Four key reasons why every business should be working with a PR agency
PR is an invaluable tool for companies who wish to grow their business and engage with their target audience
Print23 May 2024
Lynn Hunter, founder, Hunter Media Group offers her four key reasons why every business should be working with a PR agency
What are the primary reasons companies should consider engaging a PR agency?
PR is an invaluable tool for companies who wish to grow their business and engage with their target audience.
There are four key reasons why every business should be working with a PR agency:
Reach – by working with a PR agency you can leverage the agency’s relationships with journalists and content creators and utilise their valuable contact lists to maximise your reach. With the added benefit of working with skilled copywriters within the agency, your business can be pitched directly to top journalists and creators in order to secure valuable coverage. In an age where everyone is competing for attention online, existing media relationships and targeted pitches are more important than ever in order to ensure your business stands out and secures those ever sought-after features.
Value – by working with a PR agency you gain an extra team of workers who are committed to elevating above the line strategies and shouting about your company launches and achievements. With access to account managers, executives, copywriters, event managers and social media strategists, working with an agency is much more cost-effective than building an in-house PR team.
Profile – PR agencies are skilled at building a brand profile and can complement your established brand personality, tone of voice and values by crafting compelling campaigns that add credibility and authenticity to your claims. A good PR strategy is extremely influential and allows you to build a strong relationship with your target audience, which is often the difference between a decision to purchase or a decision to ignore your advertising efforts.
Crisis management – PR experts are skilled crisis managers. By utilising an agency, you can ensure your brand avoids crises where possible and reacts swiftly and effectively in the case of a crisis. Mitigating damage and reducing the likelihood of PR crises is essential, particularly in the age of instant communication on social media.
Could you share a notable success story where you significantly impacted a client’s brand or reputation?
We have the pleasure of working with the iconic Irish brand, Clonakilty Food Co as a client at Hunter Media Group. As makers of the globally renowned Clonakilty blackpudding, we were tasked with crafting a PR campaign that would shift the public’s perception of blackpudding in order to highlight that it is more than just a breakfast food.
In order to achieve this, we initiated an exciting collaboration between Clonakilty and Dublin’s famous smash burger joint, Dash Burger. Dash created a limited edition blackpudding burger that highlighted blackpudding as the perfect ingredient.
We supported the collaboration with a press release and gifting strategy, bringing top journalists and content creators in-store to try the burger for themselves. We created a light-hearted and engaging video for Clonakilty’s own socials and also partnered the brand with Éadaoin Fitzmaurice, Discover Dublin and The Gastro Gays for paid content collaborations, utilising their platforms to create maximum noise on social media.
The results were extremely successful, with coverage in print and digital media and across social media. We secured features for our client in The Irish Times Online, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Independent, The Irish Examiner, TodayFM Radio, to name a few.
It was fantastic to achieve such positive results, transforming the perception of Clonakilty from the creator of breakfast foods to the creator of delicious foods that can be enjoyed at any mealtime or occasion.
How does your agency approach reputation management and enhancement for clients?
When it comes to reputation management and enhancement for our clients, we first complete a comprehensive analysis of the brand’s key messaging, tone of voice, target audience and brand campaigns. Once we have a clear understanding of the starting point, we can map a strategic, long-term plan to enhance this reputation. This plan is always informed by our initial research and takes a different shape for every client. For example, if we are tasked with improving a client’s reputation or establishing a brand more prominently among young adults, the social media strategy will be key. If we want to bolster our client’s reputation for positive social action, our focus will be on CSR strategies.
The key is understanding that each client is unique, we always listen to our clients’ needs and take the time to ensure we are aligned on the key goals we are trying to achieve. A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to be sufficient to cut through the noise and stand out in this industry.
Crisis management is a critical aspect of PR. How does your agency navigate and mitigate reputational risks during challenging situations?
When faced with a crisis, our response is always of course tailored to the individual situation and can vary depending on the factors at play. However, in general we would always advise our clients not to react hastily to a crisis. Particularly in the age of instant communication on social media, one misstep can make a crisis much worse.
We always recommend carefully navigating such situations by listening to the concerns of the media or your consumers and ensuring that your response addresses their concerns adequately. Listening to the public is key in order to understand exactly what is needed from you in this situation.
Furthermore, we look to strengthen our client’s statements in times of crisis with tangible actions that showcase the company’s values and its commitment to the community.
Reflecting on your career, what would you consider to be the most significant achievement or milestone so far?
I think that the recent launch of my third agency, Social Content HQ, and with that, the foundation of Hunter Media Group as the parent organisation of Hunter Communications, The Collaborations Agency and Social Content HQ is the standout achievement of my career to date.
When I first founded Hunter Communications in 2009, I never could have predicted the journey it would take me on and the iconic brands I would end up working with. Having grown my business from the ground up, I’m proud to now lead three agencies that, together, are a one-stop shop for a company’s social media and PR needs. As a results-driven person, I’m delighted to offer this comprehensive service to my clients as I know we can truly transform how each company communicates.
With the influence of social media, how does your agency adapt its PR strategies to engage with audiences effectively?
Social media has undoubtedly transformed the PR industry. What was once a nice addition to a PR campaign or strategy, now often forms the foundation of a brand’s communications. We see social media as a highly valuable tool that cannot be ignored at Hunter Media Group and we constantly monitor trends and developments across key platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, X and Threads to ensure we stay a step ahead of the rest and provide the most up-to-date and effective strategies for our clients.
A perfect example of this is the recent rise of User-Generated Content (UGC). It was in response to the rise of UGC, a more relatable and less polished style of content for a brand’s socials, that we created Social Content HQ. This has allowed us to offer high quality UGC by content creators to our clients, a style of content that, surveys have shown, consumers prefer to the traditional style of branded content.
Another key way we have adapted our strategies to harness the power of social media, is to really utilise the platform of the content creator. Creators are highly valuable for a brand’s PR strategy as they have built a strong relationship with their audience. When you align a brand with a creator in a partnership, you can avail of the modern ‘word of mouth’ communication online. A content creator’s recommendations are trusted by their viewers. This is where my talent agency, The Collaborations Agency, is a huge asset for our PR clients, offering them unrivalled access to some of Ireland’s most influential content creators.
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