The Benefits of a Boutique PR Agency

By Chelsea Horn

Every client —big and small — in every industry has an array of needs from a PR agency. However, choosing one in a sea of companies promising top-tier media placements can be difficult. After working and experiencing the rigor of both big and boutique-sized agencies, I see the power of a small but mighty boutique firm.

There’s only so much a capabilities deck can tell you, so I will walk you through the perks of partnering with a boutique PR agency.

Nimble Teams

Boutique agencies are made up of agile teams, who respond quickly and creatively to challenges and opportunities. They pride themselves on being able to work quickly to insert clients into relevant media conversations. From large-scale launches, to newsjacking during a slower announcement cycle, a small team is skilled at working under pressure to get results. Boutique agencies are less tied to “the way we’ve always done it” and are more open to innovation and new ways of doing business; larger firms are sometimes stymied by an inability to move rapidly or change direction. Bureaucracy can be a heavyweight.

All Hands on Deck

From the CEO to the most junior professionals, having access to the entire team is a huge benefit of choosing a boutique agency. With the speed and demand of public relations, boutique agencies must operate outside of the traditional silos created in a large corporation. For example, in many large agencies, the SVP or GM only gets involved when something goes wrong; at a boutique agency, the most senior leader chimes in with ideas and strategies every week. The saying, “it takes a village,” is something many smaller companies live by and makes boutique agencies so successful.   

Big Fish in a Small Pond

Typically, boutique firms have fewer clients than large agencies, which means they have a more concentrated focus on their clients and achieving their goals. Being one of 25 clients is much different than being one of 100, especially if you are a smaller client with a limited budget. At a boutique firm, the entire team is the A-team, and makes even the smallest account feel supported. With a boutique partner, clients can call their agency contact and hear “We’re on it!,” knowing the work will be done, and done well. In big agencies, it’s hard to commit to being a true partner when there are so many accounts, often larger, who need attention.

Common Thread Across Clients

Boutique agencies tend to have a more focused client base. That means the media contacts one person develops on behalf of one client can benefit others across the organization. For example, at Carve, we focus on the intersection of innovation and everyday life. All of our clients live somewhere within that continuum — from a live digital experiences company, to a platform that curates the national to local buying journey, to an AI platform offering unique, real-time experiences for individual eCommerce consumers. We had one reporter publish bylined articles on each of those clients with their own hook: The Future will be Livestreamed, Is your Marketing Plan Meeting Customers where they Are?, and How Can AI Transform E-Commerce. We see a lot of examples of this cross pollination across the agency.

When you finally put pen to paper and hire an agency, they should become an extension of your marketing team. Boutique agencies are made up of some of the scrappiest, yet savviest, public relations experts in the business -- exactly the kind of team members you’d want helping your company grow.