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Part of London B2B PR: a 90-day brief to compare agency pitches
London B2B PR: a 90-day brief to compare agency pitches
A fixed 90-day B2B PR brief for London agency pitches: the template by phase, owners and deliverables, written shortlist criteria and how to score answers.
What to take away
- Judge a London B2B PR shortlist by requiring each agency to provide named trade titles, verifiable reporter contacts and a written measurement method, not by relying on a wall of client logos.
- UK trade media place fewer journalists across wider beats than US outlets, so a targeted pitch beats a global press release.
- Price every candidate on the same fixed 90-day brief before you compare retainers or day rates.
- Media lists hold personal data, and paid coverage sits under the advertising codes, so both belong in the contract from the start.
What a London B2B brief has to prove
London's B2B and technology cluster means most briefs sit close to a trade press beat. A software firm selling into financial services shares readers with a payments title. A consultancy selling compliance tools shares readers with a legal trade paper. The agency's first job is knowing which of those titles your buyers read, by name rather than by category: Computer Weekly for enterprise IT buyers, the Law Society Gazette for solicitors, Construction News for contractors.
The first filter is not a London postcode. It is whether the team can name the publications that matter to your buyers and the reporters who cover them.
US-owned agencies often arrive with a global release model built for large newsrooms. UK trade titles run leaner: one or two journalists cover a whole sector, and they answer a named spokesperson with a specific angle faster than a mass pitch.
Shortlist criteria you can check in writing
Put each question below in writing before the pitch meeting.
- Trade-media fitask the team to name the titles and reporters relevant to your buyers, and explain why they fit.
- Evidenceask for recent placements and a written measurement method.
- Scopegive every candidate the same 90-day brief, covering one announcement, one thought-leadership series and one reactive window.
Shortlist criteria to check in writing
- Named beatstrade titles and editors, with dates
- Spokesperson planwho is briefed and media-trained
- Measurement methodqualified mention, logging, corrections
- Data handlinglawful basis, retention, deletion
- Contract shapenotice, content ownership, media list exit
The ICO's guide to lawful basis is plain about the starting point: you must have a valid lawful basis to handle personal information, and there are seven lawful bases to choose from. Ask each agency which one it relies on for its journalist contacts.
Verbal answers are hard to compare, and the gaps tend to surface in month three.
The 90-day brief, phase by phase
Send every agency the same document. The phases below are the brief itself; the agency fills in the right-hand column, and you keep the owner column on your side so the answers stay comparable.
| Weeks | Workstream | Your owner | What the agency must name in its response |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Onboarding and media map | Head of marketing | The trade titles your buyers read, the reporter on each beat, and how each contact was verified |
| 3 to 6 | The announcement | Product or commercial lead, plus the spokesperson | The angle, the embargo plan, the titles offered a briefing first, and the approval route for the release |
| 5 to 10 | Thought-leadership series | Subject-matter spokesperson | The topics, the titles approached for each piece, and who drafts and signs off |
| 1 to 13 | Reactive window | Named spokesperson and a deputy | The news hooks it will watch, the response time it commits to, and who may speak without sign-off |
| 7 | Day-45 review | Head of marketing | Briefings secured, not releases sent, against the media map |
| 13 | Close and report | Head of marketing and finance | The measurement method used, hours by grade against the estimate, and what continues |
Ask for the measurement method in a named form. A response that cites AMEC's Integrated Evaluation Framework, or sets out outputs, outcomes and business effect in its own words, can be scored; a promise of "coverage reports" cannot.
Fix the commercial lines in the brief too: the total price for the 90 days, the hours by grade behind it, what sits outside the fee, the notice period and any exclusivity the agency asks for. Leave the numbers blank for the agencies to fill in, so every response arrives in the same shape.
Scoring the shortlist on one fixed brief
Give every candidate the same 90-day brief: one announcement, one thought-leadership series, one reactive window. Score the written answers, then check the PR agency contract terms each firm proposes, because exclusivity and notice change the real cost.
Scoring the shortlist on one fixed brief
Criterion
- Trade title fit
- High
- Reporter contact
- High
- Measurement
- Medium
- Team continuity
- Medium
- Data and contract terms
- High
Weight
- Trade title fit
- Four titles named, with beats
- Reporter contact
- Two recent placements, with dates
- Measurement
- Anonymised sample report
- Team continuity
- Named day-to-day lead
- Data and contract terms
- Processor terms, retention, exit clause
Evidence to ask for
- Trade title fit
- Reporter contact
- Measurement
- Team continuity
- Data and contract terms
Weight the high-evidence rows first. A firm that cannot name titles or show recent placements will not improve once the retainer starts.
A simple scheme keeps the panel honest. Score each of the four criteria from 0 to 3: 0 for no answer, 1 for a general answer, 2 for named titles or examples, 3 for named titles with evidence you can check. Count trade-media fit and evidence twice, scope and data handling once, so the maximum is 18. Each panel member scores alone before the discussion, and any criterion where two scores differ by two points or more is reread against the written answer rather than averaged.
UK trade media against US outlets
The difference appears in response times and formats. A UK trade journalist usually wants the story before the embargo lifts, plus a briefing with someone who can speak to specifics. A US outlet of similar size often wants a broader trend angle.
Paid placement needs its own check. Advertorial and sponsored content in the UK fall under the advertising codes, so any agency proposing paid coverage should explain how the material will be labelled, as the CAP code requires: rule 2.1 states that marketing communications must be obviously identifiable as such.
Fees and the qualifying questions
London retainers vary with team seniority, and a low quote often reflects junior delivery. Ask for the split of hours by grade.
Ask, too, whether the agency belongs to the PRCA or its practitioners to the CIPR, the UK's PR trade and professional bodies. Membership commits them to a code of conduct you can cite if a dispute arises; it says nothing about price.
Treat any claim about typical London fees with care. The ONS business services data covers the sector's output, and a competitor's retainer figure is not a benchmark.
Set out the audience and approval route in the brief before it goes out.
Common questions
How many agencies should we shortlist?
Three is usually enough for a London B2B brief. Beyond five, the evidence you collect stops being comparable.
Does the agency need a London office?
Not always. Knowledge of the trade titles and availability during UK hours matter more. A regional firm with a strong technology beat can beat a London address with a generic offer.
What should the first 90 days cover?
One announcement, a short thought-leadership series and a reactive window, each with a named owner. Add a day-45 review to check whether the media list is producing briefings rather than sends.
How do we compare fees fairly?
Use the same scope, deliverables and timeline for every firm, then compare the total cost of the 90 days. Ask what sits outside the retainer, such as media training or event support.
