Garage Band PR vs. Orchestra PR

Ian Christopher McCaleb and Maria Stagliano co-authored this article.

Most frustrations with PR firms don’t come from poor work, but rather from a mismatch between what clients think they’re buying and how different types of agencies actually operate. Large PR firms sell scale, structure and consistency. Boutique firms sell customization, agility and accountability. Both offer benefits depending on the task at hand, but most clients who pay for the former still expect the results of the latter and, when they don’t see those results, it often leaves a bad taste in their mouths when considering future work with PR firms.

This mismatch of expectations is one we hear about often from new clients who have been burned before by what they say feels like a bait-and-switch. Again, that’s not to say there’s no benefit to working with bigger PR firms, but clients need to understand who they’re hiring, what type of work products they’ll receive and what type of day-to-day PR professional relationships they can expect.

Process vs. people

In large firms, work moves through systematic processes, while in boutique firms, work moves through people. This seemingly minor discrepancy can cause substantial differences in final work product, leaving a client who went to a bigger PR firm dissatisfied if they expected a more customized approach to their work.

Businesses and individuals who choose to hire Big PR are usually looking for what feels like a more expert service, due to the firm’s global name and brand recognition. Prospective clients at bigger PR firms are often given high-quality pitches with direct executive-level access, promising to meet the goals of the client. Then, once the client has survived a mammoth amount of paperwork to officially sign—and sometimes an extensive onboarding process—a team of more junior associates gets assigned to the account. This is a common practice in the PR industry, but it isn’t always transparently explained before a contract is signed. Larger PR firms leverage these team structures in which senior leaders guide strategy, while day-to-day execution is handled by more junior staff. This model is efficient at scale but not always aligned with a client’s expectations of hands-on senior involvement.

Final drafts may be signed off by a Vice or Senior Vice President, but they’re certainly not being written by them. This model works well for high-volume execution for everyday PR, such as press releases, media pitching and social media assistance, but in highly nuanced or fast-moving situations, clients may expect more direct senior involvement than the structure allows. This mismatch of expectations can cause unwanted tension between the PR team providing the work and the client expecting a different relationship structure with the hired big-name firm.

When scale affects creativity

Complex crises require creative problem-solving and highly nuanced strategies—something that can be harder to achieve within more layered, structured teams. Big PR is focused on billing hours and utilizing their employees in the most cost-effective way, which may not align with the specific needs of a client’s issue.

With boutique PR firms, not only does the client have more access to experts at all levels, but there’s often a more nuanced approach to team building. Diversity of thought, background and specialty all have a seat at the working team’s table, where each team member can bring their unique experiences and perspectives into a client strategy.

With boutique firms, you get a garage band feel. The team is small, nimble and creatively invested. They can pivot quickly and spend most of their time thinking outside the box. With large firms, you get an orchestra. They’re larger in scale and highly coordinated, but less flexible in how each part plays. By nature, orchestras follow carefully crafted sheet music. What you get, and how you ultimately benefit as a client, can all depend on what type of music you’re looking for.

The problem with templates

Anyone in the PR industry is familiar with templates. They have a time and place, such as for standardized press releases. But in crisis work and highly unique strategic brainstorming, these won’t get you very far. If you’re looking for a “CYA” crisis playbook to check the box for insurance purposes, a larger PR firm will certainly churn this out for you. But you’re probably not getting a truly curated, whole-cloth product that understands your business and its needs.

Yes, templates and playbooks ensure consistency, but they can also limit originality in situations that require bespoke thinking. On the flip side, boutique PR firms tend to look at each client’s unique personality, voice and cast of characters to better understand the full picture before producing any work or suggesting a strategy.

How we’re combating the “Big PR” problem

One of the unique ways we’re combating industry challenges and providing more of the “personal” touch to client relationships is by creating a new position: a Client Relations Officer. Our CRO takes on an independent ombudsman-type role to ensure that client teams are working to the client’s ultimate satisfaction. This “outside the team” team member affords clients the opportunity to speak candidly about any concerns they may have regarding the working team or their work products. Our clients now have a new direct communications line to our senior-most management to report their satisfaction or, more importantly, desired improvement or dissatisfaction in working with assigned advisors.

At the end of the day, each PR firm will have its own style and approach to client work, and all produce professional products for their clients. But sometimes clients walk away confused or dissatisfied with what they spent their money on and can’t quite pinpoint why it didn’t feel right.

This isn’t about a right or wrong way of approaching PR, but rather a call to encourage transparency in what a firm’s structure means for the client relationship and corresponding work products. This transparency is key to affording prospective clients the opportunity to select the PR firm that’s right for their needs.

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Ian Christopher McCaleb is Founder and Principal at Blue Highway Advisory. Maria Stagliano is Senior Vice President of Crisis & Corporate Communications at Blue Highway Advisory.