Good marketing rarely happens in isolation. 

Behind the best campaigns, launches and brand stories is usually a group of people with different skills and different perspectives  

For creative and design agencies, working with a PR partner can be the difference between creating something that just looks great and creating something that gets noticed. 

When the relationship works, it can be a powerful combination.  

So, what do creative and design agencies actually look for in a PR partner? 

1. Someone who gets the big picture 

Creative and design agencies want partners who understand the wider marketing challenge and can see how PR fits into the bigger picture. What is the client trying to achieve? Who are they trying to reach? What does the brand stand for? And, most importantly, why should anyone care? 

The best PR partners take the time to understand the brand before jumping straight into tactics. 

That makes collaboration much easier because everyone is working towards the same goal rather than simply ticking off their own part of the brief. 

2. Brings ideas to the table 

One of the biggest strengths of a good PR partner is their ability to spot a story where others might not see one. 

Creative and design agencies love working with PR teams that bring ideas, opportunities and different ways of thinking to the table. Whether it’s a clever campaign hook, a timely cultural moment, an unexpected audience or an angle that gives a brand something genuinely interesting to say, PR can add a whole new dimension to the creative process. 

A PR idea can inspire a visual campaign. A creative concept can unlock a great media story. A conversation about a client’s audience can spark an entirely new direction for both teams. 

The best partnerships aren’t about one agency coming up with the idea and the other bringing it to life. They’re about building the idea together and finding ways to make it bigger, stronger and more effective. 

We once worked closely with a PR agency on a client project and regularly shared social graphics so they had visibility of the brand’s organic social content. The PR agency then spotted an opportunity to use one of the graphics and its messaging as part of a collaboration with a media partner that aligned closely with the brand’s target audience. 

The collaboration ended up amplifying the brand’s message through a trusted voice, helping to build awareness and engagement with the right audience. Without the PR agency bringing this opportunity to the table, the graphic and its message would have only reached the brand’s existing social audience. Instead, the collaboration helped introduce the brand to a much wider audience who may not have encountered it before. 

3. An appreciation for good creative 

PR campaigns increasingly live across multiple channels, so creative is often a huge part of how an idea gets noticed. Whether it’s a campaign identity, social assets, animation, video, photography or a landing page, the creative needs to work alongside the story. 

A good PR partner understands that design isn’t just decoration. It can help communicate the idea, make the story more memorable and give journalists and audiences something worth sharing. 

4. Clear and honest communication 

Agency life moves quickly. Things change, deadlines move and clients occasionally decide they need something “by tomorrow”. 

That’s why communication is so important. 

Creative and design agencies want PR partners who are clear about what they need, when they need it and what success looks like. If something isn’t working, say so. If a deadline is unrealistic, flag it early. If the client has changed direction, everyone needs to know. 

We love a brief from a PR agency that goes beyond “we need an invite designed”, “can you create a banner?” or “we need some assets for an exhibition stand”. 

We want the context. What’s the campaign trying to achieve? Who are we talking to? What’s the key message? Where will the creative be used? What needs to be delivered and when? 

With that context, the creative team can develop ideas that support the PR strategy from the start, rather than simply creating assets and figuring out the bigger picture later. 

It also gives everyone a clear understanding of what needs to be delivered, when and why, making the whole process smoother for both agencies and, ultimately, the client. 

5. A collaborative mindset 

Nobody likes the agency equivalent of “that’s not my job”. 

The strongest partnerships are built around a shared sense of ownership. The PR agency isn’t just responsible for PR, and the creative agency isn’t just responsible for design. Everyone is responsible for making the overall campaign work. 

That means sharing ideas, challenging thinking and being comfortable with a little constructive disagreement. 

Because the goal isn’t for one agency to win the argument. It’s for the client to win. 

When working with a PR agency, we have found that the best relationships are built on close collaboration and regular communication. Keeping each other up to date on upcoming campaigns, events and plans means everyone has a clearer picture of what’s happening. 

It also means both teams can spot opportunities to bring their expertise to the table, work more effectively together and, ultimately, deliver a better service for the client. 

6. Being willing to challenge the brief 

A good partner shouldn’t always say yes. 

If a PR agency thinks there is a better story, a stronger angle or a more effective way to reach the audience, creative agencies want to hear it. 

The same goes the other way. 

Healthy partnerships involve challenging each other respectfully and bringing different expertise to the table. That’s the whole point of having specialists involved. 

7. Making the client relationship stronger 

Ultimately, the best agency partnerships make everyone look good. 

A PR agency should help a creative and design agency deliver more value to its client, just as a creative and design agency should help a PR agency deliver a stronger campaign. 

That means keeping the client’s interests at the centre of the relationship, presenting a united front and making the overall experience feel seamless. 

The client shouldn’t have to understand which agency is responsible for what. They should simply see a team working together to solve their marketing challenge. 

The best partnerships make the work better 

Creative work and PR are different disciplines, but they have a lot in common. Both are ultimately about finding the right idea, telling a compelling story and getting people to pay attention. 

The strongest agency partnerships recognise that neither discipline has all the answers. 

PR can bring the story, the audience and the opportunity. Creative and design can bring the visual language, the experience and the execution. Put the two together at the right time and you can create something far more effective than either could deliver alone.

This article was written by Andy Stone, Strategy and Account Manager, Wurkhouse. Wurkhouse is a full-service agency with experts in Digital, Dev, and Design, and a long-standing Missive partner.