The Not-So-Hidden PR Costs

Seeing your name or your brand in the media may be free but the work it takes to get you there is not – that’s why it is called earned media. Whether you choose to run your PR campaign in house or hire a PR firm that is a good fit for your brand, there will always be costs associated that you may not have thought about. A great agency will walk you through these PR costs before you even sign a contract. And if any unexpected costs arise, they will come to you first before moving forward.

So what are these PR costs you should be aware of? Here are a few of the more common costs associated with PR:

Manpower

Like it or not. Nothing is ever free. You’re either going to pay for an agency to develop and execute your campaign or you are going to pay for someone to do it internally.

If you are considering running your PR campaign in-house because you think it will be less expensive than hiring an agency, you need to make sure you are looking it in the right way. You may think that you will just assign someone to “take care of it”, however, who is going to “take care of” their current work load? And if you are planning to hire one or two people to run your PR, remember there are a number of extra costs associated with bringing on new employees such as CPP and other related HR costs.

Before making any final decisions, make sure you are being realistic about the number of employee hours it will take to pull off your campaign. There is media outreach and follow up, content development, event management, research, and so much more depending on your strategy. Do your homework before deciding where to invest in manpower.

If you decide to hire an agency, keep in mind that an agency will have an easier time predicting the hourly investment (if they have previous experience) and will give you a quote based on their assessment. If you get a great agency, then what you see is what you get and you can plan for that resource allocation.

Product

Whether you are launching a new book, a new product for the consumer market, or a B2B service, you need to allot part of your budget to covering the cost of giveaways and/or sampling. If you want people to talk about how great what you are offering is, then they need to try it first. It’s a small cost to pay if you are bringing on a high value influencer as a loyal brand ambassador!

Shipping

It may seem insignificant, but if you are shipping copies of your new book to 25 media contacts, the cost can add up pretty quickly. If your product is large or needs special attention (ie. If you are shipping food that needs to be frozen or refrigerated), you have even more to consider.

Event costs

It takes more than just people to run an event well! There are product costs (think swag bags!), vendor costs (Food, drink, transportation, entertainment, décor, etc), extended team costs (experts, promo team, etc), and much more. The more you plan ahead, the more successful your event will be. And if you have media coming to your event, planning ahead is a good thing.

Design & Printing

This can often be done in-house, or within the agency you have hired. The key thing is that you want to ensure great quality. If you are printing out materials to send to the media or you need an eye-catching postcard to hand out on the street, you want an experienced designer to put this together for you. You get what you pay for. Cheapest is not always best, neither is the most expensive. Find someone you trust and go with it.