We are different

You might think that one public relations agency is much like another, and the reality is that you wouldn’t be wrong. However, these are some of the concerns that we’ve heard from people over the years.

We hope you give Blaze PR the chance to prove why we are different.

I never see the senior people at my PR agency, I do wonder if they ever do any work on my account.

This is a concern we’ve heard very regularly through the years. Junior staff do a brilliant job, but they do appreciate and need consistent senior support and input. A motivated and well informed team will get excellent results for their clients in just the right places.

Blaze PR is run by Sarah Miles, who has experience working within top twenty PR agencies. Sarah does all of the PR work on client accounts, with the support of specialist partners as required to deliver wider marketing activities.

My PR agency doesn’t seem to understand my business, some of their ideas simply don’t fit with what we’re trying to achieve as a company

We always sit down with our clients at the start of our relationship and ask them lots of questions about their business objectives and expectations of PR. That way, we know that the plan we create will support the growth of their business. PR is pointless if it sits in its own silo and doesn’t actually achieve a measurable return to the business. If you do public relations in isolation, you may as well pour your PR budget down the drain.

My PR agency isn’t proactive and I seem to come up with all the ideas – they take up too much of my time

At Blaze PR we make it our business to get to know our clients’ companies inside-out. We understand that public relations isn’t their only priority and we don’t expect to be spoon-fed ideas. We take the strain away and work with our clients to build relationships with key individuals in the business so that we can keep ourselves up to date on what’s happening. We are experts at identifying what may seem mundane to our clients as being newsworthy to the media, unearthing stories and new angles that keep the PR fire fed.

Once we’ve agreed a plan, our proactive approach to getting the job done on your behalf requires minimal time from you – we are extremely self-sufficient! However, while we won’t sit back and wait for instructions, we will need your support and commitment to make things work.

My PR agency always sees problems and tells me that my ideas won’t work

Blaze PR’s mantra is “can-do”, not “can’t do”. For us there is no such word as ‘can’t’, but often there’s a better approach that can be developed from the smallest seed of an idea. We aren’t sycophants, so we won’t action an idea that we know will be doomed to fail – that doesn’t help anyone. What we will do is take an idea, ensure that it fits with your business objectives, and develop it into something we know will fly.

I never hear much from my PR agency. They send the invoices fast enough, but I’m always chasing to find out what they’re up to

If PR is just one of your many priorities, there’s a delicate balance to be had between annoying you with too much contact and making you feel ignored. We always agree at the outset how we keep our clients in the loop. Whatever your preference, we always ensure that a regular update is sent, which outlines progress and priorities for the next week. You’ll never ‘not know’ where we are with things.

My PR agency never seems to progress very far or get much done

Creating a focused plan with agreed timelines is key to successful PR. Creativity is useless without extreme organisation behind it. We don’t like to run around like headless chickens, but prefer to be in control and make sure our clients feel the same.

We never take too much on at once, and plan ahead to ensure that everything is delivered on time and within budget. If you spread effort levels too thinly you only achieve watered down results. A focused and well managed public relations programme will deliver consistently good results that exceed your expectations.

My PR agency sends out a lot of press releases but I don’t see much coverage

Navel gazing press releases do not make for a compelling media story and journalists will immediately put them in the 13^th file (the bin). PR is not advertising. In fact it has greater credibility, and can have more impact, as it is considered the view of an independent journalist.

At Blaze PR we only create stories that we know will spark a journalist’s interest. There is no room for egos if media coverage is what’s important to you. Writing copy about the problems that your business or product solves, and what interests potential buyers (not what interests you as the seller), is what works. Also, ‘less is more’ – bombard journalists with too many press releases and they won’t use any of them.