CorpComms Magazine

Leading PR industry bodies have come together to release a toolkit to help clients and agencies navigate the treacherous waters of PR procurement.

The kit, developed by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply, the Central Office of Information and the Public Relations Consultants Association, is designed to be used by both PR professionals and their clients to assess the value delivered by PR practitioners and activities.

The guide covers six aspects of the relationship between clients and suppliers: indicators of best practice, the procurement cycle, the procurement process and document management, the contract, the statement of work, and good housekeeping and account management.

Best practice guidelines for PR procurement focus on tailoring the PR budget, scale and skills of the supplier not just to a particular company but to an individual department, category of spend or campaign to ensure a partnership that fits.

Advice includes building and maintaining a well-managed roster for individual categories of PR spend, setting carefully defined budgets for different communications areas, projecting cost estimates transparently to aid subsequent evaluation, regularly screening potential new suppliers and agencies, along with assessing rostered suppliers and previous campaigns for return on investment.

Tom Wells, chairman of the Procurement Panel and managing director of procurement consultancy Gyroscope, said: 'Good procurement practice is fundamental to unlocking the full value of communications for both client and agency.  We hope these simple and pragmatic toolkits will help organisations of every size and every type to work more effectively, and contribute to raising the commercial and professional stature of the PR profession.'

David Noble, chief executive of the CIPS, said: 'It's good to see that our branches are active in helping to develop toolkits to encourage good procurement practice in a variety of sectors. Institutes have an important role to play in supporting our members and our profession and encouraging the best techniques for business success. Good public relations is key to any organisation's success.'

share me: del.icio.us | digg | reddit | Tweet