Start with the communication task
List the decisions that communications must support: market entry, corporate reputation, executive visibility, product launch or issue readiness. A launch with fixed dates can be scoped as a project; a reputation programme normally needs sustained learning and response.
Avoid buying an abstract quantity of “PR”. Define markets, audiences, languages, evidence and the business moments that will generate credible stories.
A retainer buys continuity and availability
A retainer allows the team to monitor the market, maintain relationships, prepare spokespeople and respond when an opportunity or issue appears. It also creates time to learn the company’s approval routes and technical detail.
The agreement should still specify senior access, baseline activity, exclusions, reporting and how exceptional work is priced. Continuity should not become an undefined list of tasks.
A project creates a bounded test
A project works when the output, timing and evidence are sufficiently clear. It can test collaboration in one market before a broader appointment and makes procurement comparison easier.
Projects become inefficient when every new fact or interview requires a change order. Include discovery, review rounds, translation and follow-up rather than scoping only the visible launch moment.
Compare total management cost
Consider agency fees alongside internal briefing, approvals, local partner coordination and lost time between disconnected projects. A lower project fee may cost more if each team must relearn the context.
Ask who will do the daily work, how local expertise is supplied and which expenses are passed through. The commercial model should make senior judgement and routine delivery visible.
Use evidence to choose the next term
Set a review point around quality of stories, message accuracy, relevant relationships, response time and commercial follow-up. Do not turn raw coverage volume into a substitute for reputation or market progress.
ICON IMAGE structures international PR around positioning, evidence, local judgement and measurable next steps, using a project or retained model according to the client’s objective.
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