Hiring the wrong PR agency costs more than money. It costs time, missed opportunities, and in some cases, a reputation that takes months to rebuild. The right PR agency services become an extension of your team. The wrong one produces press releases no one publishes and reports that look busy but move nothing.
Before you sign a retainer, ask these 11 questions. The answers will tell you whether an agency is the right fit for your brand.
11 Questions to Ask a PR Agency Before You Hire
1. What PR Agency Services Do You Specialise In?
Not all agencies offer the same scope. Some specialise in media relations. Others focus on digital PR, crisis communications, executive profiling, or events. Ask for a clear breakdown of the PR agency services they deliver and which ones they consider their strongest.
A good answer is specific. An agency that claims to do everything equally well often does nothing exceptionally.
2. Do You Have Experience in Our Industry?
Industry knowledge shortens the ramp-up time and improves the quality of pitches. An agency that already knows your sector’s media landscape, the journalists who cover it, and the regulatory sensitivities that shape messaging will produce better results faster.
3. Who Will Actually Work on Our Account?
This is one of the most important questions you can ask. Agencies often pitch senior staff and deliver junior account executives. Ask by name who will manage your account day to day and how much time senior staff will spend on your work each month.
Make sure the people in the room during the pitch are the people you will actually work with.
4. Can You Show Us Results You Have Delivered for Similar Clients?
Case studies and media coverage examples are the clearest evidence of what an agency produces in practice. Ask to see:
- Coverage secured in publications relevant to your industry
- Measurable outcomes such as reach, share of voice, or lead attribution
- Examples of how they handled a difficult or time-sensitive situation
Reputable agencies keep a portfolio. If they struggle to provide relevant examples, treat that as a signal.
5. How Do You Measure Success?
PR has historically been hard to measure, but that has changed. Ask the agency how they define and track success for PR public relations campaigns. A strong agency will set KPIs tied to your business goals, not just vanity metrics like press release distribution numbers.
Look for answers that include media quality over quantity, sentiment tracking, share of voice benchmarking, and where possible, attribution to website traffic or conversions.
6. How Do You Handle a Crisis?
Every business faces a reputational risk at some point. Before hiring a PR agency in Thailand, understand exactly how they approach crisis communications. If an agency has never handled a crisis, it cannot describe the process clearly.
Ask them:
- Do they provide a crisis communications protocol as part of their PR agency services?
- Have they managed a real-world crisis for a client? What happened?
- How fast can they mobilise a response outside business hours?
7. Do You Have Established Media Relationships in Our Target Markets?
Media relationships take years to build. When you hire a PR agency in Thailand, you are partly paying for access to those relationships. Ask which journalists, editors, and producers the agency has active relationships with, specifically in the publications and platforms that matter to your audience.
For companies operating in Southeast Asia, this question is especially important. If you need a PR agency in Thailand, ask whether the agency has local media connections, understands Thai business culture, and has placed stories in Thai-language and English-language publications in the region.
8. What Does Your Reporting Look Like?
Reporting tells you whether the agency is accountable or just busy. Ask to see an example of a monthly report. A good report shows coverage secured, KPI progress, upcoming activity, and honest commentary on what is and is not working.
Avoid agencies that measure output (press releases sent, pitches made) without connecting those outputs to results.
9. How Do You Charge and What Is Included in the Retainer?
Pricing structures vary significantly across PR agency services. Some agencies charge a flat monthly retainer with everything included. Others charge a base fee with additional billing for media training, events, and reactive work.
Ask for a clear breakdown of:
- What is included in the base retainer
- What triggers additional fees
- The minimum contract length and exit terms
10. How Do You Stay Current on Our Business and Industry?
PR is most effective when the agency understands your business deeply. Ask how they onboard new clients and how they stay informed about your company’s developments throughout the engagement.
Strong agencies build regular briefings into their process. They read your industry news, track your competitors, and come to meetings prepared.
11. Why Should We Choose You Over Other Agencies?
A confident agency with a clear point of difference will answer this directly. They will tell you what they do better, who they are best suited for, and honestly, who they are not suited for.
An agency that responds with vague claims about passion or relationships without specifics has not thought carefully about their own positioning. That lack of clarity in how they present themselves often reflects how they will present your brand.
What to Look for in a PR Agency in Thailand
If your business operates in or targets the Thai market, the evaluation has additional layers. Thailand has a distinct media landscape with a mix of Thai-language and English-language publications, strong digital and social media consumption, and business communication norms that differ from Western markets.
A PR agency in Thailand should demonstrate:
- Active relationships with Thai business media, lifestyle publications, and digital news platforms
- Experience working with both local and international brands in the Thai market
- Understanding of cultural sensitivities that affect messaging and media angles
- The ability to deliver PR public relations strategy in both Thai and English
Partnering With Vivaldi PR Start Building Your Brand
The right PR agency services go beyond press release distribution. They include regional media access, crisis communications support, and a PR public relations strategy tied to your actual business goals, not just coverage counts.
If that sounds like what you are looking for, Vivaldi PR works with brands across Thailand and Southeast Asia who want that kind of partnership. The questions above are a good place to start the conversation.
