When you come up with your agency's name, you want it to convey everything you've just learned about your client's company and about the industry it operates in. And your agency name needs to help you reach clients, of course.
This article will discuss a basic plan for a public relations campaign. The sample can be used for both print and online forms.
If you are creating a print campaign and would like a set of sample papers, send me an e-mail, and I will send you a large format A4 printable version of the sample.
Don't forget to open the sample file and view it on a different browser window. Your browser may differ in what you see.
This is the most obvious part of your agency name. You want it to convey your agency's name as clearly and consistently as possible.
It needs to be long enough to communicate who you are but short enough that it can be changed whenever you decide you want to change.
Perhaps you want to create a name that works as both your agency's name and subtitle (or title) of an article. Maybe your agency's name is "The Agency That Created the One-Minute Campaign." Still, the subtitle of that article is "The Agency That Created a One-Minute Campaign," so the agency title would be "The Agency That Created One-Minute Campaigns."
This works really well in a magazine article, but it's also a really nice way to have your agency's name communicated without even using a full agency name.
This is a fun trick to try when you're trying to build an audience for a new project. The idea is that if you build a campaign around the slogan of a popular TV show, and you create a brand around that slogan that is specific to the project, then people will buy the advertising from you.
If the advertisers buy the ads anyway, they'll choose you because they know they're not advertising with a random agency.
If you build a campaign around the slogan of a popular TV show and create a brand around that slogan that is specific to the project, people will buy the advertising from you. If the advertisers buy the ads anyway, they'll choose you because they know they're not advertising with a random agency.
What funds are available to the agency? Is the client getting money from its owner or a wealthy investor?
Or is the company getting money from somewhere else entirely, maybe from a business loan or venture capitalist?
Is the company already heavily in debt and has to cut corners? Is the client expecting a sudden large investment from its owner, and if so, what is the company's plan for dealing with it?
Revenue forecast – How much revenue is expected for the company? How much is the company actually going to make, and how much will it spend?
Costs and budget – What are the costs of the project? How much will the company spend, and how much will it get back? How much will the company save? How much will the company have to spend to achieve the goals?
What the company does on a normal day – What does the company do, and why does it do it? Is it to make a profit, or is there a larger reason behind it?
Is the company's goal to grow, or is it in a steady state of doing the same thing every day?
Description of the client's business model – How does the client actually make money?
Is it through subscriptions, or products, or advertising? What percentage of profits does the company earn?
There are a lot of agencies out there and a lot of people looking for an agency. It's important to have a strong web presence so that your agency can be found.
For example, see if you can get your agency mentioned in the acknowledgments of a book you worked on and if the book has a list of firms who helped the author. People looking for an agency may find that your agency was mentioned on the author's acknowledgments page, and therefore they'll contact you to hire you for work on other projects.
The point is, don't try to be all things to all people. Rather, stick with one or two keywords that you know will help you stand out from the competition.
You want to get the right clients to represent you, which means getting on good terms with them. You want to be friendly, answer questions promptly, and make a positive impression.
As with your name, it's also helpful if the client base knows who your agency represents.
If you're representing a bank or a hospital, make sure to attend trade shows for the industry, and make sure you send plenty of pre-negotiated project proposals so that the company you represent can select you. If you represent a tech company, get the client to open the doors for your agency's booth at the next trade show they attend.
Beyond that, you want to have a good relationship with all the clients you work with. If a client has a problem, don't just ignore it.
