A common question we hear quite a bit is, “What does public relations do?”
Every agency’s explanation is a little different. Here’s our take on what it is, or at least what it’s possible to be!
To provide a coherent explanation of our work while creating a roadmap of our efforts, we devised the APEE Method.
Awareness, Preparation, Execution, and Evaluation make up a foundation for all the work we can do together.
Public Relations with the APEE Method
Awareness
Cataloging Past Media Mentions
Our first step is to audit what has already been written about your business — the narrative the world already knows. Understanding your existing media footprint tells us what aspects of your brand need to be reinforced, introduced, or corrected.
Competitor Analysis
We look at how your competitors are showing up in the press — what angles they're getting coverage on, which outlets are paying attention, and where the gaps are that you can own.
Monitoring for Current Coverage
Ongoing monitoring is crucial to understanding your position in the market. We will set up monitoring utilizing multiple tracking tools which catch articles and other media as they are published.
Preparation
Defining the Story
The “Story” is a collection of histories, organizational goals, unique characteristics, and newsworthy events that all work as the foundation of what we will communicate to the media. This is an ongoing process and one that can be revised routinely.
Assigning Spokespeople & Compiling Assets
This is the most important step in preparing for coverage opportunities. Once writers or publications are interested in including your business/brand in their work, we need reliable information and resources for them to use. This includes training people who will speak on your brand’s behalf as well as making sure web and photo assets are ready to share.
Deciding Engagement Strategies
Commonly, pitching writers is just the first step in securing coverage. Many times, journalists will require more in-depth ways of researching subjects. Since we anticipate this need, we design strategies that give journalists a reason to show up — whether that's a well-timed event, a creative stunt, a desk-side briefing, a site visit, or even a press release.
Execution
Identifying Target Markets, Channels, & Media
Finding the best media opportunities means setting the proper media targets. We will work together to identify the geographic reach, best channels (Online, Print, Radio, Podcast, TV, etc.), and specific writers and editors to connect with about your story.
Pitching
Using carefully crafted messaging from our preparations steps, we start reaching out to a curated media list with personalized pitches. This process can vary in length depending on the channels targeted for coverage. Initial emails, follow-ups, direct messages on Instagram, any many other tactics are used during this step.
Pitching can also involve answering requests from media. On occasion, writers will put out general calls for information on a specific topic. We can gather those leads and answer them if your brand fits the bill.
Writers may also reach out to you directly for information. Kit 14 can help you reply to those requests to achieve the best outcomes.
Managing Strategies & Followthrough
Successful pitching is followed by executing our Engagement Strategies. Kit 14 is available to help handle strategies through every step of their execution – being a constant resource to writers.
Once we’ve concluded our strategies, we follow-up with writers to get them any additional information they might need.
Evaluation
Campaign Debrief
This is an assessment of the pitching and strategies employed throughout a campaign –understanding where we can improve on any angle. This is also an excellent way to explore new opportunities to elevate your brand.
Holistic Coverage Appraisal
Coverage from pitching and engagement strategies can come as fast as the next day, or have a wait time as long as a year. Once coverage is published, we evaluate the work against the Barcelona Principles — the global standard for PR measurement. This helps assess quality and context: who covered you, how prominently, with what tone, and whether the story aligned with your goals.
Quantitative Coverage Analysis
Beyond appraising the quality of an article, we examine metrics on secured coverage to help further determine value. These can include a publishers’ unique visitors per month (UVM), social media engagement, views, listens, and any other insights available using industry-leading tools.