Crisis PR agency London: what questions should you ask?

What to take away

Judge a London crisis PR agency on mobilisation, named people and escalation, not on client logos.
Ask for the first-two-hours process in writing, including who may approve a holding line.
Check regulatory fit if the client is FCA-authorised or holds an Ofcom licence.
Price standby cover and live incident work as separate lines.
Put data protection, claims approval and a plain exit clause into the contract.

Define the incident before you approach anyone

Most shortlists fail before the first meeting, because the brief is written before the incident is defined. Write down what could go wrong, who is affected, and which decisions cannot wait for a committee. Only then decide what the agency should own.

A firm that lists crisis work may still staff it from the launch team. ONS business services data shows how many firms trade in this sector, but not which of them can run an incident. Market presence is not capability.

Examples of London firms to consider for a crisis PR shortlist include Edelman, Brunswick Group, FTI Consulting, Hanover Communications, Portland Communications, Kekst CNC and Headland Consultancy. Assess each against the same evidence-based tests rather than treating a name as proof of capability.

Compare candidates on eight tests

Use one table for every candidate, so differences are visible rather than remembered. Score each test and keep the evidence beside the score.

Mobilisation:What out-of-hours cover is available, and how quickly can the team respond?
Named team:Who leads the account, who is the backup, and who can be reached during an incident?
First response:Is there a written first-two-hours process, including escalation and holding-line approval?
Relevant experience:Can the agency show relevant crisis work without disclosing confidential client information?
Practice:Has the proposed team taken part in a crisis exercise, and what did it learn?
Evidence and claims:How will the team check facts and prevent unsupported claims from being published?
Fees:Are standby cover, live incident work and expenses priced separately against the same scenario?
Contract and data:Do the terms cover approvals, data handling, handover and exit?

Eight tests for crisis PR candidates

What good looks like

Named team: Two leads, two deputies
Mobilisation: Tested first-response window
Decision rights: Named approver for holding line
Regulatory fit: Knows your sector regulator
Evidence: Sources and time stamps
Data handling: Processor agreement, deletion dates
Fees: Standby and incident rates separate
Exit: Notice period and handover

What to watch

Named team: Best people assigned
Mobilisation: Promises with no exercise
Decision rights: Approval by committee only
Regulatory fit: We cover all sectors
Evidence: Assertions with no record
Data handling: Lists on personal drives
Fees: One blended retainer figure
Exit: Auto-renewal with no notice

Our guide to London shortlist criteria explains how to run that comparison for business-to-business brands with long sales cycles and several approvers.

Run a first call that produces answers

Ask these five questions, then write the answers down yourself. A summary sent later by the agency is a sales document, not a record.

“Who will lead our incident response, and who is the named backup if they are unavailable?”
“What will your team do in the first two hours, and who drafts and approves a holding line?”
“What out-of-hours cover do you provide, and how do we escalate an incident?”
“What relevant crisis work or exercise can you evidence, and how will you verify claims before publication?”
“How do you separate standby fees, live incident rates and expenses, and what are the notice, handover and data-deletion terms?”

Five questions for the first call

Which three incidents in eighteen months?
Who takes the out-of-hours first call?
What needs our written instruction?
What is the night escalation route?
How are decisions recorded and reported?

Before the call, fill in the incident preparation planning template so you test the agency's answers against your own plan instead of its presentation.

Ask which regulatory clock is running

Some London clients cannot be handled by a generalist. If your organisation is FCA-authorised, ask whether FCA Handbook rule SUP 15.3.1R applies; it includes notification where a matter may significantly affect a firm's reputation. For electronic communications providers within scope, Ofcom General Condition A3.2 covers notification of security incidents with a significant impact on a network or service. Ask the agency to help map the relevant duty, but have your compliance lead decide whether notification is required. The notification duties run to their own requirements.

Where a response includes paid advertising, or a correction placed as advertising, the advertising codes published by the ASA and CAP apply. In particular, check Section 3 of the CAP Code, on misleading advertising. That route belongs in the plan, not in a conversation after publication.

Where an agency handles personal data on your behalf as a processor, the written contract must meet UK GDPR Article 28(3). The ICO guidance sets out the controller's instructions and the processor's responsibilities, including the requirement under Article 33(2) for a processor to notify the controller of a personal data breach without undue delay.

Separate standby fees from live incident work

Most crisis retainers combine a monthly standby fee, an hourly rate for live work and expenses. Ask each candidate to price the same written scenario, so the totals can be compared.

Ask what happens in a quiet month. If the standby fee covers office hours only, the out-of-hours rate should sit on the same page, not in a schedule nobody reads.

Settle the exit before signature. Notice period, handover of media lists and deletion of your data are negotiable. A retainer that renews silently is a cost you did not choose.

Four red flags in a London pitch

A logo wall with no names attached to the work.
No exercise on record, or an exercise that never took place.
Hourly rates quoted without a scope or a cap.
Reassurance offered instead of a process.

Common questions

Use these questions to compare the practical arrangements, not just the agency's pitch. Ask for answers in writing where they affect your incident plan or contract.

How much does a crisis PR agency in London cost?

Fees depend on how much standby cover you buy and how senior the named team is. Ask for the standby fee, the hourly rate and the expenses policy as separate lines so two agencies can be compared on one basis.

Do we need a London agency if we are based elsewhere?

Not necessarily. Proximity helps for briefings, but the real test is whether the named team can be in the room or on the call when it matters. Some regional firms run out-of-hours cover better than large London agencies do.

What should we prepare before the first call?

A list of plausible incidents, the decisions that cannot wait, your approval chain and the personal data you hold. That gives an agency something concrete to price against rather than a vague brief.