While a lot of PR campaigns involve big budgets, events and a steady flow of press releases, for many smaller, and especially start-up companies, this kind of large-scale investment and commitment to PR isn’t always a viable option.

However, working with these smaller firms is a golden, often missed, opportunity for agencies to prove the value of PR through smart and creative tactics. 

Background

In many agencies start-up businesses are is largely ignored, mainly due to the small, limited budgets on offer, and the investment time required. Start-up companies will often not understand PR, or the value of it, and have little or no material available, meaning the beginning of any campaign is the construction of background materials, such as team biographies and a company boilerplate.

Yet, despite the investment needed, if an agency is willing to put in the extra effort, it is often worth it. Firstly, in these situations, small agencies often grow with the client, so the more successful they become, the higher the retainer becomes, and the more loyal the client is. Secondly, it is often easier to measure the success of the campaign, with PR results often yielding a direct impact on sales in a more obvious way than with larger clients. Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, is the reputation gained in the industry. The start-up scene is close-knit, and one great campaign will inevitably lead to new business in the start-up field, as well as with a much wider audience. As a new UK company, technology PR agency Ballou, based in London’s White Bear Yard with several other technology companies, is lucky enough to be in the midst of seeing this all first hand, and is gaining insight in to the start-up world.

Case study

A great example of all this is a French-based start up that has recently launched in the UK market. With just a small budget, the launch was focused on getting the news out there, creating some UK brand awareness, and securing several pieces of coverage across vertical press targets, as well as small business press targets. By focusing solely on this, targeting key, relevant media, over 20 pieces of coverage were secured, a buzz was created on Twitter, and significant traffic was driven to its site. But the real question came after – what next? With no news to announce, Ballou suggested several ideas to the client, one of which has now become its main focus, not just for PR, but for marketing and advertising as well.

Conclusion

The refreshing aspect of this campaign, as with others for start-up clients, is the way it allows a new agency to be an ambassador for its industry by playing an educator’s role, being involved from very early on and having the ability to heavily influence the brand – while not having the restraints of rigid marketing objectives – and being able to work directly with the founders themselves.