Written by Scott Goldberg
Published March 8, 2024

Brands hire PR agencies to help them cut through the noise.

They want to see their stories in the news, watch their executives build authority, and boost awareness around their brands, products, and services. They want results. 

But sometimes the results don’t come. Maybe it’s because they’re not being proactive or intentional. They may cross off to-do items on a list but fail to reflect and adjust strategies. 

You may get off on the right foot once the contracts are signed, but, over time, things start to take a turn. When the honeymoon phase ends, brands may be questioning whether or not their investment is valuable for their brand. 

Choosing to part ties with your agency is a tough decision to make. Here’s when you know it’s time to pull the plug.

Signs You Need To Fire Your PR Agency 

Sometimes, there are reasons for parting ways outside of the agency's control. Some brands simply aren’t ready for PR. 

Or, internally, they may:

• Not provide their agency with an accessible day-to-day contact

• Not have a reasonable enough PR budget

• Get acquired by a new company that already has another PR agency 

• Have new leadership come in and want to take PR in-house

• Decide to shift more dollars to paid media 

We’ve been on the receiving end of a few of the above before. It’s not the greatest feeling, but it happens. Aside from the reasons that are out of the PR agency's hands, here are some obvious red flags that signal it’s time for a pivot. 

Lack of Transparency 🚩

First and foremost, PR isn’t a service. It’s a partnership. And like any good partnership, transparency builds trust and forms a long-lasting relationship. 

If an agency is sugarcoating reality and saying everything is fine when they’ve reached some roadblocks, then they’re not working toward that trust. 

For example, agencies should share the feedback they’re receiving, early and often. Are reporters confused about what the brand is announcing? Do they not think the announcement is newsworthy? This kind of feedback can sting, sure, but it also can lead to better alignment…and placements. 

You don’t want a “yes team” — you want a PR partner to help your brand achieve the best results. Often, that requires hard honest, transparent conversations and finding the path to better solutions. Clients deserve to hear the truth, even when it’s not the best news. 

Pro Tip: Not every announcement warrants a press release. Collaborate with your PR agency to craft different ways to spread the message before defaulting to press release mode. Check out our checklist to determine what’s newsworthy vs. what isn’t.  

Agencies must be transparent in communicating their internal changes, too. 

If you’re a client finding out that your day-to-day contact got a new gig while scrolling on LinkedIn or are seeing one less face on Zoom with no explanation, this leaves you feeling out of the loop, makes you suspicious, and questions what else is happening behind the scenes. 

Teams change and evolve, sometimes processes need to be altered – and that’s okay. But agencies need to be the deliverer of the news, not the reverse. 

Results are Lagging  🚩

Say you’ve been working with your PR agency for a few months. At first, the opportunities were flowing and you began to build momentum in the media. 

But as time goes on, you’re seeing significantly less coverage or none at all. Or you’re seeing missed opportunities, and watching your competitors consistently in the headlines in places where your brand should be. 

This leads to losing visibility and relevance, making it harder for your brand to stand out. The lack of coverage can negatively influence a brand’s inbound opportunities, sales, and overall reputation (or lack thereof).

You want a proactive agency that knows how to create news moments, even when your brand has nothing significant to announce. Signs that you have a proactive agency include:

• They send you trending news, provide you with a POV, and ask for your commentary

• They find opportunities outside of media, like the perfectly targeted speaking engagement or award

• They pose creative, media-friendly concepts that take everyone out of the day-to-day

• They set up 1:1 time with other executives across your organization to ideate

• They know the seasonal moments they should be taking advantage of and plan ahead accordingly

Pro Tip: Just because there isn’t a product launch or announcement happening anytime soon, doesn’t mean there’s no story to tell. Repurpose content from LinkedIn, find opportunities and angles to newsjack, or tap into your client’s C-suite for more than one POV. There’s no excuse for “There’s no news.”

Communication Stalls  🚩

When you reach out to your agency with an idea or an ask, you want to hear back as soon as possible. But if you’re feeling like Mr. Rooney, and getting crickets…that’s not a good sign. 

When you finally get a reply days later, it may leave you feeling more unsettled than relieved. Sure, the reply shows the message was received, but you may ask yourself: Why did it take so long? How many other clients were they working on when they weren’t getting back to us? 

Consistent communication is a two-way street. We always recommend avoiding the email silo and getting integrated into a collaborative Slack or Teams channel to ensure everyone stays on the same page. 

From the agency's end, we make sure clients know that their voices are being heard. 

When we wrap a meeting, we proactively follow up with action items (both ours and the clients) so nothing gets lost. If they call out specific language they don’t want to use in their messaging or need more lead time on the approval process, we intentionally call out those details to show them that we’re listening. 

Complacency Speaks Volumes  🚩

If your agency’s strategy feels “cookie-cutter,” meaning it’s the same strategy every time, that’s a major red flag. 

For example, if agencies are just writing a press release for your announcement, throwing it on the wire, and crossing their fingers they get a placement or two on it every single time, it’s not only going to get old quickly, but it shows a lack of creativity. Simply put, putting a press release over the wire is NOT a strategy, it’s just lazy and lacks true ROI.

This will not only result in less coverage but also prevent the opportunity to tell the bigger story sustainably over time. 

Also, if you’re feeling like your PR agency isn’t taking the time to “get” your industry – and only relying on what you tell them – that shows a lack of proactivity and passion. It will lead to fewer opportunities. You want your PR team scouring the trades and asking questions during team meetings, not reading off a to-do list. 

If their lack of new ideas is deafening or it feels like Groundhog Day in each brainstorm, then something is up. 

How Much Time Should You Give Yourself Before Calling It Quits?

If you’ve been keeping a pros and cons list on whether or not it’s time to fire your agency, and the cons significantly outweigh the pros – it’s time to trust your gut and cut ties. 

Most contracts have a 30 or 60-day clause agreement, meaning brands have to give a heads-up enough in advance to begin the offboarding process. 

If you’re not 100% sure it’s time to move on – here are a few alternatives to try and mend the relationship. 

Alternatives to Firing Your PR Agency

We always encourage our clients right from the start to raise their hands when they aren’t sure about why we’re doing something (or WTF media training will accomplish). It’s also why we often encourage interrupting. We don’t want to talk at you while you nod your head in agreement with us. Remember, there are no dumb questions in a partnership.

Here are a few different ways you can level-set with your agency.

Be honest, speak up: Do you feel like your spokesperson could have been better prepared for a speaking engagement? Is the agency struggling to hit the nail on the head when engaging with journalists? Tell your agency when you don’t understand or like something. Calling it out sooner rather than later means that it can be avoided in the future. Great agencies can turn these moments into learning opportunities. 

Make your ideas known: If you have ideas, even if they seem impossible, share them with your agency. At Carve, ideas are constantly brewing, and we’ll always aim to get more juice from the squeeze. But as a client, if there’s a dream outlet you aspire to be in or want to create a new program, tell your agency so they can try to bring it to life. 

Give them homework: If your agency doesn’t have tons of experience in your industry, share what you’re seeing and reading. Whether it’s a specific thought leader’s Substack or a niche industry publication, your agency needs to know what outlets matter most. 

Right off the bat, there are obvious media outlets a good agency will add to your target list. But that shouldn’t stop the agency from asking you where you (or your prospects) get their news. And what about the industry experts you admire on LinkedIn? Or newsletters you live and die by? Diving into these verticals from the start is the best way to know exactly where teams need to focus their efforts. 

At the end of the day, PR pros never want to end a relationship on a sour note. You never know where people may end up in the future and how paths will cross again. Great agencies understand that and will do their best to evolve as the partnership evolves and continue challenging themselves and their clients to do better.