What Your PR Partner Should Have in Writing

Most communication directors judge an agency by the campaigns it's produced and the relationships it's built. Fewer ask the harder question: Is there an actual, auditable process behind the work, or is it running on talent and improvisation? The difference rarely shows up in a pitch deck. It shows up in how consistently an agency operates when no one outside the account team is watching.

The agencies worth trusting with a reputation aren't necessarily the most creative — they're the ones that can show you, specifically, how they work, not just what they've achieved.

If you're responsible for your organisation's reputation, this is worth treating as a due diligence checklist — and questions for any PR agency you're evaluating, including the one you already have.

Are they actually certified, or just experienced?

Certifications like ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 27001 (information security) exist precisely because "we've always done it this way" isn't a process — it's a habit, and habits break under pressure or turnover. An audited certification means an external body has verified the agency's workflows, documentation, and security practices actually hold up, not just that the agency believes they do. Lighthouse PR holds both.

What does the actual engagement process look like?

Ask how a new relationship is scoped, onboarded, and reviewed — not the sales pitch version, but the operational one. Is there a defined kickoff process, agreed reporting cadence, and a documented escalation path if something isn't working? Vague answers here usually mean the relationship runs on goodwill rather than structure.

What tools manage the actual workflow?

A serious agency can tell you specifically how work moves from brief to delivery – the project management system, the approval chain, and who owns which stage. If the honest answer is "email and good memory", that's not a workflow; it's a liability waiting for the day someone's on leave.

What are the committed response timelines — and are they in writing?

This applies far beyond crisis moments. Routine media requests, content approvals, stakeholder queries — each should have an agreed turnaround, not an implicit "as soon as we can". An agency that won't commit to timelines in writing is an agency that hasn't actually measured its own performance.

Is there a defined media policy?

Ask who is authorised to speak to a journalist on your behalf and what happens to a request the moment it lands. If the honest answer is "whoever picks up the phone", that's a real exposure.

Do they treat social media as its own discipline, not an afterthought?

Platforms move faster than any approval chain built for press releases. A protocol that only covers traditional media leaves an obvious gap.

Is there an actual crisis communication plan, or just a general sense that "we can handle it"?

This is where an audited process matters most visibly — a defined trigger for what counts as a crisis, a named chain of command, and a holding statement drafted in advance. It's one part of the operating discipline, not the whole of it, but it's the part that gets tested in public if the rest of the process isn't sound.

How is your confidential information actually handled?

If your agency works with other clients in your sector, ask how access is segmented and what can appear in new business pitches without your explicit sign-off — the kind of control an ISO 27001 process is specifically built to enforce.

Would they tell you about a conflict of interest, or would you have to find out yourself?

A genuine process means a check before they sign a competitor, honest disclosure, and real resolution — not an assumed wall that exists on paper.

Is there a real approval and fact-checking chain before anything goes out under your name?

A defined sign-off, a fact-checking step separate from the stylistic edit, and a record of who approved what — a process, not improvisation.

None of these questions is complicated to ask. What separates the agencies worth trusting with a reputation is whether they can answer immediately and specifically, with a certification, a documented process, or a committed timeline behind the answer – or whether it's a version of "We'd figure it out."

At Lighthouse PR, this operating discipline sits behind every service line we run, from media relations and reputation management to crisis communication and employer branding.

If you're not certain your current PR partner could answer all ten of these clearly, that's usually the conversation worth having next.

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About the Author

Steve Gardiner (exec MBA) is a senior marketing and commercial leader at Lighthouse PR, bringing global experience from Accenture, Electronic Arts, Virgin Media, Telekom, and Etisalat. Latterly, as VP Business at Etisalat, he was responsible for $1.8B in revenue.

Today, Steve applies his strategic, marketing, and growth expertise to support Lighthouse PR clients as part of the agency’s service offering.

About Lighthouse PR

Lighthouse PR is a leading PR agency in Romania that works with a select number of organisations across Central and Southeastern Europe, delivering media relations, reputation management, crisis communications, social media and an extensive range of business growth and business continuity services — always led by senior practitioners.

We hold exclusive membership for Romania and the Republic of Moldova in both the Eurocom worldwide PR network and the Crisis Network for Europe (CCNE), Europe's leading crisis communications network.

Lighthouse PR: Clear. Concise. Convincing.