In our latest blog, Senior Account Executive Erin discusses how she found the swap to agency life having previously spent four years in-house at one of the largest estate agents in the country.

In the PR world there is a divide: in-house PR v agency. 

Before I got into PR, I had no idea that the two could be so different and that people tend to either love or hate each option. Having worked across both, it is quite surprising how contrasting they are given they are doing the same job, and ultimately, wanting to achieve the same outcome.

There are of course both pros and cons to in-house and agency, but if PR is the top of your agenda in 2024, why not take a look at our roundup below to see what is right for you? 

A constant stream of ideas 

Working across a diverse range of clients in the property sector means we are at the top of our creative game at all times. We are constantly switching between social media, community campaigns, ESG strategies and so much more – and this is all before lunch. We are able to have regular brainstorming sessions as a company to share our ideas and discuss what has and perhaps hasn’t worked so well, helping us to achieve the best results. 

Autonomy over creativeness 

As a PR agency, we feel we have a large scope of our strategies for clients (within reason!) and are continually evolving to stay ahead of the curve – especially with the ever changing digital landscape. At Building Relations, one of our core values is ‘trust’, and we believe our clients trust us to deliver whatever results they need. With an in-house team, whilst you have the benefit of working solely with one client, this can restrict creativity, especially if you feel constrained by stricter company guidelines that may turn down an idea before you’ve even had the chance to test it. 

Communication

Not being in-house of course does have some challenges that we must recognise. One of these may be communication, as word of mouth within the office or internal communications may not be passed on between both the client and the agency. To combat this, we like to work as an extension to our clients’ teams, which allows us to truly collaborate and generate bespoke campaigns. We organise regular meetings both virtual and in-person with our clients to discuss new ideas and updates. We also provide reports and reviews on a weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. 

Dedicated job roles

To work across all clients and adhere to their needs, we have dedicated job roles which you may not find in-house. Often in some companies, PR can be an addition to marketing, social media, and even sales roles. PR should be a job within its own right, and from Junior Account Executive to Director, we have all bases covered. Over the past year, we have also created new dedicated job roles including a Sustainability Director and Head of Content. 

If you are interested in an agency for your company in 2024, contact us today.