In early July my Communiqué PR cohort Jaymelina Esmele and I traveled to Brescia, Italy, to participate in the semi-annual meeting of the PRN, a worldwide network of boutique PR firms. Our firm joined the network at the start of 2014 after working with two member agencies, Proof Communication and Sympra, on joint projects, and we were honored to be invited to join PRN as the exclusive U.S. partner.

Jaymelina and I had a wonderful time meeting with the partner agencies, learning about how execution of PR strategies within the various countries differs and sharing successes. These in-person meetings are important to Communiqué PR, as the partner agencies are an extension of our firm. When our clients are looking for in-country support – whether it is “feet on the ground” to manage and facilitate press meetings, or pitching to local media – we know the partner agencies have shared expectations on the level of counsel, service and support that is provided.

While the world is more accessible than ever before, there are times when it makes sense to invest in in-country PR. Take for instance the results of a survey conducted by Ascendant in 2013 that show that Europe, “… remains from a sales and marketing perspective a region of over 25 separate states, many with their own distinct languages and culture, that require on the ground local language PR experts, and local news and content that will interest a parochial and inward looking media. The net of this is that often several PR teams are needed across Europe, where the cost is higher than for a single regional agency as in the US, and the cultural interface needed is more prosaic than just an English language format.”

The PRN meeting and ongoing conversations with our international colleagues confirm that the observations from the Ascendant survey are accurate. For instance, in discussions with our PRN partners we found:

• Press conferences are still fairly common in France, while not so in other countries
• There remains skepticism across Europe about the value of social media
• Variation around the world with the acceptability and etiquette in paying travel expenses for reporters, and
• Differences by country in what is considered newsworthy.

Because of each country’s subtle and not so subtle business and cultural nuances, engaging an in-country agency can be the key to the success of a multi-national PR campaign. Ultimately, the members of PRN are united in the importance of taking a strategic approach to PR and that it is important to have a long-term view when considering PR activities. For our clients, that means when they are ready to extend their PR activities beyond the U.S., they can be confident that PRN agencies will extend their strategies in-country with the same quality and professionalism they have come to expect with Communiqué PR.

Below are some additional articles about the differences in PR when working internationally:

• How Social Media Confirms What We Know About Cultures
• They do public relations differently in other countries