“PR Agencies Are Not Magicians!”: How Tech Brands Can Set Agency Partners Up for Success
By Tim Hurley
We recently had an insightful call with a prospective client, an experienced Head of Marketing and Brand who has worked for several prominent tech and cybersecurity vendors over the past two decades. In other words, someone who gets it. Someone who has likely hired and fired her share of agencies.
Unprompted, she offered a memorable line mid-meeting: “PR agencies are not magicians!”
She continued:
They need assets.
They need information.
They need a capable and available subject matter expert, or better yet, a small bench of them.
It was refreshing to hear that from a prospect instead of saying it myself.
Of course, I agreed.
The difference between a successful, long-term engagement and one that frustrates (or fails) often has less to do with the agency selected and more to do with what the client does before and during the relationship. Or fails to do.
The ideal relationship starts when the agency is set up to succeed before the first strategy meeting, press release, or pitch goes out.
It looks like this:
1. Clear expectations are set immediately with management
PR is not a faucet you turn on and coverage flows out. It’s not paid media. It’s earned. And more than ever, it’s hard-earned. Building narrative, credibility, and media relationships takes time.
If senior leadership believes hiring an agency will immediately result in coverage in The Wall Street Journal (unless the SEC is investigating them), then Houston, we have a problem — and it’s not the agency’s fault.
Savvy marketing leaders align internally before hiring an agency. They define what success looks like in six months and a year. They agree on the business goals: category creation? Supporting a funding round? Driving lead generation and sales conversations? All of the above?
When expectations are grounded, agencies can focus on execution instead of managing disappointment or defending media reactions — or inaction.
2. The budget is approved. No wavering.
This sounds obvious, but it happens constantly.
An agency is hired on a “let’s try this for a quarter” basis. “The budget is soft.” “The CFO isn’t sold.” “Sales is skeptical.” “The board wants instant proof.”
None of that sets either party up for success. It’s like heading onto the highway with one foot on the brake and eyes fixed on the rear-view mirror.
Strategic PR requires commitment. A budget aligned with expectations. A reasonable timeline. A belief that building reputation and credibility in a crowded tech market is worth the investment.
If the budget disappears after 90 days because there’s no TechCrunch feature (which is standalone vanity metric, not a meaningful goal), the agency is working under a ticking clock from day one. That pressure rarely produces smart work. It produces scrambling.
3. Leadership’s commitment to the process is cemented
Here’s the hard truth: tech brands are often short on executive time and alignment between marketing and the broader business.
An agency can’t manufacture insight or create a compelling point of view on its own. It can’t craft real news out of thin air or a one-hour brainstorm. It can’t produce strong thought leadership without access to the people who know the product, market, and customer. It can and should contribute meaningfully to strategy and execution, but it can’t do it alone.
If the CEO won’t make time for media training.
If the CTO won’t join a briefing call.
If product leaders won’t share roadmap context.
If the marketing plan is still “in development.”
The agency will be hamstrung.
The strongest programs involve executives who understand their role. They show up prepared. They respect reporters’ time. They work with the agency to sharpen messaging instead of treating interviews as interruptions.
That’s when the magic — if you want to call it that — happens.
4. Substance is brought to the table
Tech is ridiculously noisy and competitive. Every company claims to be faster, smarter, AI-powered, and “redefining” something.
Reporters have heard it all.
Agencies need real substance to break through: customer proof points, data, a differentiated point of view, and a willingness to say something that isn’t bland or lawyered to death.
If every comment requires six rounds of edits and emerges sounding like it was written by committee, coverage will be hard to secure.
PR is storytelling backed by credibility. If there’s no story, or no conviction in telling it, even the best agency will struggle.
5. The agency is treated as a partner, not a vendor
The best relationships aren’t transactional. They’re collaborative.
There’s bi-directional trust, built over time through open dialogue. The ability to say, “That message isn’t landing,” or “We need more from you,” without defensiveness.
When clients share the full picture — good or bad — agencies can advise properly. When they’re kept at arm’s length and given partial information, they can’t.
It’s that simple.
PR agencies are not magicians. But in the right environment, with support and commitment, they can do extraordinary work.
For tech brands, success with an agency partner doesn’t start with a clever pitch. It starts with internal alignment, realistic expectations, committed leadership, and real substance.
Put those pieces in place, and your agency won’t need magic.
