Whether you are a burgeoning startup or an established market player, 1903 PR has helped both and every size company in between develop their external voice. When it comes to working with either, the dynamics are always nuanced and so should be the approach. For both small and large companies there is a mix of factors that come with working with either. This blog will discuss what PR professionals should expect when considering how to invest their time/resources within a start up or a large enterprise.
Startup PR Pros
Startups are innovative, fast moving, and nimble. They experiment, fail and then get up and try again. One of the most compelling reasons startups are so exciting to partner with is because of the level of creativity you are able to explore. Smaller companies don’t have shareholders to answer to or a never-ending line of investors (yet). So they can be bold, take a big swing and at 1903 PR we shoot for the stars. So when working with a company of this size you can think outside the box and the reception will be much warmer. This ability to be creative and try new things is hands-down the best thing about working with startups.
Startup PR Cons
The challenges with startups are also well known. The executives at the wheel don’t have the experience to know good advice from bad. Suddenly everyone with an opinion is just as credible as the PR professionals hired to bring visibility to the brand. Now AI also appears as a voice that plants seeds of doubt in CEO’s minds. At more established companies, it’s more common for people to “stay in their lane” and work in the capacity they were hired for. In startups where all the employees are new in their careers, no one has more authority than anyone else and this can leave PR pros constantly defending their approach. It takes a lot of extra effort to get things done when you are educating while you are executing.
Enterprise PR Pros
Working with a Fortune 100 company means you are an established name in your industry. Reporters have to report on anything you do. Media relations is a breeze. One email sent, one phone call placed and your campaign has guaranteed coverage. It’s amazing how going from a small startup to a major company changes the skill set that PR professionals need. The PR team can very easily get executives on any stage, podcast or quoted in any publication by just dropping the company name. Enterprise PR teams win awards for doing almost anything because when you’re with one of the biggest players in a space, you are going to get notable coverage for everything.
Enterprise PR Cons
When the company’s name opens every door, you don’t really need to be creative when working with big enterprise PR teams. In fact, they would prefer it if you weren’t. Stick to the script and what has worked in the past because that has been approved by the legal and compliance teams. The lack of freedom can be professionally suffocating but even if you don’t mind using the same language for every PR campaign, the approval process is sure to wear you down. There is the comms/PR teams approval process, then there is the legal approval process and then anything in writing has to clear the executive team and they usually want something that makes a document go back down to legal just to be rejected so you can start the whole thing over.
What helps PR teams be successful no matter the size of the organization is when PR is trusted, and treated as an extension of in-house capabilities. If you truly want to unleash the full power of your PR team (internal or agency) trust them to execute. Give them the creative freedom of a startup and the professional respect to follow through on their ideas. Don’t water down campaigns with input from every person, investor and chatbot in the organization. Your PR team will do its best work when it only has to focus on doing excellent PR.