PR Associations

Public Relations Associations In The UK

If you are looking for UK PR Associations, we need to ask the question why?  Do you need support, or are you looking for a PR agency?  

Enter your details into the form and let us know if we can help.  

There are many public relations associations in the UK, mainly for ‘quality control’ in the same way any industry has associations.

Within marketing, there are various authoritative bodies that charge a membership fee for marketing businesses to be part of their group.

The question has been asked, are there any benefits from working with an agency that is a member of a registered body?

What Associations Are There?

There are a few ‘bodies’ that try to pool together experts:

• PRCA   (Public Relations Consultants)
• CIPR    (Central Institute Of Public Relations)
• IPRA    (International Public Relations)
• CEPR    (European Public Relations)
• DMA     (Direct Marketing)
• CIM       (Chartered Institute Of Marketing)

There are other smaller, groups and membership based services around the UK, but these are the main ones.

What Makes A Member Special?

Normally different membership groups have ‘code of practice’ terms that agencies agree to adhere to.  They are all set up with the best of intent, to try and encourage best practice and ethical business trading.  Each membership will charge an annual fee for agencies to be registered, and of course there are SEO benefits in PR agencies being listed in the directory of members.

Does It Cost More To Work With A ‘Registered’ Agency?

There is the misconception that working with a ‘registered’ agency would cost more, due to their having the outgoings of a membership their costs would be higher.  This would be the same for an agency that has a big London office, directors with flash cars, high internet advertising costs etc.  All businesses have their overheads, but these are incorporated into their own profit and loss accounts.

Are There Guarantees Of Quality Or Results?

No.

All PR associations are different and any agency will seek to do the best they can for their clients – but like with any form of marketing, there are no guarantees with marketing.

Any Advice?

Choosing a PR specialist is something that is personal to each person, based on the following criteria:

• Location – best to work with someone local
• Experience – choose someone that knows your market/industry
• Cost – compare quotes to ensure you are not paying over the odds

Some good advice (once you have found 2-3 agencies that tick the above) is to meet with them, talk to some of their current customers and find out what kind of results they are producing.  This should give you a good feel for your ROI (return on investment).

Compare Costs

PR prices do vary from agency to agency, and whilst groups are all well and good, they do not guarantee quality of cost effective media coverage.  

As a price comparison website, we want to help you find the best public relations agency for the lowest price.  PR associations exist to bring the industry together, to try and bring best practice standards.

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