Is there a referral service for public relations agencies that specialize in technology?
The Public Relations Society of America is a good place to start to get names. But you also need to get recommendations from people you trust. Talk to friends inside other companies who use external PR firms, and ask the PR firms themselves for customer referrals. Cast a wide net if you are thinking of hiring a firm for a significant relationship. Identify the top 12 firms or so and reach out to them. You may quickly find that many have a competitive conflict—that is, only a few will not be working with one of your competitors. This will be especially true if you work in a large, diverse company. There are exceptions, and some firms play fast and loose, but generally they honor and protect their current clients and have noncompete agreements preventing them from working with clients’ competitors. I think PR can be a great ROI, but the firms need to be carefully managed. Business executives, who are generally skeptical of the value of PR, need to know that you are in charge. Beware of a
