Thank you for this comprehensive study. We're honored to be on the short list of agencies folks would consider switching to - we hope they do
On a serious note, the takeaways you wrote up are invaluable. I also found a lot of the commentary very compelling and am happy that for the most part, we address a lot of those concerns at PerkettPR with our senior-only staffing model. For agencies that do have junior-level staff, I hope they will continue to improve upon the training, mentoring and involvement in strategic discussions for those staff members. It's the best way to learn - junior staff can't do a good on execution if they aren't involved in and understand the bigger strategy - and that goes back to your comment and advice on understanding a client's BUSINESS goals, not just PR goals.
I would say it also goes back to PR agencies listening during a pitch as well as talking. Too many forget this aspect.
This is also timely with a blog post I wrote this morning on whether or not social media is important in PR: http://bit.ly/INSRU
I think, like you said, a balance is key - social media is not crucial to all of our clients, or to all companies from a PR/marketing perspective.
Thanks for all of your hard work on this - we will certainly heed your advice and the lessons learned from your research.
All my best,
Christine Perkett
Founder, President - PerkettPR, Inc.
http://www.twitter.com/PerkettPR
http://www.twitter.com/missusP
http://www.perkettprsuasion.com
