My search for a PR agency in the USA for Mindquarry has lead to some good results. I am waiting for feedback from some promising potentials. Below is the Q&A I sent to them.

Some of the questions should be answered by your marketing strategy which you hand out to your PR folks. Nevertheless, with a young company like Mindquarry, your marketing strategy is likely to change while you introduce new products and gain new experiences. Hence, I want a PR agency flexible enough not only to shape a story and message with you, but also to keep an eye on how the results of a PR campaign impact your general strategy.

Use the list at your own risk

Profile of PR Agency

• Where do you see do Mindquarry and your PR agency fit well together?
• Why can you help us best to be successful? What’s special about you, what’s your PR “trick”?
• Do you see critical aspects, anything where you or Mindquarry need to adapt to work together smoothly?
• How big is your company: How many employees, how many customers?
• Please name all Open Source clients and your team members who work(ed) for them.
• Please name your 5 best known customers and your team members who work(ed) for them.

Profile of Mindquarry

• How would you describe the profile of Mindquarry?
• What are strengths and weaknesses?
• How would you position Mindquarry in your PR, what’s the core message?
• Do you see a large disadvantage in Mindquarry not yet having an office in the USA? Which interim solution would you suggest until the office is in place?

General PR Approach

• What would be the general PR approach you’d suggest to gain visibility of Mindquarry? Starting with social marketing / community evangelism then moving towards “traditional” PR? Or mixing it right from the start?
• Please list the minimum actions you would perform to ensure the success of Mindquarry PR.
• How long will it take, to achieve the goal?

Focus Groups

• Please give us an idea which focus groups you would address and the reasons why?
• Also, who are the focus groups you would leave out, why?

Channels and Collaterals

• Which channels would you address?
• Which magazines/journalists would you approach? Where do you want to see a news or article appear?
• Are there in general conferences or trade fairs we should not miss?
• Should the PR be in sync with our appearance at events or is this less important?
• Any bloggers you have in mind whom you could ask to write about Mindquarry?
• Do you think www.mindquarry.com is ready for the upcoming PR campaigns? What would you urgently change?
• Do you plan to make use of www.mindquarry.com within your PR? How?
• What kind of marketing collaterals (e.g. brochures) should Mindquarry provide or adjust for your PR?

Resources and Costs

• How many of your team members would be involved in Mindquarry PR?
• Will we have a dedicated point of contact? How much of her time would this person allocate to us? Who would assist her?
• What kind of help would you need from Mindquarry?
• A rough estimate: how much would the minimal PR cost?

Controlling

• How would you benchmark the success or failure of your Mindquarry PR?
• How would you correlate it to sales figures (conversion)?