Agencies crave media coverage but aren't sold on PR

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of agency chiefs consider media coverage to be an effective strategy in building their business profile – and profits – yet only only a quarter (28%) consider PR crucial for business development, despite many agencies offering these services themselves.

That is the rather confusing conclusion of a new Ingenuity report, compiled from a survey of 150 C-suite leaders at agencies across the UK.

It also found that half (54%) of agency bosses want more media coverage but are not willing to pay for it; 72% don’t consider PR as crucial.

While many agencies offer services in PR, they often overlook it as a business requirement for themselves, only 20% believe their PR strategy is directly aligned to their business development efforts. Other barriers to reaping the benefits of PR include the need to resource budget (28%), a lack of understanding its benefits (36%), and not having the time to resource and properly consider PR (37%).

In contrast, 95% of the agency leaders that use PR also use media coverage to support their marketing and sales collateral, and 74% would advocate using PR to their peers at other agencies.

They also find the value in PR through building the agency profile (41%), as a hook for new business (36%), and getting published where their dream clients already consume content (28%).

These figures demonstrate the gap between the value delivered by PR and the recognition of it as a business tool. With three quarters of business leaders recognising media coverage as crucial for lead generation, the appetite for an integrated PR strategy is there – just perhaps not recognised in its current guise, the report maintains.

Ingenuity director of communications Jessie McLaren-Webb said: “It is clear there is a great misunderstanding among agency leaders about the power of PR and how it plays a crucial role in business strategy and development.

“A strategic approach to PR can have a huge impact on the performance of an organisation, and it is integral to a successful agency ecosystem.”