What is PR today? Its destination in media war, including international level – is hard to overate.

What is PR today? Its destination in media war, including international level – is hard to overate.  It is a real weapon that is capable to conquer countries and change worlds map. And how things are in commercial PR sphere?  What changes happened lately and what are the reactions from the sidelines of clients and agencies? You can read about this and many other aspects in the interview with Publicity Creating CEO Valery Kureiko.

Do companies continue to attract more PR-agency to their activities in the occurred situation, and in what cases?

V.K.: Yes, there are companies on the market who are interested in PR –promotions in 2014. First of all, with the help of PR-instruments you can simultaneously influence on B2B and B2C audience. So there emerges prominent funding resources economy when reaching aim in both directions. Second, qualitative PR-campaign works profoundly and objectively on audience conscious and subconscious – buyer, dealer, and partner. Thirdly it operates on specific targeted audience pointwise, without any spending. PR today is a high-precision ultramodern weapon in specialists¢ hands.

Which are the key advantages in cooperation with PR agency in Public Relations field?

V.K.: Today, I would like to point following advantages: forehanded usage of money (correlation price/quality, investment/effectiveness), professional approach ( ex. practical working experience of our company- 16 years), predictable result, immediate help in difficult situations.

What are the criterias, in your opinion, based on which PR agency should be chosen today?

V.K.:Most important criterias- are experience and reputation. By experience it is implied the amount of years on market, and embodied projects (their amount, complexity, scale, effectiveness etc.) Agency reputation is made by clients’ opinions- the way how agency is characterized and recommended, the available references. There are other very significant criterias. For example, the way how agency worked at the time of crisis. Company Publicity Creating went through 4 crisis (economic and political) 1998-1999, 2004-2005, 2008-2010, and the current crisis.

And all this time we worked, ruled successful projects and even developed. Such "vitality" on one hand is a striking confirmation of being in demand on market. On the other hand are stability and already mentioned reputation. As far as one day agency or structure, where the head is an amateur, in difficult times won’t be trusted to lead promotion activities. Therefore learn the agency site, its cases, look thorough how it is presented in social networks, read recommendations – then the choice will be right.

How did clients react on crisis situations? How does agency help clients to cope with difficulties?

V.K.: Earlier such comprehensive and prolonged crisis in Ukraine never happened. That is why most of the companies turn on optimization gradually. Since budget planning was held in 2013, and then most of the activities are suspended on quarter- half a year. At the same time, some activities are still appeared :certain events, press-release expansions, activity in social networks and Internet, consulting, audit of PR- work, monitoring….

First that we have done in the beginning of 2014: introduced very quickly an anti- crisis program inside the agency, aimed at finance, staff, and corporate structure, technologies. Second-worked up individual  anti-crisis programs, of PR- promotion for every client, who would like to work with changed conditions. Clients see in PR-agencies psychologically stable partner, who offers concrete steps, at the beginning makes a forecast, and then does some actions and achieves results. It gives confidence to clients, and we move forward together, despite the difficult circumstances.  Work goes pointwise, deliberately, client always can get a consultation, and if it is necessary the actions are corrected. This all happens ,any times faster, than before in "quiet times"

What specifications are usually presented to PR-agencies by clients?

V.K.: Clients insist on agencies hearing them, and penetration in today needs. We suggest effective programs on the period from quarter to year. We can react on every, even very specific question – of course, clients do not overlook this. Second requirement is to stay within clients real financial capacities. We have the minimum possible budget variant in our propositions, which is optimal and expanded. Notably, cost sheets are structured so suitable and transparent, that client can choose the acceptable variant.

How the effectiveness of PR agencies work is measured today?

V.K.: Client can measure the effectiveness of received results (in month, quarter, half-a-year, and more). It is important to define criterias- what we will understand as a "result" and how we could measure it. As to the quality of work (it directly influences on the effectiveness, also – the process no less important for the client, than the result),the clients notice the  agency reaction efficiency, advertence to its requests( even unscheduled), timely informing of a progress report, agency possibility to go on a compromise ( which includes financial part). But the most important- is that the agency must be ready to help, aptly penetrate and understand the question or problem. And the attention to details is nowadays very important; actually there are no "little things" in PR communications.

What are the methods of process optimizations and more effective usage of resources agency can use?

V.K.:Information layout on Internet portals is a lot cheaper, than in print media and on TV. It has always been that way that PR influence is cheaper, than full-on advertisement campaign, and new time only just confirmed that truth. Nowadays there are a variety of opportunities for PR, in Internet and social networks, which must be actively used. It is a real Klondike for B2B campaigns and medium business. There are already framed concrete schemes of social network platform development, online-conference realization, usage of Internet video and many other things.  And integration offline and online in many times increases the effectiveness of leaded events and activities.

What have changed in tendering process on PR attendance? What are the agency characteristics on   which companies usually take notice during tender process and what must be done to win?

V.K.: Tenders become fewer, usually inquiries concern not wide period of cooperation I from 1 months to half-a-year), in certain type of collaboration or PR-directions. However complex programs still are popular. Just the components of the "complex" have significantly changed; modern programs can be called "compact" and in such case replete( in effort to achieve given aim in shorter period).

Tender are held both by Ukrainian companies and Russian companies. There are resorts without tenders, by recommendations of our clients and partners- it greatly saves clients time.

Unfortunately, there are tenders that come to nothing. It is a rhetorical question who in the end losses, and obtains. Since offered by the agency programs are difficult and impossible to implement by the companies itself. Nowadays tender procedures rarely foresee in-person meeting with presentation, and it is wrong since it gives a wide presentation of approaches, team and commitment to both parts. Also  company almost never announce a budget- also it is wrong, since after understanding the range or limit of devoted funds, agency could propose an optimal variant of solving the task, in which every normal client is  interested.

During tender process usually inquire agency case study (specialized branch cases or on any other interested directions on promotions) and calculation of the cost of services. Development of creative product( ex. strategy, scenario, or PR-special)  in obligatory conditions of tender process nowadays almost are not included, since this is a very subjective factor – much more important  is liability and the overall level of professionalism.

Recommendations play a major role, and this is right. If agency works successfully with many clients from one year to the next, if dozens or even hundreds of project are implemented- so why it must be somehow different to other specific client?

Generally- new terms prescribe implementation of new approaches, methods. It is necessary that organizers and tender participants will be in tune with new time.

Is there "your type" of client on market? If, yes, please draw his "portrait"

V.K. We work with real client, which in our case is ready to move on with "small steps", develop and pay professional structure adequate money. All the more they are really "adequate" in sense of nowadays loyal conditions. We usually work with B2B sector companies; however we have considerable experience on B2C sector. By industries: wholefood, retail, manufacturers of building materials, IT- branch, reality, pharmaceutical market and others. Ukrainian producer is definitely our client.  So as specialized company with complex product or service - is also our client.  We usually contact with owners or cofounder, or management- director, marketing-director. We have noticed, that usually we are visited by "thinking" client, who can understand our schemes, approaches and methods. In addition, our clients usually are highly motivated on the result, and they develop and also demand that from their partners- and we are the same! Maybe that is why we quickly find common language.  And also –very often we take up solving problems that no one could solve. In other words, difficult case, it is for us.

Let’s talk about the market. How many working PR agencies are now on the market?

V.K.: Who actively work, among 20. Some evident changes in the main composition have been seen from 2008.

How do you appraise the rate of PR agencies, which was given by UAC?

V.K.: It is possible, that some agencies are amplifying their budgets, and in other agency budgets, appear  money from political projects and direct advertisement placement. But such comparison is better than nothing." 

 If our country will close the range with EU, a lot of foreign companies will open their representational offices in Ukraine. Will they order Ukrainian PR-agencies services?

V.K. Representational offices of foreign companies on equal terms attract local agencies, as they understand the PR market already has and experience, practice, and the most important- has his own specific. We differ not from Poland or German market, but from our neighbor Russia. Professional Ukrainian agency- is a best choice.

What can you wish to Ukrainian PR market?

V.K.: Peace, new clients and projects, growing-up, new horizons and methods. In other words - new stage of development.

Thank for the interview!

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