During last week’s PRSSA President’s Panel, many of our guest speakers touched on their experiences working in an agency and corporate public relations. While both paths offer amazing benefits, what are the key differences that set them apart? Is one better than the other? Let’s see as we do a dive into the differences of agency versus corporate public relations.
Agency Public Relations
Agency life is described as broad and multitasking-heavy as you work with many clients at once. Although you’re juggling numerous responsibilities, you’re going to be exposed to different types of industries, campaigns, budgets and project lengths. The drawbacks of working at an agency can include things such as longer hours and the inability to have the final say in the campaign and project. The benefits of agency work are the ability to work with a variety of different fields but also gain more understanding in sectors like marketing and advertising.
Corporate Public Relations
Corporate public relations is different in the sense that you get the opportunity to work for one company. By being “in-house”, you’ll know in the company inside and out as well as have a wide range of experience in a niche sector (i.e cars, fashion, beauty, food). Working in-house also allows for more control over decisions, coming up with strategies and managing budgets. Setbacks of in-house work can include the lack of variety to move around with different types of businesses and lack of knowledge in crisis communications (something that is handled frequently at agencies).
Which one is right for you?
When deciding whether to go agency or corporate public relations it is important to keep in mind what the job entails and the advantages and disadvantages are. One route isn’t better than the other, it depends more on your personality. The best way to figure out which one is right for you is to network, speak with individuals who have done one or both, or best of all, try it out for yourself!
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