So how PR agencies survive in these new tough conditions, what has changed in the approaches and technologies, prices and staff policy?

Since the end of the last year, the situation in the country has changed dramatically. So how PR agencies survive in these new tough conditions, what has changed in the approaches and technologies, prices and staff policy? Rouslana Plis, Account Director at Publicity Creating, answers these and many other questions.

Ruslana, what PR services are the most popular now? What services are not that "sought-after”?

Ruslana Plis: There is such an opinion that "traditional" tools (for example, press events, PR- events, articles) are supposedly not relevant. In fact, these tools are still in demand, but in a new format. For example, inviting journalists to the press event, we use not only traditional "phone/mail", but also social networks, where it is made ​​much easier, as you can get an answer instantly. Press conferences are now increasingly held with online broadcasting, and among those present, there are more Internet journalists and bloggers. Or photos: media representatives no longer expect them from the organizers, they take it themselves and upload to personal pages in social media. There are many such examples, which confirm the obvious fact that the forms and methods have changed significantly, while the basic tools remained the same. The task of a professional agency is to use new approaches to achieve impressive results, and to do it faster and cheaper than ever before. So, to answer the question, I can say that services or tools don’t really disappear, but certain professionals and agencies that cannot meet the new demands of clients, quickly become incompetent. 

As for services, the demand is mainly determined by the client, and it is based on his goals and objectives. In other words, any professional service is in demand today, when certain client needs it. Professional agency usually offers a wide range of services and provides them at the highest possible level. Especially because there is a trend of strong differentiation and specialization of the demand. It often happens that the client is interested in a product or service that is not in the standard list of our services on the website or in the presentation. But the experience allows us to quickly understand and solve the problem, while other agencies do not even know "how to approach" it.

However, it should be noted that, in general, complex PR-projects and public relations programs lasting 2-6 months, digital PR, media relations and various consultations are really in great request.

What new aspects of PR industry do you plan to master in 2014? What new services will be offered to clients?

Ruslana Plis: We continue to work towards the integration of offline and online - there is still much to do and a lot of room for experimentation. We want every event or news of the client to be reflected in the Net. At the same time, everything we write in social media and elsewhere - must have a real basis in the company.

I cannot say that PR market offers something completely new today, but at the same time, the methods are constantly improving. It is very tedious work, which can only be done in practice, not in theory.

For example, the contests in social networks - all time we offer new, more efficient mechanics and attractive new ideas for such activities. We have already done a lot in the sphere of social platforms positioning, generation of content for website and corporate pages in social media, attraction of the new audience and increasing the level of interaction.

Or, for example, support of media relations: today it perhaps is the most difficult area, taking into consideration the situation in the media and in the country as a whole. This work has become more elaborate, there is room for new technologies, creative ideas and personal communication.

Press releases and articles, written skillfully, are still very important. Unfortunately, very few specialists in the market can provide them, and in this respect we have our own "golden fund". Good scenarios of the events, CSR projects are needed as well as audit services and consulting of top management - the latter is especially exclusive as there are very few experienced PR consultants in Ukraine.

Among the most recent developments, I can name two products: "Striking PR-5" and "Fast repositioning".  The first includes the 5 most effective PR tools for short-term and medium-term projects, the second enables companies to quickly adjust their positioning and become more attractive in terms of external target audience.

Globally, Publicity Creating with the help of PR strives to help companies and organizations strengthen their positions in the market and become more competitive.

Do you think the prices on PR services will rise or fall in the foreseeable future?

Ruslana Plis:  It depends on what services we are talking about and who provides them. In general, prices on PR services began to fall in late 2008, and since then , they have not reached pre-crisis level. These are the realities. On the one hand, our agency is constantly trying to provide services for loyal customers at reasonable prices. However, we are the commercial structure, and like any other business, we are here to earn money, and will not work for free.  Therefore the price is always a compromise solution.

Today, perhaps, there are no "right" or "wrong" prices. All depends on the agency workload, complexity of the tasks and the available budget of the client. If the customer is willing to pay some money for the desired result, and the agency is ready to achieve this result plus financial conditions satisfy the agency – then we agree on the “good price” for both sides.

Do you practice individual approach to customers and what are its advantages?

Ruslana Plis:  We have been working for 16 years now, relying on this type of approach – individual. One unique promotion program that equally works for every client simply does not exist, because each client has its own expectations and objectives. Publicity Creating implements specific programs for particular clients, taking into account the specifics of the client, his products or services and the market, where he operates, situation in the media, previous experience and market innovations. The advantages are obvious - more thoughtful and appropriate program for you, no "extra" areas and tools, even increased efficiency and  saved money. Ultimately it is the opportunity not to be like anybode else, to find the type of PR, that works best for you and to gain better position on the market with its help. Of course, there is certain unification, proven methods and standards, but in general we design unique promotion programs for every client.

What is more profitable – to outsource the whole range of PR services to one single agency or to distribute different communication functions between highly specialized structures?

Ruslana Plis:  At first glance the second option is more attractive. But then the person responsible for PR on the side of the client should be an excellent manager, clearly follow the strategy and thus ensure that all those functions are performed in a single manner, are harmoniously interconnected, and do not contradict each other. Difficult task, isn’t it?

I personally believe that it will be much more convenient for the client, if its promotion is entrusted to one reliable partner, who then distributes work between different contractors and subcontractors. In this case integrity of the campaign will be saved, communication between business partners simplified and it will be clear who, after all, is responsible for the reputation of the client. If it comes to solving a serious public relations problem, then, also, the best option is to hire PR agency as a "general contractor", because it will use the best available PR tools in order to deliver expected results. If you choose advertising agency, then be sure, the budget will eventually be spent on direct advertising, that will replace real public relations tools. If you decide to cooperate with specialized event agency, then money will go into the organization of colorful event, often completely useless from the informational or reputational point of view.  

Do the employees working for your agency have to suit certain requirements? What has changed in the staff policy over time?

Ruslana Plis: I always believed that there are only two ways: either to "grow" professionals within the company, or to invite "ready ones" from the side. It has however become clear that neither of them is absolutely correct. Because not everyone, not even a good employee can become a true professional. And when the employee thinks that he or she has already accomplished a lot (it is usually far from the reality), he hurries to leave the agency, for the sake of his own ambitions. We also cannot afford to “build” professionals out of nothing – in this case we lose more than gain. I can say that virtually 80% of so-called "professionals" are worth nothing as specialists. I mean, they don’t have necessary knowledge and have not yet mastered crucial skills to be successful in PR. It’s not about brands in CVs or records in documents. The impression is that all professionals have opened their own agencies long ago, while others are still students and craftsmen (by the way, there is nothing wrong with that). Without going into details, I will say that the requirements in our agency are very simple and clear: we employ honest, reliable and executive people who are interested in PR and are loyal to their employer. Everything else - education, previous experience, age, place of residence, etc. – are secondary, because these factors  will never be able to compensate for the lack of diligence, honesty and self-motivation.

In the new economic conditions, did the scheme of work with clients change?

Ruslana Plis: Yes, the past six months led to some adjustments. For example, we don’t give certain client to certain manager any more. Because the situation changes rapidly, there are more short-term projects (including additional projects within the long-term ones), and it is much more efficient to introduce projects at different stages of their execution to certain specialists. We also expanded the back office , where staff work on a project basis. In the front office we left only the most necessary personnel. Earlier we had PR managers and Client service managers, who performed different types of tasks. At the moment our employees do the tasks assigned to them and there is no such differentiation. Most of the PR functions are transferred to the back office, including copyright and digital. All these steps enabled to quickly adapt to the new situation and organize the work more efficiently, by reducing the total cost of work for the clients.

 Ruslana, you are now officially Account Director at Publicity Creating. Why did you move from the position of Managing Partner?

Ruslana Plis: Today, many owners and co-founders turned to operating activities, because only they can take full responsibility for the quality of customer service, and for business in general.

I used to be aware of all significant projects, contacted directors of client companies, constantly traveled to the consultation meetings. Without this it is impossible to respond quickly to changing needs. Thanks to such a lively work, you are always full of fresh ideas and promising new ways of promotion. I must admit that problems that we solve are often very complex, so the ordinary employee simply can not cope with them. There were even such funny situations, when the client asked our manager how to resolve certain problem, he, in turn, redirected question to me, I wrote the answer and the manager, finally, sent my answer to the client on his behalf. So not to waste time and not to misguide clients, co-founders decided to officially make me Account Director of Publicity Creating. Now I’m responsible for the main communication with clients, and tasks within projects are performed by front office and back office employees (depending on complexity, total workload, etc.). The result is obvious – responsiveness and clarity of work have increased, agency revenues are gradually growing. And most importantly – clients understand that they communicate with the first person in the agency and get the best solutions. At the same time, I really appreciate the work of our employees, there are great assistants among them who contribute to the achievement of good results for our clients on a daily basis.

Your forecast for PR as a sphere?

Ruslana Plis: Business situation will reflect situation in the country. I think that soon everything will change for the better, and PR services will become even more popular than ever before. During the last 6 months we observed an atypical drama, which hopefully would have a good end, and despite all the tragedies and betrayals, we will become even stronger and better.

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