Sizing Up Agencies: Pros and Cons of Working With
Small vs. Large PR Firms

PR News, 05/20/2002 (c) 2002 Phillips Business Information, Inc.
Part One of Two

It's been a volatile year for PR agencies, from one-person boutiques to the largest global firms. Agency execs at firms of every size are scrambling to build new business - and maintain the old - by changing fee structures, offering new service options and re-focusing on client service. In the wake of all the change, do the stereotypical differences between small shops and large firms still hold true? In Part One of this two-part series, PR NEWS looks at the pros and cons of working with a small agency. Stay tuned to the June 3 issue for Part Two, in which we look at the world from a large agency's point of view. (Editor's Note: We define large firms as firms with more than $5 million in revenues; small firms are firms with less than $1 million in revenues.)

Pros of Working with a Small Agency

Responsiveness. It's intuitive: A smaller firm has fewer clients and more time to devote to your projects. Plus, at small firms, the folks working on your accounts are often the senior-level execs. Dave Mancuso, director of corporate marketing for WaterCove Networks, a technology provider working in the wireless industry, works with a small firm whose principal has "real world" experience working for a company just like Mancuso's. "He had experience in the corporate environment in bringing companies to market in my industry. I knew we were going to get attention within their organization."

"The staff at a smaller firm is focused on your account and not spread out," agrees Albert Fong, PR manager for Avinon, a Web applications platform provider.

Aggressive Pitches. You might equate the media relations "big guns" with larger firms. But small firms have won a reputation with clients as being highly aggressive with the media and other stakeholders. Fong says his small firm was "more effective with media relations, because we were one of two accounts instead of four."

Kim Reingold, senior PR manager for Polaroid, prefers working with small agencies for just that reason. "You have senior-level individuals doing the work. They're not just advising the people doing the pitching - they're doing the pitching."

Lower Prices. Even with ever-evolving changes in fee structures and large agencies' increasing willingness to offer services a la carte, small agencies will likely still run up a smaller tab. "In bottom line terms, the primary advantage of a small agency is that it isn't carrying a lot of inexperienced personnel, which gives the agency the opportunity to keep prices low," says Paul Entin, president of virtual shop epr.

Higher Quality Creative. No one denies that large agencies churn out outstanding creative. But devotees of small firms say their agencies generate new ideas more often than not. "The ideas that smaller agencies deliver tend to be a little more 'outside the box' than, 'OK, you need a media tour,'" Reingold says. "They're thinking about what else we could do to get attention" beyond the basics.

Paul Furiga , president of WordWrite Communications and a veteran of Ketchum, says the fact that a small agency's senior staffers aren't as focused on new business development and management of profit centers as their counterparts at large agencies makes for stellar creative thinking. "When you're a VP at a large firm, your job is business development," Furiga says. "I had a great experience at Ketchum, but what I love is sitting down with a VP of corporate communications, rolling up our shirtsleeves and putting something together."

Heightened Familiarity with Your Entire Business. When dealing with a large agency, it's more than likely you'll see some turnover on your account team. But with a small agency, the players are likely to stick with you over the course of your relationship - meaning the team will understand your entire business, not just your PR needs.

Cons for Smaller Agencies

Lack of Global Resources. Despite their advantages, most small firms don't have the resources - in terms of finances, staff or infrastructure - to deliver a global marketing communications campaign. "If you're looking for international reach, you're probably not going to get everything you want from a small firm," Fong says.

Fewer Resources Overall. When you hire a small firm, you may not have access to the wide expertise available from a larger firm. A small agency with a particular knack for marketing communications may have little experience or expertise in dealing with a crisis.

More Research to Find the Right Firm. "You don't have the margin for error or the large talent pool within a larger organization," says WaterCove's Mancuso. "You really have to make sure with a small firm that you have the interpersonal chemistry right and do a thorough screening to make sure the firm is going to do what you need to accomplish." However, Mancuso warns, chemistry is just as important with a large firm, and while a bigger agency may have a deeper talent pool, getting the key people you need working on your account is not as simple as it might seem. "There's no doubt the cash cow clients get the best resources."

Lack of Stability. A smaller, less-established firm can be more susceptible to a weak market. And especially when dealing with one- or two- person shops, clients should consider that if the key person managing the account makes a career or personal change and no longer wants to manage the account, there's no back-up system of employees who can be quickly up-to-speed on your business.

(Contacts: Mancuso, dmancuso@watercove.com; Fong, afong@avinon.com; Reingold, reingok@polaroid.com; Entin, paul@eprmarketing.com; Furiga, paul.furiga@wordwritepr.com)