The members of a corporate communications team typically possess such a variety of talents and expertise that their capabilities may rival those of external “agencies of record.” For all of their versatility and competencies, however, comms teams will occasionally need assistance to successfully execute on key projects. When these occasions arise, partnering with an outside agency can be an effective solution.
Here, 14 members of Forbes Communications Council share different projects that their teams have opted to collaborate with an agency partner on and the reasons why. Check out their insights and results below to learn how certain internal communications projects can be bolstered and elevated with the help of dedicated agency experts.
1. Brand Perception Measurement
I partner with an external agency to measure brand perception. We are too close to it internally; therefore, outside expertise can be leveraged to manage quantitative and qualitative data analysis without bias. That is the best way to get a clean measure of both the good and the bad in brand perception, informing your strategies to impact how your key audiences view your organization. – Jamie Ceman, Chapman University
2. Public Relations And Search Engine Optimization
Tapping into partners for their expertise empowers our team to be better, faster or more cost-effective, and it can advance initiatives more quickly and creatively. As a marketing leader, partnering with PR agencies broadens our network and content creation abilities, while SEO firms offer an affordable approach to building backlinks. – Andrew Kokes, HGS
3. A Rebrand Of Our Firm
Partnering with a marketing agency on our firm’s rebrand was essential to delivering a superior end product, strategically and creatively. To successfully execute a rebrand, you need multiple people who understand how to bring a brand to life. – Meaghan Morelli, Beirne Wealth Consulting Services
4. Social Media Management
We partner with a social media agency to help distribute our content, provide regular updates and keep a consistent brand look and voice on social media. Social media often gets relegated to a side job, despite its importance in driving awareness. So, hiring an agency is a great way to keep social media moving without having to dedicate headcount to the role. – Tom Treanor, Snipp Interactive
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5. Brand Story Development
When doing a brand project, it’s important to bring in experts who can add new perspectives to the larger team. We hired a strategic consultant with a background in Millennial-focused luxury brands to our edtech-focused brand team. Bringing a fresh point of view to our table, she helped us develop our own story to ensure we connected more deeply and personally—not just with teachers, but with human beings. – John Jorgenson, Cambium Learning Group
6. Communications Guidance And Support
We partnered with an agency for PR and communications guidance and support. This partnership was essential to extending the capacity of our internal communications team and increasing the volume of our media opportunities. We found the partnership extremely valuable for generating new ideas, boosting our thought leadership and improving our brand awareness overall. – Jennifer Haas, OncoHealth
7. Crisis Communications
We’ve brought in outside agencies to help with crisis communications in the past. This has given all of us an incredible opportunity to learn new strategies, solicit unbiased expert opinions and formulate a plan led by an expert in strategic crisis communications. Sometimes your comms team is too close to a heated topic or message, and a unique outside opinion can give a valuable fresh perspective. – Victoria Zelefsky, The Menkiti Group
8. Data-Driven Messaging
As a growing startup, we rely on outside agencies to develop data-driven messaging. Startups don’t often have large brand teams with this skill in-house, and it truly requires a specialist to distill user and market research to understand the value a company provides and create consumer-facing messaging that is clear, simple and understandable. An external partner is a great choice for this work. – Radhika Duggal, Super.com
9. Research-Based Thought Leadership
In prior corporate roles, I found it valuable to partner with agencies on research-based thought leadership. While we didn’t have the in-house resources or expertise to build and field global surveys and analyze the results, we did have writing and storytelling capabilities and a clear understanding of industry trends and customer challenges. The partnership allowed us to publish valuable content. – Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing LLC
10. Brand Platform And Message Creation And Upleveling
We’ve had the most success in partnering with world-class advertising agencies when creating or upleveling our brand platform and message. The ability of our agency partners to research and leverage the top techniques in bringing a brand to life helps us think more strategically and create a bigger impact. – Jeanniey Walden, Liftoff Enterprises
11. Media Buying
We partner with firms specifically on media buying. This field requires strong relationships and large volumes to access the best rates, and given that our clients are startups with small budgets that they need to maximize, it makes more sense to use a well-positioned intermediary agency to help them optimize their return on ad spend. – Roshni Wijayasinha, Prosh Marketing
12. Press Coverage And SOV Expansion
We needed to expand press coverage and competitive share of voice. With no internal resources, we hired an amazing PR strategist. We were lucky to find an experienced professional who fully understands the nuances, trends and key players in our industry—so no training was required. This partnership has contributed to our brand awareness and reputation, positioning us as a leader in the industry. – Dee Blohm, Anteriad
13. Website Development
We’re not Web developers, but many of our clients need websites built for their specific business needs. We partner with a fantastic Web developer to deliver to our clients the extra benefit of a website that is strategized and written by our team and designed by vetted website developers. – Melissa Kandel, little word studio
14. Podcast Booking
We partner with a niche podcast booking agency to help bring brand awareness and visibility to our clients. Podcasting, both hosting and guesting, offers a unique opportunity to engage an active community, invite new members and simultaneously elevate a brand, person or message. In this case, it is more efficient to partner than to do it in-house. – Ashleigh Chevalier, Level Up Collaborative
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