With so many options available, from in-house to large and boutique PRs, it’s often hard for a brand to decide the best way forward for organising the publicity of their brand. And no matter which path a brand chooses, there’s little doubt selecting one is imperative. In today’s tough economic climate with hefty competition, PR seems to be more important than ever for beauty brands,” says Anna Barr from Anna Barr PR.
While each type of agency offers its own range of specific qualities that target the different needs of brands, bd talks to both the PR directors and brands involved with boutique agencies (those run by only one or two members) to discover why a brand should invest in PR representation and the benefits of choosing a boutique company.
Investing in a PR
There are many reasons why beauty brands decide to invest in PR. For many new companies, advertising can be financially unviable and that is where PR comes in. With a much smaller investment relatively, a new brand can build a strong, loyal following and gain a place in the market,” reveals Barr. And the lower financial investment doesn’t mean there are fewer resources for promoting a brand says The Gipps St Agency director Fiona Andry. When budgets are small, it’s the most cost effective way of getting your brand’s name out there and managing its reputation and relationship with customers. PR has a lot of tools in the box to communicate effectively, proactively and quickly without burning through vast amounts of money.”
But the benefits of PR don’t just stop at the buck as Pip Ink’s Pip Jarvis points out. You can have the best product or brand in the world, but it’s not much use if people don’t know about it,” she says. PR will help put your product in the right hands - media, celebs, influencers - and gain valuable exposure. Editorial in the right publication can be far more beneficial to a brand than costly and often incorrectly targeted advertising.” According to Jarvis, other benefits of PR include delivering clear strategies, breathing new life into stale concepts, bringing fresh eyes and an outsider’s perspective and identifying the steps to take products to the next level.
Some brands invest in PR right from the start, while for others it’s something that gets picked up along the way. Advanced Cosmeceuticals managing director Catherine Biedermann, a brand looked after by Anna Barr PR, have had PR from the beginning after recognising the benefit of the contacts and experience a PR company offers.”
Clinic Care and Biccari Holdings brands Carmex both tried their hand at in-house PR before outsourcing. For Carmex marketing manager Amanda Miller, time restraints led her to The Gipps St Agency. I used to manage our PR in-house. Unfortunately the time constraints within my role don’t allow me to be as proactive with PR activities as I would like and as is necessary. It was time to turn to the experts!” Time was also an issue for Clinic Care director Sean Abel who is with Pip Ink PR. We simply did not have enough time to manage the PR side of our business alone. It was good in theory but impossible in practice,” says Abel.
What PR can do for your brand
PR is a multi-faceted job encompassing many different duties. They write our press releases, proof read any articles released from the company. Follow up call outs, suggest marketing directions, help social media directions, etc. To be honest, big decisions often now include our publicist. She is an integral part of the cog. Our publicist knows more about our portfolio than some of our trained clinics,” reveals Abel.
It’s a similar story for Bicarri Holdings. Gipps St creates a strategic PR plan tailored to our brand’s objectives. Then they execute it, carrying out activities such as managing product launches, organising media events, writing press/media releases, co-ordinating media mail outs, responding to product call outs, targeting and pitching feature/story ideas to the media, sourcing sampling and competition/giveaway opportunities, the list goes on and on,” says Miller.
Choosing an agency
Plenty of beauty brands opt for in-house PR, particularly bigger companies which have the capacity to employ a professional practitioner. I think in-house PR can definitely be effective in larger companies, or when a company hires a PR specialist. However, a lot of smaller brands tend to have someone in-house who is either junior, or whose role encompasses much more than just PR,” says Jarvis. This may keep costs down, but I don’t feel it is anywhere near as successful or cost effective as outsourcing to a PR business who know the industry and media inside out.” Andry agrees, saying, We can offer objectivity and a big picture view. Also working with lots of fingers in the beauty/consumer pie means you can leverage opportunities in a way you can’t if you are in-house.”
Star PR & Events director Fiona Keogh points out that advertising agencies have always been employed externally to work and negotiate with media, so she believes it makes sense to also employ a specialised professional or team that can offer targeted PR services. We do not operate on a nine-to-five schedule or mentality, we work until the job is done,” says Keogh.
While there are benefits associated with opting for an agency over in-house PR, there are also benefits to choosing a boutique PR over a larger company. When a client employs me they are guaranteed 100 per cent service from myself. There will be no inexperienced juniors, high overheads or hidden extras. All the work undertaken is of a professional level that the client expects,” says Barr.
Andry adds that smaller PR agencies are all about the results. There is tremendous pressure to meet the bottom line in bigger firms, which means it’s about billable hours and not necessarily results. You will find smaller agencies will do a lot of extra-unpaid work for their clients because they are passionate about the brand and want to do the best job they can.”
Having fewer brands also offers a range of positive outcomes. Because your client portfolio is smaller, there is fierce loyalty to your brands and the people behind them,” says Andry. A sentiment that is agreed on by Keogh, We consider ourselves an extension of our client’s team. We work on the basis that we are part of their family and offer a high quality, personalised service.”
Offering a brand’s perspective, Miller reveals, Working with a niche PR agency allows us to create a greater partnership and working relationship. We’re treated as an important part of their business, and we are an important part of their business. As our business grows, so does theirs, so we are of greater mutual benefit to each other than what we would be in working with a large PR firm where we could get lost in the mix.” Sisley Paris brand manager Deanna Trianta, who is with Star PR & Events, says they chose to use a boutique PR over a larger agency as Sisley is a family company and our preference is to minimise hierarchy to enable direct and time-effective communication and action.”
Associated costs
There is no average starting price for PR activity as there are many variable factors, from the size and type of PR agency to the communication activity needing coverage. I like to develop a strategy for each brand based on their particular needs and client brief,” says Barr. Andry tends to work on a retainer basis, while Keogh offers flexibility for her clients, Star PR & Events is able to offer clients programs ranging from a short-term project to a full-service campaign at a cost that fits their company budget.”
For Abel, turning to a boutique agency was a smart business move. It really is a simple equation - a monthly fee is usually less than one full-page advert in a magazine. The press a publicist can achieve per month outweighs a full page in a magazine.”
In Part 2, bd looks at the benefits of working with a larger PR agency.
Visit beautydirectory’s PR directory to find a comprehensive list of PR practitioners in your states, and a description of the work they do and clients they service. This is a great starting point for brands looking to find PR representation in the beauty industry.
If you’re a PR agency and would like to update your listing, please contact Yelena.
Anna Barr PR represents Medik8, , SkinCeuticals and .
The Gipps St Agency represents Carmex and .
Pip Ink represents and .
Star PR & Events represents Sisley Paris, , , , , and .