Questions to Consider When Choosing a PR Agency - Does it Matter Where They are Located?

To answer this question right away, it completely depends on your circumstances and preferences. For some people, being near enough to their suppliers to have regular or short notice meetings is vital, in which case you’ll need to search locally.

If that’s less important, then your options are potentially very broad.

I’m not based near a major city, but I’d like my PR agency to be near to me. Is that possible?

Given that there are something in the region of 2,000 PR companies in the UK (and that doesn’t include all the PR freelancers out there), unless you are in a very remote spot, there is a good chance you will have some choice of supplier near to your location.

Is being near the media in London important?

Some agencies see it as a definite advantage, but there is also a broad view that being in London per se is not as important as it was a few years ago. This is particularly true because of the impact of email communication and the Internet in general in the way PR agencies contact the press. Don’t forget that not all of the media are based in London either.

Are all the best agencies in London?

No &mdash there are a huge number of excellent PR companies based all over the UK. Some of the best industry specialists can be found many miles from the capital. Equally, many of the larger PR agencies have regional offices to provide a local service up and down the country. Many of the largest and most successful PR companies are based in the capital, but they don’t have a monopoly on quality of service.

What difference does it make to pricing?

Again, this is not a hard and fast rule, but in general terms London agencies are more expensive than many based regionally. The best way to assess this point is to compare the service levels and pricing of agencies in London and other places.