Choosing a communications agency is a decision that most companies make based on three things: the presentation, the price, and the friendliness and expertise of the person who attended the meeting. None of these three factors predicts what will happen in the fourth month. This article compiles the seven questions that distinguish a polished proposal from a relationship that works—including the ones that are hard for us to answer.
We’re writing this from the perspective of those selling the service, which is a bias worth disclosing. On the other hand, these are the questions we’d prefer people to ask us, because the alternative is to enter into an agreement based on expectations that no one has aligned.
1. Who will actually be working on my account?
It’s the most important question—and the one that’s asked the least. At the proposal meeting, it’s often the director or someone from the sales team who shows up—if the agency even has such a role. When it comes to day-to-day execution, someone else takes over—often a more junior staff member—which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something the client should know before making a decision.
What to ask for: names, roles, and how many hours per month each person dedicates to the account. If the answer is vague, it’s because it hasn’t been decided yet—and that tells you something.
Also ask what happens if that person leaves. In an agency with twenty people, the answer is clear. In an organization with hundreds of people, the account will most likely be transferred to someone else without notice.
2. What is included in the contract, and what is billed separately?
Most conflicts in media contracts arise from this, and almost never because of bad faith. They arise because “media management” does not mean the same thing to both parties.
The minimum list of items to be clarified in writing before signing:
- How many press releases per month, and whether writing and distribution count as one or two items.
- Whether the follow-up to in-person interviews is included or billed by the hour.
- Whoever pays for distribution also pays for the journalists’ databases, if any.
- Whether social media content creation is included or is a separate service.
- How many rounds of revisions are included per part?
- What happens in a month when there’s no news to report.
This last point deserves attention. A good agency will tell you that there have been months with no coverage and that the work for that month involves other things—preparation, relationships, and original content. An agency that promises media coverage every month is promising something it has no control over.
3. What results have they achieved with clients similar to mine, in terms of numbers?
A portfolio isn’t a result. Logos on a page aren’t a result. A result is: this client had this problem, we did this, and the metric changed in this way within this timeframe.
Ask to see a case study of a client of the same size and in the same industry—not the best-known brand in their portfolio. An agency that can only show case studies of multinational companies probably doesn’t have a process tailored to a company with forty employees.
4. How do they measure it, and what do I receive each month?
A 2026 CMO Survey study, cited by the Demand Gen Report, shows that only 22% of marketers believe they have enough data to justify the value of their work to financial leadership. It’s not a problem of a lack of reports. It’s a problem of reports designed to describe activity rather than justify the budget.
Ask to see an actual monthly report, with the client’s name blacked out. Then ask yourself this serious question: If I take this to my CFO, will he understand how much the company has earned?
Reach, impressions, and the number of published pieces describe the work that’s been done. They do not describe the return on investment. The agency doesn’t have to be able to attribute sales to a press release—that’s rarely honest—but it does have to be able to explain how the company is different after six months.
5. What media contacts do you have that are relevant to me?
“We have a good relationship with the media” is not an answer. The areas that matter to an industrial software company are not the same as those that matter to a cosmetics brand.
What to ask for: the publications and sections where clients in this sector have been featured over the past twelve months. Not the names of the journalists—which no serious professional would share—but the media outlets and the type of article.
Uma boa assessoria de imprensa distingue-se aqui e não na criatividade. O trabalho é saber quem escreve sobre o quê, o que essa pessoa considera notícia, e quando não vale a pena ligar.
6. What happens when a crisis occurs outside of business hours?
Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday morning, mid-August. That’s when crises happen, because that’s when organizations have fewer people making decisions.
Ask: Who handles it, how long does it take, and whether this is specified in the contract or is done on a goodwill basis. Also ask if there is a written plan or if they just improvise based on who is available.
This question cuts right to the chase. Anyone who’s seriously experienced a crisis has a ready answer with specific timelines. Anyone who hasn’t been through one responds with generalities about availability.
Geralmente, a gestão de comunicação de crise não está incluída num fee de assessoria de imprensa, mas pode ser negociada com a agência para que esta responda em caso de urgênca. Nesse caso, convém saber se a agência tem provas dadas neste campo, como acontece com a EDC.
7. How do we get out of this if it doesn’t work?
Ask about the deadline for filing a complaint, what happens to the content that has been produced, who retains access to the accounts, and whether there is a minimum period.
An agency that is comfortable with this question is one that doesn’t rely on the client being tied down. And the answer to this question tells you more about the relationship than the previous six combined.
What these questions do not address
None of these questions measures what ultimately determines the relationship, which is whether the two teams work well together. You can only find that out by working together.
So here’s a practical suggestion: instead of signing a twelve-month contract right off the bat, set up a well-defined project with a clear scope and deadline, and decide on the contract terms later. It costs more per unit of work, but it saves you much more than that in terms of avoiding bad decisions.
About price—since no one publishes it
In Portugal, the cost of a communications and public relations contract for a small or medium-sized business typically falls within a range that depends primarily on three factors: the number of staff assigned to the project, whether content production is included, and whether a crisis response component is provided.
It depends on the scope, not the size of the company. The most important factors are the number of people assigned to the account, whether content production is included, and whether there is a crisis response plan in place. Always ask for a breakdown of the cost by component rather than a total figure.
A communications agency focuses primarily on earned media and reputation: relationships with journalists, positioning, crisis management, and internal communications. An advertising agency focuses on paid media: creativity and media buying. Many agencies do both, but the expertise and teams are different.
An in-house employee knows the company best and is available at all times. An agency brings a network of contacts, a range of specialties, and the ability to scale up during peak periods. Once communications reach a certain volume, most companies end up using both: an in-house employee to coordinate and an agency to execute.
In the media, the first significant story usually breaks between the second and fourth month, because it depends on there being news and on having an established relationship with the journalist. Anyone who promises results in the first month is just counting on luck.
Location matters less than the network. What matters is where the journalists and media outlets in your sector are located. In Portugal, most national newsrooms are in Lisbon, which is relevant for national media but irrelevant for regional or sector-specific media.
Se está a avaliar propostas neste momento, envie-nos as perguntas 1, 2 e 4. Respondemos por escrito, sem reunião, e fica com um termo de comparação para as outras propostas que tem em cima da mesa.
