio, podcasts and trade publications. They understand how to craft compelling pitches, secure interviews, and maximise exposure for your organisation. By tapping into their network, you can access valuable opportunities that may be otherwise challenging to attain through internal efforts alone, especially if you have limited resources.

3. Fill expertise gaps

While bringing on board an in-house specialist offers the advantage of someone intimately familiar with your business's intricacies and processes, engaging an external agency offers a multitude of benefits.

A PR agency can provide the expertise and experience needed to address any gaps in internal skills or expertise and deliver impactful campaigns. Whether it's crisis management, or conducting research, partnering with an agency ensures you have more tools in your toolkit to deliver campaigns with impact.

This arrangement allows the in-house team to concentrate on their core strengths and priorities, while agencies work as an extension of your team bringing additional skills and resource to the table.

4. Secure budget approval

When seeking approval for your 2024-25 financial year budget, it's essential to present a well-researched and strategic plan that demonstrates the value of investing in PR.

Provide concrete examples of past successes of the agency as well as potential ROI to build confidence in your proposal and be prepared to address any concerns or objections while offering solutions to mitigate risks or uncertainties.

When presenting a proposal for securing approval for an external PR budget, here are some phrases that comms teams can use:

• "By leveraging the expertise and media relationships of a PR agency, we can secure valuable media and increase positive exposure for our company."
• "Outsourcing certain PR initiatives will allow our in-house team to focus on strategic internal communications, enhancing employee engagement and alignment with company goals."
• "Integrating external PR efforts with our internal communications strategy will ensure greater visibility of our messaging and maximise the impact of our brand storytelling."
• “Alignment with a PR agency allows us to extend the impact of our team, leverage new skills and expertise and bring fresh ideas to our creatives.”

Securing approval for your external PR budget requires planning, persuasive communication, and a clear understanding of the value proposition.

By effectively pitching the benefits of partnering with a PR agency, you can leverage their expertise and resources, increasing the outcomes of your internal comms strategy and adding significant value to your organisation.

At MediaCast, we work directly with founders and CEOs, connect with comms teams and work alongside other PR agencies to deliver impactful campaigns. Give us a shout to found out how we can work together today on 07 3160 3370!