Performance PR – a proven approach to results and accountability
So, you’re a successful tech brand eager to attract new clients and establish industry credibility. You decide to invest in PR, and enlist a top-tier agency on a monthly retainer, which promises coverage in leading industry publications. The campaign has some success, but it’s not what you’d hoped for, especially considering your investment. There’s a distinct lack of tangible results, the phones have remained eerily quiet, and the promised influx of engagement and referrals fails to materialise. Frustrated, you abandon the PR element of your marketing and communications campaign. All you have to show are several large holes in your budget, and a boss piling on the pressure for results.
This is a frequent scenario we hear from marketing and senior leadership teams within technology businesses, who come to us deflated and disappointed with their incumbent PR agency. After poor performance, insufficient results and a lack of accountability, the high cost is the final nail in the coffin. Expensive retainers, missed targets, and lack of transparency, which leaves brands with zero recourse, is a model that has given PR a bad name. But thankfully, there is an alternative. One that addresses all of these issues, and it’s something that we have preached and practised at Whiteoaks for over 30 years.
This is Performance PR
At the heart of Performance PR is a commitment to offering fixed fees for fixed outcomes. We work closely with clients and agree to targets that connect with their overall business objectives. We guarantee that if those agreed targets are not met, the client gets their money back. It offers peace of mind for the client and accountability for us.
The measurability conversation
While some will argue that you can’t measure PR, that is not the case with performance PR. In fact, it is essential to validate successes and understand a campaign’s impact. Campaigns should be designed and measured around the target audience; has it reached who it was intended for? Has the audience engaged with the campaign, and how? And at what scale?
Modern performance PR
Performance PR also presents a shift away from traditional media relations to modern PR, which includes integrated campaigns involving social media, content, and creative work. Measurability is central to performance PR, so being able to quantify these components is key to ensuring targets are hit. We measure our campaigns with key performance indicators (KPIs) which can include traditional coverage volume but depending on the audience, objectives and campaign, may also include things like website referrals and social media engagement. As integrated campaigns have a lot of moving parts, they require distinct areas of expertise to execute them effectively. The Whiteoaks team is made up of experts in different areas including social media, design, and content creation. We all work together to build and drive truly integrated Performance PR campaigns.
Performance PR and business objectives
Unsurprisingly, a lot of PR agencies will talk about being results-driven or result-oriented but it’s only performance PR that can actually walk the walk. We understand that marketers in tech brands are under a lot of pressure to deliver the leads that will fuel growth – and with Performance PR, campaigns are designed to deliver the metrics that are aligned with a company’s business objectives – which is key to gaining senior management buy-in.
Why we excel at Performance PR
Performance PR isn’t just another superficial marketing tactic at Whiteoaks; it’s ingrained in our approach, as it embodies our values and behaviours. Our values underpin our performance-led approach – quality, teamwork, integrity and commerciality. And in our employee-owned business, every staff member is personally invested; your results are our success too. This results in better outcomes for our clients. Performance PR allows us to be one hundred per cent accountable to our clients, and to continually improve and evolve our services. As a result, over our 30-year heritage, we’ve become a trusted partner to many.
If you’re interested in learning more about how we do Performance PR here at Whiteoaks and how it can help you achieve your business objectives, get in touch: https://whiteoaks.co.uk/contact/
