OK, so you’ve signed up with a PR agency. You’ve had discussions about the plan and you’ve worked on press kit details.
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So, you’re wondering, “How can I screw this up?”
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Well, you’d be surprised. Hiring a PR agency is a big step. Don’t ruin it by being your own banana peel.
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Amazingly, many people who hire a PR agency end up doing themselves a disservice by not actually letting the PR people do their job. Or worse, they put caveats and restrictions that prevent the person from doing the best job.
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Here are some common mistakes that people make when working with a PR agency.
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1. Keeping the PR agency out of the loop.
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OK, so you run a manufacturing plant that has just created a machine that creates perpetual motion AND brings Elvis Presley back to life, BUT you forget to tell your PR agency about the product.
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As a result, you get no press and you have no clue why.
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This sounds silly, right? Believe me, it’s more common than you think. Folks are so busy working on a new project that they forget to tell the PR people about it. As a result, this press-worthy product gets no press. Or worse, it gets bad press because the PR folks have no chance to prepare a complete plan that deals with possible negative responses.
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It is important to keep your PR person in the loop about important projects so they can do the job you hired them for.
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2. Insisting the agency devote as much resources to irrelevant projects as those that actually will get press.
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So you have the perpetual motion machine that also brings Elvis Presley to life and your PR person is chomping at the bit to pitch it to Oprah, but you are more interested in getting the word out your new sub-level assistant to the assistant vice president who you just hired.
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Yes, that stunning announcement will surely please the ego of the parties involved (and even the Web site that prints any announcement no matter how pointless), it needs to take a back seat to the big picture.
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However, that doesn’t always happen. Many people are too close to the subject and don’t understand that just because YOU are interested in something doesn’t mean media people will be.
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Another problem that sometimes happens: People have something personal in their lives, such as a big PTA event and insist the PR person write a press release or pitch the event to their valued media contacts. This may make you a big star at the PTA meeting, but it takes away the time that could be used to increase brand awareness of your product – the reason you hired the agency in the first place.
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3. Being cheap and parsimonious when it comes to the media
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So you’ve manufactured a million pocket-sized versions of your perpetual motion, Elvis-reviving machine and your PR guy is ready to send them to the media. How can you screw  things up?
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Many different ways, but most of all being excessively cheap. For instance, insisting the media people send them to the next PR person on your list or give the product back is a sure way to irritate them.
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There is sort of a pay it forward quality to press materials. The cost may be high now, but, done right, it will pay back big dividends. Since many promotional things can be considered write-offs, being cheap with the media doesn’t work.
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4. Not being available to the media.
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Capturing media attention is like trying to trap a butterfly. When they want to do a story, they want it now. Yes, you’re busy. Yes, it’s ALWAYS inconvenient, but when there’s media interest, you have to run with it.
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Yet, there are some people who hire a PR agency and then don’t bother to return phone calls or, worse, show up for appointments.
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Maybe you can reschedule things in real life, but not with the media. Your first chance is your best chance. Don’t screw it up.

David Moye is the media relations manager of Alternative Strategies, a full service marketing communications firm. As a media professional with more than 20 years of experience in journalism, PR and publicity, he has used many alternative strategies to get publicity for his clients and has also worked as a consultant for national PR companies like Hill and Knowlton, Fleishman Hillard and Edelman where he helped PR pros tailor their pitches for maximum pop culture impact. He is the creator of PR Puppet Theatre, a YouTube instructional series that was “must-see entertainment/ education for every PR flack.”

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