When to use this playbook
- You have signed with a PR agency and need realistic expectations for the first 30, 60, and 90 days.
- Your agency appears busy, but you cannot tell whether the program is building toward meaningful coverage.
- Your healthcare, life sciences, technology, or manufacturing program has stalled, and you need to determine whether the problem is news supply, editorial fit, or agency execution.
- You are considering a change and want to protect active pitches, embargoes, content, measurement history, and media relationships.
- You are still choosing an agency and want questions that reveal what will happen after the contract is signed.
What success looks like after 90 days
The first quarter should make the program inspectable. Messaging, proof points, targets, responsibilities, approval paths, measurement, and initial outreach should exist in a form that the client can review, even when earned coverage has not yet reached its expected cadence.
Measurement should start with business and communications objectives, establish a baseline, and distinguish agency activity from audience response and business impact. The AMEC Integrated Evaluation Framework provides a useful model for moving from inputs and activities to outputs, out-takes, outcomes, and organizational impact.
| Timing | What should be produced | What the buyer should be able to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 10 | Objectives, baseline, working cadence, access list, executive interviews, and approval process | Named owners, decision deadlines, business priorities, existing performance data, and the route for legal or regulatory review |
| Days 10 to 30 | Approved narrative, proof points, news inventory, priority audiences, and initial measurement plan | Claims tied to evidence, topics the company can credibly own, and a calendar of usable milestones |
| Days 20 to 45 | Media and analyst target map, story angles, byline concepts, and outreach calendar | A reason for every priority outlet, reporter, analyst, and proposed angle |
| Days 30 to 75 | Initial pitches, bylines, briefings, interview preparation, and reporter feedback | What was sent, to whom, why it was relevant, what happened next, and what the team learned |
| Days 75 to 90 | Performance review, revised priorities, updated story pipeline, and next-quarter plan | Evidence of execution and learning, not just a list of activities or an impressions total |
These phases overlap. A strong agency does not wait until every messaging document is polished before testing useful angles, but it also should not begin mass pitching before it understands the company, evidence, audience, and market.
Step 1: Establish the baseline and operating rules
Time estimate: The first 5 to 10 business days.
Action: Agree on the business objective, priority audiences, current visibility, expected agency outputs, reporting method, meeting cadence, decision owners, and approval route. Give the agency access to prior coverage, analytics, marketing calendars, product milestones, executive availability, customer evidence, and relevant sales or pipeline data.
Expected outcome: Both sides can explain what the program is intended to change and how progress will be observed. The baseline might include current coverage quality, presence in priority trade outlets, journalist relationships, executive visibility, search performance, AI visibility, website referrals, or revenue influence where the data supports it.
Gotcha: A list of desired publications is not a strategy. The agency needs to know which buyers, partners, investors, clinicians, technical evaluators, or other stakeholders matter and what those audiences need to understand or believe.
Step 2: Agree on the story, proof points, and news supply
Time estimate: Days 10 to 30, with updates throughout the engagement.
Action: Turn executive interviews, product information, market context, customer evidence, research, and business priorities into an approved narrative. Separate established facts from viewpoints and future ambitions. Build a news inventory covering launches, funding, regulatory events, research, customer results, partnerships, executive expertise, conferences, and useful industry commentary.
Expected outcome: The agency has a message framework it can use consistently and enough substantiated material to develop news, bylines, commentary, and reporter conversations. In healthcare, this should include a clear route for reviewing product and health claims. The FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance requires health-related claims to be truthful, non-misleading, and appropriately substantiated.
Gotcha: Messaging approval does not create news. A technically accurate product description can still be too inward-looking for a reporter. The agency and client must identify what is new, consequential, evidenced, or connected to a wider market change.
Step 3: Demand a reasoned media and analyst target map
Time estimate: Days 20 to 45.
Action: Review the proposed target list and require a short reason for each priority name. That reason should identify the reporter’s beat, recent relevant coverage, audience, likely angle, and any evidence or source access needed. Analyst targets should likewise connect to the company’s category, buyer market, and evaluation cycle.
Expected outcome: The list functions as an editorial map rather than a contact database. It should distinguish priority relationships from opportunistic targets and show which stories belong with healthcare trades, business media, specialist technical publications, regional outlets, podcasts, or analysts.
Gotcha: List size is not a useful quality measure. In Muck Rack’s 2026 journalist survey, 88% of journalists said they disregard pitches outside their coverage area. Clear beat relevance, access to relevant sources, and original data or research ranked among the most useful elements of a pitch. See the Muck Rack State of Journalism 2026.
Step 4: Get the first outreach into the market
Time estimate: Initial pitches and byline development should normally begin between days 30 and 60 when messaging, evidence, approvals, and executive access are ready.
Action: Approve a small number of well-matched story angles and begin outreach. The first cycle can include a company milestone, an executive point of view, an original data story, a byline proposal, analyst briefings, or background introductions with journalists who cover the category.
Expected outcome: By day 60, the client should be able to see live execution: pitches sent, bylines in production or submitted, briefings requested, reporter questions, useful declines, and changes made in response to editorial feedback.
Gotcha: Coverage is a lagging outcome, not a day-30 deliverable. Trade reporters often need a timely milestone, credible evidence, original data, customer access, or a distinct market implication. A relevant pitch can also wait behind breaking news, editorial calendars, interviews, fact-checking, and publication schedules. Treat early editorial interest and learning as evidence of traction without treating them as substitutes for eventual outcomes.
Step 5: Review the program at four levels
Time estimate: Begin monthly, with a formal review around days 75 to 90.
Action: Separate what the agency did from what journalists, buyers, and the market did in response.
| Level | Questions to ask | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Inputs and readiness | Did the agency receive the access, evidence, interviews, and approvals needed? | Executive availability, proof points, customer permissions, analytics access, legal review |
| Outputs | Did the agency complete the agreed work at the expected quality and pace? | Pitches, bylines, target research, briefings, media preparation, reports |
| Out-takes and outcomes | Did priority audiences notice, engage with, understand, or act on the work? | Reporter replies, interview requests, message pull-through, quality coverage, referral traffic |
| Business impact | Is the program contributing to the objective it was hired to support? | Buyer engagement, event interest, demand, opportunities, pipeline influence, reputation change |
Expected outcome: The review identifies which parts of the system are working and which constraint should be addressed next. It should lead to a revised plan rather than a backward-looking activity report.
Gotcha: Impressions, release pickups, and pitch volume can make a weak program look busy. Conversely, a well-run program may have limited published coverage in its first quarter while building strong evidence, relationships, and stories for upcoming milestones.
Step 6: Use the three-failure test when the program stalls
Most stalled PR programs can be traced to one of three problems. Firing the agency directly fixes only the third, so diagnose the constraint before choosing the remedy.
| Failure mode | What you will see | How to test it | Likely remedy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thin or absent news pipeline | Angles repeat the company description. Customer evidence, data, milestones, and executive access are scarce. Approvals regularly arrive after the opportunity has passed. | Ask the agency to map the next eight weeks of pitchable evidence. Identify which missing inputs are controlled by the client. | Build a milestone and evidence calendar, secure customer participation, create original research, schedule subject-matter experts, or adjust expectations until stronger material exists. |
| Story and outlet mismatch | Activity is visible, but pitches do not connect to what the targeted reporters actually cover. The same angle is sent across unrelated outlets, or the language reads like product promotion. | Compare a sample of pitches with each reporter’s recent work. Require the agency to explain the audience consequence and editorial reason for every target. | Narrow the targets, rebuild the angle, add evidence or source access, and move the story to the publication tier or format where it fits. |
| Agency staffing or execution problem | Deadlines are missed, senior staff disappear, drafts require repeated correction, outreach lacks follow-through, target lists are stale, or the team cannot account for work in flight. | Compare the named team, planned outputs, deadlines, and reporting commitments with what was actually delivered. Ask who wrote and sent the work. | Set a corrective plan with named owners and dates, replace account staff, reduce scope to match capacity, or change agencies if the pattern persists. |
A lack of reporter responses is not sufficient proof of poor execution. Journalists receive heavy pitch volume and often do not reply. The more reliable test is whether the agency selected defensible targets, developed relevant angles, executed the agreed outreach, followed up appropriately, and adapted based on what it learned.
Step 7: Run a short correction cycle before deciding to leave
Time estimate: Approximately 30 days, unless a serious trust, confidentiality, or conduct issue requires immediate action.
Action: Put the diagnosis in writing and set a limited correction plan. Name the problem, corrective action, owner, deadline, and evidence that will determine whether it worked. A news-supply problem needs client inputs. An editorial-fit problem needs revised targets and angles. An execution problem needs staffing, delivery, and accountability changes.
Expected outcome: At the end of the cycle, the decision is based on observed behavior rather than general dissatisfaction. You should know whether the constraint improved, remained unresolved, or was misdiagnosed.
Gotcha: Do not let the correction period become an indefinite reset. If the agency repeatedly misses controllable commitments, changing the strategy will not solve the delivery problem.
Step 8: Secure the transition record before giving notice
Time estimate: Inventory existing materials before notice, then complete and verify the handover during the contractual wind-down period.
Action: Confirm what the company already controls and identify what remains in agency systems. Do not begin by removing access or interrupting active reporter conversations.
| Transition item | What a complete handover includes |
|---|---|
| Approved messaging | Current narrative, proof points, boilerplate, executive biographies, claim language, and approval history |
| Media and analyst targets | Names, outlets, beats, prioritization, target rationale, contact history, preferences, and relationship notes that can contractually be transferred |
| Pitch history | Angles sent, dates, recipients, follow-ups, responses, declines, interviews, and next actions |
| Live commitments | Embargoes, exclusives, interview promises, deadlines, corrections, pending fact checks, and the person responsible for each thread |
| Content in production | Drafts, source files, approvals, editor correspondence, publication requirements, and rights or reuse terms |
| Measurement history | Baseline, reports, coverage archive, analytics definitions, campaign tags, dashboards, and documented methodology |
| Accounts and access | Newsroom, wire, monitoring, analytics, shared drives, social accounts, website tools, and administrator ownership |
| Forward calendar | Launches, events, awards, speaking deadlines, editorial opportunities, analyst dates, and planned outreach |
Expected outcome: The incoming team can see what has been tried, what is working, what is promised, and what must happen next without restarting discovery from zero.
Gotcha: Media database subscriptions and credentials may belong to the agency. Focus on receiving the campaign-specific target records and history your successor needs, not access to an agency-wide licensed database. Confidential materials should remain protected throughout the transition, consistent with the PRSA Code of Ethics.
Step 9: Use the wind-down period to transfer responsibility, not merely files
Time estimate: Two to four weeks is a practical starting point for a routine B2B PR handover. Extend the overlap through an active launch, embargo, regulatory milestone, conference, analyst briefing cycle, or major content deadline when continuity requires it.
Action: Assign one owner to every live item. The outgoing agency should finish or explicitly transfer active commitments. The incoming team should review messaging, pitch history, targets, measurement, and upcoming milestones before it assumes new outreach.
Expected outcome: Reporters receive one clear contact, live stories retain an owner, the incoming agency avoids duplicate pitches, and the client does not lose historical context.
Gotcha: Paying two agencies during a short overlap can feel inefficient, but an abrupt cut can strand interviews, confuse reporters, duplicate outreach, and leave nobody accountable for active deadlines. Divide responsibilities clearly so both agencies do not pitch the same contact.
What a PR agency exit clause should cover
- How either party gives notice and when the notice becomes effective.
- The length, cost, and expected work of the wind-down period.
- Who owns approved work, source files, accounts, data, and campaign records.
- How active pitches, embargoes, interviews, events, and content will be completed or transferred.
- How access, confidential information, and personal data will be returned, retained, or removed.
- Which third-party expenses, subscriptions, media costs, and final invoices remain payable.
- When the outgoing agency’s access ends and who confirms the transfer is complete.
Worked example: predictable billing with a defined exit
SVM PR & Marketing Communications uses a monthly retainer with planned hours, no annual commitment, no overage billing, a one-page contract, and an agreed wind-down period. That structure makes the exit path visible without treating the engagement as unlimited capacity. When priorities change, the client and agency reprioritize the planned hours, which can mean moving a lower-priority assignment behind an announcement or other urgent work. See SVM’s PR retainer terms.
This is a useful distinction for any agency contract: no-overage billing creates predictable agency fees, not unlimited monthly production. Buyers should understand the capacity model, priority-setting process, and wind-down responsibilities before signing.
Frequently asked questions
What should I expect from a PR agency in the first 90 days?
Expect an approved narrative, defensible proof points, a reasoned media and analyst target map, a measurement baseline, initial pitches or bylines, and a next-quarter plan. Published coverage can begin during this period, but it should not be the only test. The stronger first-quarter indicators are whether the agency has learned the business, created usable stories, reached relevant targets, generated editorial feedback, and established a repeatable operating cadence.
How do I know if my healthcare PR agency is underperforming?
A healthcare PR agency is underperforming when controllable work is consistently weak, not merely when coverage is slow. Warning signs include missed deadlines, unsupported claims, irrelevant media targets, repeated factual corrections, disappearing senior staff, poor follow-up, and no clear record of active work. First determine whether the actual constraint is missing client evidence, an editorial mismatch, or agency execution. Healthcare messaging also needs an appropriate review process because relevant promotional communications must be accurate and non-misleading, as outlined by the FDA Office of Prescription Drug Promotion.
How do I switch PR agencies without losing momentum?
Switch through a documented handover and a time-boxed overlap rather than a cold stop. Secure approved messaging, target lists, pitch history, embargoes, active interviews, content drafts, measurement data, forward calendars, and account access. Give every live item one owner and tell key media contacts who their new contact is when appropriate. The outgoing agency should retain responsibility for explicitly assigned work until it is finished or accepted by the incoming team.
What should a PR agency wind-down or exit clause include?
A PR agency exit clause should define notice, timing, fees, transition work, ownership, access transfer, confidentiality, live commitments, and final expenses. It should explain who finishes active pitches and content, when source files and records are delivered, and when account access is removed. The wind-down should be long enough to transfer work that is already in motion without becoming an open-ended extension.
What questions should I ask a healthcare PR agency before hiring it?
Ask what the agency will produce by days 30, 60, and 90; who will write and pitch; how targets are selected; what evidence and executive access it needs; how health claims are reviewed; how progress is measured; and what happens when news is thin. Also ask for the contract’s notice, ownership, handover, and wind-down terms. The PR agency hiring comparison provides a broader pre-contract checklist covering staffing, scope, fees, and commercial structure.