The PR Council Releases New Guidance to Help Clients and Procurement Buy, Evaluate and Maximize Modern PR

New resources address agency partnerships, RFPs and PR’s role in AI discoverability

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The PR Council released a new suite of guidance designed to help communications and procurement teams get greater value from their PR agency partnerships as the role of PR continues to evolve.

The new resources include the Buyer’s Guide to Modern PR, RFP Best Practices for Companies and Brands, and AI Discoverability guidance. Together, they address three increasingly important questions for clients and their professional buyers: how to structure agency relationships to deliver business outcomes, how to run a fair and productive agency search, and how PR contributes to visibility and reputation in an AI-driven information environment.

“Modern PR agencies operate at the speed of the market — detecting signals, testing narratives, and advising clients in real time,” said Kim Sample, President of the PR Council. “But many of the systems used to buy and evaluate PR haven’t kept pace. These resources are designed to give clients, procurement teams and agencies a more modern framework for working together.”

At the center of the new guidance is the Buyer’s Guide to Modern PR, which reframes PR procurement around three components modern agencies manage on a client’s behalf — reputation, narrative and momentum — and lays out principles for structuring the commercial relationship:

• Buy outcomes, not activity. Center commercial conversations on the business results the communications plan is intended to deliver.
• Remember that expertise is the product. Creativity, relevant experience and strategic judgment drive effective business results.
• Separate price from payment. Pricing reflects value received; commercial terms like payment timing are a separate negotiation.
• Continuously support sustainable partnerships. Strong relationships allow agencies to keep investing in the people and capabilities that most benefit the client.

“Procurement teams are exceptionally good at bringing commercial discipline to a PR purchase,” Sample added. “But PR is not bought the way you buy most things — you’re not comparing specs, you’re hiring judgment. The Buyer’s Guide helps both sides structure a fruitful and lasting relationship.”

The RFP Best Practices for Companies and Brands guide puts those principles into practice at the beginning of the agency relationship. It offers practical guidance on building an invite list, writing a strong brief, establishing realistic timelines, sharing budgets, evaluating agencies and closing the loop after a decision. The guidance also includes an AI-powered review tool that allows companies to upload a draft RFP and receive tailored recommendations for strengthening it before it goes to prospective agency partners.

The AI Discoverability guidance addresses another rapidly changing dimension of modern PR: how organizations appear in AI-generated answers. It explains how the credible coverage, executive visibility, and third-party validation that PR has long built increasingly shape what AI systems know and communicate about an organization. The guidance helps clients assess their current standing, understand the communications practices that influence AI-generated answers, and measure progress while maintaining realistic expectations about what can and cannot be controlled.

“Procurement and communications teams ultimately want the same thing: outcomes that protect and grow the business,” Sample said. “Our goal is to help clients and agencies build partnerships around that shared objective — from how an agency is selected and the relationship is structured to how the work creates value in a changing communications landscape.”

The Buyer’s Guide to Modern PR, RFP Best Practices for Companies and Brands, and AI Discoverability guidance are available now to download on the PR Council website.

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About the PR Council
The PR Council is the only association dedicated to supporting agencies with a core competency in earned media. Through a combination of convening, advising and learning opportunities, the PR Council aims to help members — the leaders of 150 premier global, mid-size, regional and specialty firms in the U.S. and Canada — work smarter to build more valued and valuable agencies.

Kim Sample
PR Council
+1 917-439-9201
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