PR agency RFP template (copy-paste)

Use one written brief and one question set for every candidate, while leaving room for each team to challenge the assumptions. The RFP should make objectives, scope, evidence, staffing, measurement, price, and risk comparable. It should not force an agency to endorse a target-outlet list or produce a complete unpaid campaign before discovery.

Copy this company brief

Company and objective

Company: [name, URL, one-sentence description]
Product and market: [what you sell, to whom, and where]
Stage and context: [relevant funding, team, launch, growth, or risk context]
Business objective: [organizational result the work should support]
Communication objective: [audience, baseline, desired change, target, and date]
Why now: [event, problem, opportunity, or deadline]

Evidence and constraints

Available proof: [data, customers approved for disclosure, research, product evidence, spokespeople]
Known risks: [legal, regulatory, technical, reputational, competitive, or timing issues]
Current program: [past coverage, owned channels, team, tools, baseline data, prior partners]
Internal owner: [decision-maker, approvers, subject-matter experts, and available time]

Scope and procurement

Services under consideration: [strategy, media relations, content, executive communications, crisis readiness, analyst relations, measurement, or other]
Markets and languages: [countries, regions, and required local support]
Budget: [range and whether third-party costs are included]
Timing: [selection date, start date, fixed milestones, and expected term]
Decision criteria: [weighted factors the company will use]

Ask every candidate the same questions

Diagnosis. What problem should communications solve, which assumptions need validation, and what would you advise us not to do?
Audience and approach. Which audiences and channels matter, why, and what research would shape the plan?
Work plan. What phases, deliverables, dependencies, milestones, and review points do you propose?
Team. Who owns strategy and daily work, how is quality reviewed, what is each person's expected involvement, and who provides backup?
Relevant evidence. Show comparable work, identify the exact team contribution, describe the starting point, and separate outputs from outcomes.
Activity and learning. How will you make work visible, explain target rationale, capture responses, and change the plan when evidence is weak?
Measurement. Which objective, baseline, outputs, outtakes, outcomes, impact measures, data sources, and causal limits would you use?
Commercials. State the fee, term, renewal, notice, included work, expenses, taxes, out-of-scope rates, and assumptions.
Risk and rights. Disclose conflicts, affiliates, subcontractors, AI use, security practices, insurance, work-product rights, and case-study permissions.
References. What comparable references are available, what restrictions apply, and what alternative evidence can you provide if an NDA limits disclosure?

Compare reasoning and evidence

Area	Strong response	Follow-up needed
Diagnosis	Challenges assumptions and names validation work	Repeats the brief without analysis
Audience	Explains relevance and research method	Starts with publication logos only
Team	Names roles, involvement, review, and backup	Leaves delivery staffing until after signature
Evidence	Identifies scope, contribution, timeframe, and limits	Provides a logo wall or result without context
Activity	Shows rationale, work, responses, learning, and next actions	Offers raw volume without relevance or adaptation
Measurement	Connects baseline through impact and states causal limits	Reports outputs as business outcomes
Commercials	Prices assumptions, exclusions, and exit clearly	Omits likely third-party costs or dependencies

Ask for enough sample thinking to evaluate the method, but avoid requesting a finished campaign or reusable creative work from unpaid finalists. Use the agency vetting scorecard to apply the decision criteria, the reference-checking guide for calls, and the monthly reporting template to compare measurement proposals.