Your selection of a public relations, public affairs and/or marketing communications firm is a critical decision, whether you are part of a large corporation, a small or start-up business, an industry or trade association, or a government agency:

• Your Reputation is Too Important - A client entrusts its agency with significant assets, including its reputation, brand, and relationship with key audiences. Ensuring you have the best advocate for those assets is essential.
• You are Making a Significant Investment - A PR firm’s services and expenses typically comprise one of the largest line items in any public relations/public affairs/ marketing communications budget.
• You are Hiring the Equivalent of New Staff - The hiring of a PR agency is not unlike hiring multiple managers and staffers, all at once – but the stakes of making a “bad hire” are arguably much more significant.  Ask your HR department how long it would it take to hire half-a-dozen or more mid-level managers.  Now ask yourself, "Did I invest that time and effort when we last hired an agency?"
• You Need to Find the Smartest, Most Trusted Partner - A good client-agency relationship is like a marriage: it requires good chemistry, a sense of true partnership, open and honest communication, and acceptance of good ideas by and from both parties, and a commitment to endure.