Eighteen years of consultancy life, consulting life, and hybrid-everything life has taught me one uncomfortable truth: PR professionals are remarkably bad at giving clients the feedback clients need most. We soften it. We contextualise it. We blame the media landscape. We rarely say the thing that needs to be said.
So let me say it on behalf of every PR professional who has bitten their tongue in a client meeting. Here is what we wish we could tell you — and what the good ones among us eventually do.
Your spokesperson is the problem. Not the story, not the journalist, not the timing. The spokesperson who speaks in jargon, who cannot simplify the message, who bristles under media questioning — that person is costing you coverage and credibility every single time. Media training is not optional. It is non-negotiable.
You are not news. I know that sounds brutal, but here it is: the fact that you launched a new product, won an award, appointed a new VP, or celebrated your company’s anniversary is not, by itself, news. It might be content. It might be social media fodder. But unless there is a genuine audience angle, a market implication, or a human story, it is not something a journalist will prioritise.
You are confusing activity with results. The number of press releases sent is not a metric. The number of journalist meetings is not a metric. Coverage volume without quality analysis is not a metric. Ask your agency what the coverage actually means for your business objectives — and if they can’t answer that clearly, something is broken.
Your competitor is not the enemy — your own inconsistency is. The brands that win media trust are the ones with clear, consistent messaging. Every time leadership contradicts the communications team, every time the messaging changes without reason, every time ‘the CEO wants to take a different angle,’ you are eroding the foundation your agency has been building.
You deserve a consultancy relationship that is honest enough to tell you these things. And if your consultancy isn’t, find one that will.
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