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Good review of the pros and cons of bringing PR in-house, Jennifer. While I agree with you that having PR in-house allows for more efficient cross-functional capabilities and collaboration, I think the biggest benefit to many companies of still utilizing some type of outside PR relationship is the objective counsel those professionals should be providing executives within a company.
While certainly no one can argue that in-house people will know a company's brand, its customers, sales cycle, etc. better than in-house people, that's also a problem in itself. As many of us know, it's often difficult to provide objective analysis of our own company's work, strategies or tactics because we are either so focused on that work on a day-to-day basis, or it's our very jobs to champion that work.
Where outside PR relationships can be very beneficial to companies is in providing that strategic, objective analysis that is needed for executives to make thoughtful decisions regarding the business, messaging and branding impact of specific strategies and decisions. That's certainly not to say that in-house professionals can't provide this type of objective analysis (I know many who can and do it very well), but PR professionals are trained to help companies build their business through the use of objective and strategic counsel ... even if that advice/counsel isn't what executives always want to hear.
@KeithTrivitt
As we move closer to 2011 budget planning, marketing decision-makers are asking themselves how to create more bang for their buck. Even if a company is not slashing its spending it certainly is trying to determine how it can get more results for its investment. And, in the specific case of public relations, this has created an ongoing question of “should I take my PR in-house?”
The numbers are indicating that this trend is indeed happening. In its most recent agency report, AdAge showed that overall the domestic agency market — which includes public relations as well as advertising, marketing services, media, and health care — dropped 7.5% to $28.4 billion in 2009.
The question of in-house PR versus hiring an agency is a much trickier question today than it ever used to be. PR as a function has changed and PR agencies should no longer be simply operating as strict media relations / press release development / “insert tactic here” outlets. There’s a bit of a crossover now between traditional public relations agencies and digital agencies. The thing is, that in many companies the cross-functional collaboration required for today’s progressive communications is easier to achieve by internal teams, versus agencies that might only work with one business unit. While many agencies are still able to do this well a slew of others are still focused on baseline media relations programs. This is another reason why it might make sense to expand internal teams versus expanding or growing an agency relationship.
Jaelithe Milich, marketing communications specialist at clothing company ExOfficio, said that her company brought its PR in-house not only for traditional elements but for better collaboration overall.
“We brought PR in-house because we wanted quicker and more efficient interaction with ExOfficio product development and customer service,” she said. “This allows us to react to customer needs, communicate quickly and authentically and accomplish bigger objectives.”
Milich said that the results of taking the program in-house were immediate.
“We’ve seen an 80 percent increase on impressions and reach a more qualified audience,” she said.
Milich is not alone in her experience. Many companies made the decision to bring their PR, and even some marketing programs, in-house in 2008 when the brutality of the economy started to truly show itself. While economic factors were an initial consideration, the trend continues due to as many public relations agencies are struggling to move from their traditional roots into digital agencies. At the same time, the hiring of digital agencies that incorporate PR into their larger programs is increasing. There are still risks in agencies trying to be everything to everyone and, for that reason, more companies are choosing to work with internal resources.
“You must be inside our doors, in the thick of our culture, living and breathing our core values to communicate effectively,” says Leslie Yeransian, creative writer and media coordinator, Rising Medical Solutions, a national medical cost containment and healthcare management company. “Our existing and prospective clients are on information overload; consistent messaging is key. The best way to achieve that is by keeping communication in-house.”
Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out and PR veteran, believes that internal PR can be very effective, that is, if the company has the right resources.
“As long as the companies have some idea what they’re doing, yes — it can be helpful to them,” Shankman said. “Fact is, no matter how good the PR firm is, no one’s ever going to capture your passion the way the actual company will.”
