Have you ever wondered what the secret is to having a strong relationship with your PR firm? Maybe you have been (or are) in a place where you’re shopping around for a new agency but don’t know exactly what to look for in your new team.
Well, RtBrick knows a thing or two about having and keeping a PR team. Starting with the lorries in 2020, their PR endeavor was off to an unsurprisingly difficult start, with a global pandemic at the forefront of the public’s minds. Fast-forward four years, and they’re now reaping the rewards from their commitment to the PR journey.
We asked Richard Brandon, VP of Marketing at RtBrick, about how far they’ve come and what brands should look for in their PR journey.
Q: What were you looking for when starting with your PR agency?
A: RtBrick is a small fish in a big pond of telco giants. When we embarked on a refreshed PR journey, the most important things to us were brand recognition and working strictly within the given budget. It was also crucial for the PR team to have an in-depth understanding of the technology we work with, as it’s fairly complex. I wouldn’t expect a new hire to understand the tech overnight, so I can’t have the same expectations of my agency team either.
Q: How did you overcome these initial challenges?
A: We started by having briefings, demos, and Q&A sessions with the lorries to ensure their team truly understood the technology. The team’s willingness to get to know the tech really helped improve our progress in the program. Because of the time we spent diving into the technology together, I didn’t have to make any large content corrections or provide too much guidance on pitch angles. Thankfully, the team were great in helping to boost our brand recognition in the industry while carefully managing our budget accordingly.
Q: How would you advise clients and PR teams to collaborate together? What does that look like?
A: Marketing is a unique and complex function, and when you defer to a firm, you get an outsourced panel of specialists who work hard to save money for smaller companies that would prefer not to take those functions in-house. For me, when appointing an agency, I think it’s key to recognize that these people are essentially becoming part of my own marketing team. It’s also worth noting that journalists are welcoming of the buffer between our company and their inbox.
Although there are team changes at firms, part of my philosophy for fostering healthy PR is meeting the members on my team. I want to be pitched with the folks who will be members of the team so I can envision them as part of my own.
Q: Can you outline some successful projects?
A: We don’t have a lot of product news, but the team has done campaigns that intercept industry conversations, which are always to our satisfaction. Big announcements tend to be easy wins, but it’s a tougher win when we secure stories about emerging trends. The lorries did a telco and AI campaign for us, and although we don’t directly have an AI product, it sparked key conversations in the sector on the role of AI in our networks.
Our award submissions are better than anything I’ve managed in any company in terms of results. Whenever I let the team know we’ve been shortlisted or won an award, our leadership team will immediately go back to the engineering team and congratulate them for the award win on their tech.
Q: What is the most important thing for a B2B company to consider when picking a long-term PR agency?
A: There are two things to consider, one is a b2b thing, and the other is a tech thing. Firstly, I think it’s important to match the size of both parties. I believe it’s a mistake to try to engage with a marketing agency that’s expensing multimillion-dollar campaigns if you’re a small b2b company. Large agencies can soak up the whole marketing budget, not deliver any results, and then bump you to the bottom of their client priorities. However, small-to-medium-sized agencies tend to take clients of a similar size, and the care that goes into the work is noticeably more attentive.
Secondly, the more experience people have in b2b tech (and the closer it is to your tech), the better. It can be difficult for a team with no experience in b2b to grasp what’s most important to businesses. How can you expect your PR team to brief a journalist if they don’t have the foundational knowledge of what your company’s tech can achieve for other companies? That’s why I’d recommend looking for agencies that have experience within your sector.
Q: What areas have you seen PR efforts positively affect your business?
A: With the help of the lorries, RtBrick has been recognized with 27 awards in just four years. With these awards comes a genuine sense of value and achievement internally. Our engineers don’t meet customers very much and the recognition these awards bring them helps to fuel motivation. In general, our profile has elevated, and not just due to traditional PR. The lorries have provided us with digital marketing and a full PPC program that’s contributed to our growth in brand recognition.
Conclusion
Building relationships with PR partners can often feel like a game of charades, especially for companies in b2b tech looking to make waves in their respective industries. RtBrick’s journey is a testament to the power of transparent communication and strategic collaboration between brands and their PR firms. Despite starting as a small player among established telco giants, RtBrick’s commitment to fostering a deep understanding of its tech with the PR team has yielded noteworthy results over the years. Through briefing sessions and a shared dedication to staying on top of industry trends, RtBrick and the lorries have not only weathered the challenges of the ever-evolving PR landscape but have emerged stronger and more resilient than ever before.
As RtBrick continues to forge ahead on its PR journey, its story serves as guidance for companies embarking on similar endeavors, highlighting the profound impact that a PR partnership can have on shaping the narrative and trajectory of a brand’s success.
Looking for a PR agency that knows how to match your energy? Contact the lorries today. .
