CHOOSING A MEDIA AGENCY PARTNER – THE REALITY V. THE EXPECTATION.

Posted on June 10, 2026 by Fiona Scott Categories: PR

How do you choose a good media relations agency or partner? In this guide, we’ll show you what agencies actually do, when it’s worth paying for one, and how to choose support that fits your goals and your pace.

Key Takeaways

A media relations agency helps translate your expertise into credible, targeted media coverage improving your visibility and credibility and where possible aligned to your goals.

Effective media relations involves finding the right angles, building media lists, pitching thoughtfully, preparing supporting materials, and coordinating interviews to meet deadlines.

Media relations is distinct from other valid aspects of PR; it focuses on earned media like interviews and features, which enhances trust and also advertorial (paying for space) but doesn’t directly generate sales leads.

Engaging a media relations agency is beneficial when you have clear, timely stories, accessible spokespeople, and a commitment to consistent communication and approval processes. It’s a two-way street that you ‘opt in to’ you don’t just get an agency and they run stories about you without your total engagement in the process.

Preparation before hiring includes understanding what real modern media outreach looks like, clear and realistic expectations to ensure efficient collaboration.

What A Media Relations Agency Actually Does (And What It Doesn’t Do)

If you’ve ever sent a press release into the void and heard nothing back, you’ve already met the hard truth: media coverage is not a vending machine. A media relations agency exists to close the gap between your story and a journalist’s needs, so your work has a fair shot of being covered yet no guarantee (unless you are paying for space).

What they typically do looks practical, not glamorous:

Find and sharpen angles: they translate “we’re brilliant” into something specific, timely, and relevant (for example, new data, a change in regulation, a strong human story, or expert commentary on a live issue known as newsjacking).

Build media lists that make sense: not a random spreadsheet of 500 contacts, but a targeted list of outlets and journalists who actually cover your geographical area or area of expertise or both (regional, trade, national, broadcast, podcasts).

Pitch and follow up sensibly: they send story pitches, respond fast to questions, and know when to stop nudging.

Prepare materials to save journalists’ time: quotes, backgrounders, press releases, image packs, short and longer bios.

Coordinate interviews and deadlines: getting the right person in the right place, with the right briefing, at the right time.

Some will track coverage, some will not – if you want tracking data, this is an expensive need and will lead to your retainer rising, even doubling to cover the costs of doing this. We always charge more for this.

Here’s what they ‘don’t’ do and will never be able to do:

They don’t guarantee coverage. Editors decide what runs. Anyone promising national coverage is either guessing or selling something else.

They don’t replace sales. Earned media supports demand, but it does not fix a weak offer, poor follow-up, or a broken funnel. It is aligned to but distinct from a selling process.

They don’t control the final copy. You can improve your odds with strong facts and a clean story, but you can’t rewrite an article after the fact unless something is fundamentally wrong and that’s the publication’s fault.

They don’t create news out of thin air. We are psychic, we cannot ‘magic up’ stories for you – it has to come from reality. If nothing has changed and there is no angle, you may need to do groundwork first and we can help generate ideas but the company has to act on some of those ideas.

The Real Outcomes: Credibility, Visibility, Better Storytelling

If you’re paying a media relations agency, you need outcomes you can feel – not just see on a spreadsheet and you need to share them so others ‘feel’ that too. All of these outcomes take time, sometimes two or three years so you need to be very realistic. This is a long-term investment for long term gain.

Credibility is usually the first real win. When a respected outlet quotes you, it changes how people evaluate you. A prospect who hesitated suddenly trusts you or replies to your email. People start mentioning that they’ve met or heard of you when you know you’ve never met them. Slowly you get random enquiries that aren’t really random at all.

Visibility follows, but rarely in a straight line. You might get three strong trade mentions that lead to two speaking invites, which then lead to inbound enquiries a month later. That’s normal. Media outreach has a compounding effect rather than a quick win.

Better storytelling is the quiet outcome as it brings abouts clarity and your name keeps being mentioned over and over again when you are not in the room.

When Are You Ready For An Agency: Clear Signs You’ll Get Value (And Signs You Won’t)

Most PR spend gets wasted for one boring reason: the business wasn’t ready – and this is very very common. No media relations agency can fix internal chaos, slow approvals, or a founder who disappears when a journalist asks for a quote. If this is you and you keep finding people like Scott Media failing you – it’s usually you who are failing because you’ve not understood what’s required.

Signs you’re likely to get value:

You have something to say that isn’t just about you. For example: a viewpoint on a regulation change, a trend you can explain with real examples, or lessons from building something in a tough market.

You can access spokespeople quickly. If a journalist asks for a quote by 3pm, you can’t wait for a meeting next week.

You can prove claims. Numbers help (growth, outcomes, time saved), but so do specific stories, customer examples, and clear process

You have a decision-maker involved. Someone needs to approve messages, sign off reactive comments, and protect time for interviews.

You have many things happening in the business/organisation and you are proud of that and proud of your team.

You’re willing to commit for long enough. In many sectors, you need months of consistent pitching and relationship-building before results feel steady.

Red flags:

You want ‘national press’ yet can’t explain the angle – you don’t just ‘deserve’ national coverage it has to be earned and relevant. If you are starting with this, most good media agency will not get beyond a ‘chat’ with you, they will walk away.

You expect speed and certainty. Working with the media has variables you can’t control, including news cycles, editorial priorities, and journalist workload. No media agency can control that either – and nor could your ‘best mate’ even if they ran a newspaper.

You can’t make time. If you can’t spare time for the media and turn down opportunities because you are ‘too busy’ then it’s not for you. The agency will do its work but you’ll be the block. Don’t bother.

You don’t agree internally. If one director wants growth and another wants to stay quiet, the agency will end up in the middle of a pickle. A seadiness test we use: can we produce (1) three story angles, (2) two spokespeople, and (3) a 48-hour approval process? If not, you may need to do preparation work first, or start smaller with coaching.

If you want a low-risk way to pressure-test readiness, our PR Power Hour is designed for exactly that: clear strategy, honest feedback, and next steps you can act on without pretending PR is magic.

What To Look For When Choosing A Media Relations Agency

Choosing the wrong agency costs more than money. It costs momentum, confidence, and sometimes reputation.

Here’s what we look for (and what we’d suggest you ask about in a first conversation):

Evidence of thinking and ideas – you may need support to draw out your stories and they must help with this and you must listen.

They ask about your goals – this will help guide a plan and will soon show if you are unrealistic eg. If you want national coverage but your best business comes from more local customers – why? You could be chasing an expensive dream that has no real benefit?

Sector understanding (or a plan to learn fast). They don’t need to be experts in your niche but they do need to learn over time with your help, they cannot just ‘know’. You are the expert, they are not.

Comfort with realism. The right agency will say ‘no’ to a non-story such as ‘we’ve got a new website or a new logo’ and won’t promise impossible results.

Informative writing and editing – this is not Shakespeare. It’s providing journalists with facts and information which they can be creative with, this is a different type of writing to a social media post or blog or book.

A view on spokespeople. Good agencies will help select the right person for the right interviews and can offer training if needed.

How Fees Usually Work:

Most media relations agency pricing falls into three forms:

Monthly retainer: best when you need consistent visibility, relationship-building, and a steady drumbeat of pitching. Retainers usually cover proactive and reactive media activity.

Project fee: useful for a launch, a campaign, a funding announcement, or a defined piece of work like media training plus a short outreach burst. This is usually a higher monthly cost for the duration of the project.

Hybrid: a short paid planning phase, followed by a lighter retainer. This can work well if your internal team will execute some parts.

And finally:

A media relations agency earns its keep when it helps you tell a sharper story, gets it in front of the right journalists, and builds credibility you can reuse across the business. It only works when you, the client, brings clarity, access to spokespeople and realistic expectations.

If we take one thing into the rest of 2026, it’s this: visibility rewards the organisations that can explain themselves fast, prove what they claim, and show up positively and consistently.

Choose support that will tell you the truth, not what you want to hear.