How should I evaluate and pay a public relations work?

Question

I know this might sound weird, but I wonder how does a pr get evaluated and paid.
Does he/she offer a program covering a period of some months with projections and targets and then gets paid on the results, after an advance maybe... or gets a monthly pay... how does it work?
Because I can't imagine someone working on the same project with the same success rate always... I mean, what if the pr performance declines over time, or doesn't get the projected results...
Should I ask an example of project he/she floowed with a former client similar to me? I know that different products get different attention, but is it okay if I ask such a thing?
Specifically I'm interested in the fashion pr, thanks!

Ken, thanks for the curious anecdotes, most paradoxes out there! Well I haven't got millions to spend on pr at all, infact I'm quite on a budget! I made my own logo and do all I can, only that having someone to represent you on foreign land I guessed would be a good idea, especially someone with contacts already... but I get what you say about timing and being smart ;)

Answer 1

I have to disagree with Ken about the value of hiring a good PR person. What you are looking for when hiring a PR person is someone who has media contacts, who has experience and success getting stories placed in a variety of media. The reason a PR person is worth the money is a story about your company in print on the air is seen as more credible and believable than an ad. You should absolutely ask for samples of their work and references of current or past clients. Many credible PR people will not work for more than one company in an industry to avoid conflicts of interest so samples may not be industry specific. Also, many PR people will work within your budget. They will be able to tell you approximately what you can expect to get for the money that you are willing and able to spend. Millions of dollars need not be in the picture. I hope this helps!

Answer 2

PR, Marketing and Market Research is always a gamble. If the product and the timing is right, even appaling PR can be of benefit. You will pay the fees based on the number of hours worked on the project and it is not cheap. Here's some examples of successful and unsuccessful PR etc.

Gerald Ratner - He once owned the largest jewellery chain in the UK. At a dinner reception he "jokingly" stated that he wouldn't buy jewellery from any of his shops as "it's a load of crap". The media picked up on it and he was on the front pages the very next morning. Within three weeks, Gerald Ratner went from being worth over £300 million to being bankrupt.

British Airways spent millions on new designs for their aircraft and removed the union jack colours from the tails of the aircraft to replace it with some form of modern art. People couldn't associate BA with the new designs and they had to spend another few million on putting the original back.

Camelot, facing falling sales, spent millions for a company to produce a new logo for the lottery. The company changed the pointing finger to crossed fingers. The design of the logo is too similar to the original and sales have continued falling.

JD Laing once employed a female "trainee" construction worker (labourer) and made a big issue of her being the first female to be trained by the industry. The value of contracts went up over the following year, at the end of which they let the female labourer go.

During the 80s, there was a number of oranges that had been contaminated with mercury. Many small traders around the UK started selling "mercury oranges" at an increased price. People paid more for the produce in the hope of getting an orange that contained mercury but the contaminated ones had already been removed from sale. Grocers had a nice increase in their profits for a few weeks.

As for clothing, you could use a Westwood (totally see through) dress at a fashion show / awards festival / etc. and her sales / commissions can rocket (especially if the model is naked underneath). This would be more to timing than anything else. If the timing is bad and there are a lot of moral campaigns on the go or a politician wants to score a point towards an up-coming election, that sort of dress would be a disaster as Westwood would be attacked for designing such provocative clothes.

Good PR is well timed PR and can be beneficial but I believe that PR / Marketing is a waste of good money. I can't understand why a company will be willing to pay up to £5 million for a logo that a four year old child could have produced. The best way is either do your own PR or employ somebody directly.