Retainers tend to work best when a client is looking for regular, hands-on PR support. A retainer enables me to be on the constant look out for expert comment opportunities and to cultivate long term relationships with your target titles.  This arrangement works well for most medium sized accountancy and law firms or when a client is after outsourced communications/marketing  support that covers a wide remit. For example, a retainer could cover your social media management,  some content creation as well as media relations. This is a popular option for boutique law firms  and smaller firms where there is no in-house marketing function.

This is ideal when a client needs PR support for a specific project. For example, the launch of a new service or product line, an awards submission or an announcement regarding a significant lateral hire or even a merger.  Alternatively,  I can provide PR advice and training when a firm is unable to commit to a retainer but would like to start managing their own PR.

I often get approached by journalists looking for expert opinion on topical issues. When a retained client is unable to take up an opportunity or when the reporter is looking for views from more than one expert, I am able to offer these opportunities for an agreed fee to my ad hoc clients.  These can be larger firms who are not yet ready to commit to a retainer or smaller clients where a retainer isn’t warranted.