I’ve been working with a guy I call the PR Whisperer who has created a very unique and useful niche in the PR world. Marketing is very, very broad and one important and very distinct base that needs to be covered is PR. I have inherited and managed PR countless times in my career and it is without a doubt the winner of the “most outsourced” zone of marketing. The PR agency you use is essential. Before I discovered the PR Whisperer, I would ask friends for referrals and throw a hail mary up on LinkedIn hoping to find a good fit. The reality is that there are a TON of great boutique PR agencies out there and it’s impossible to know if you are looking at the right cohort when you are trying to find a new agency. Thanks to PR guru Ashley Hennings for the introduction to the PR Whisperer…
Here’s how the PR Whisperer works:
You send the PR Whisperer a note when you are looking for a PR firm with your target budget, contract duration and a brief overview of your priorities.
He analyzes your company and goes through his database of several hundred PR firms, asking the ones he thinks would be the best fit if they are 1) OK with your budget and duration 2) if they are conflict free 3) and for relevant clients and a brief text-based pitch. He introduces you to the top 3 or 4 firms that you agree are the best fit for your business.
You meet with the firms you want to meet and sign up with one if you like them.
For this incredibly useful service…you pay the PR Whisperer nothing.
He gets paid a commission from the winning agency, if there is one.
The PR Whisperer has helped +1500 companies find PR firms. At any given time he is helping ~10 companies find their next PR agency. I have successfully found several firms with him and highly recommend his work. He is a one stop (free!) shop for finding a PR firm and makes running the whole RFP process much more efficient and easy.
There is an interesting positive side effect when working with him. Similar to working with a contractor vs a sub-contractor when working on a house project … agencies want to stay on his good side and treat his referrals well so they keep getting deal flow from him. If any of you have ever tried to hire a tile or cabinet subcontractor directly you’ll understand what I am talking about. He deep context across the industry covering track records & reputations, as well as market rates for various services.
I’ve partnered with the PR Whisperer. If you have any questions or would like an introduction to them, hit me at rob@growthish.com.
If you know of other unique growth marketing tools or service providers I should investigate, please send them my way!
Image courtesy of ChatGTP, prompted with “Please give me the perfect image for this post in a modern minimal 1960s style in grayscale with no text on the image”.