Choosing a PR agency comes down to evaluating one thing: the actual quality of their relationships with the journalists who cover your sector. Everything else—team size, agency reputation, the list of logos on their website—does not predict results.

This guide provides the 9 criteria that matter, the exact questions to ask during an RFP, the red flags that should make you walk away, and what you can reasonably expect in three months.

Last updated: August 2026.

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Why choosing a PR agency is a strategic move for a startup

For a tech startup or scale-up, the press is more than just a visibility lever. Coverage in the right media reassures investors before a funding round, attracts the talent you are looking to hire, and builds the credibility that accelerates your sales cycles.

The balance of power is more in your favor than you might think. In Cision’s 2026 State of the Media report, a survey of 1,899 journalists, 66% stated they rely on content provided by PR professionals to find story ideas. Newsrooms need sources. The problem isn't their availability, it's the relevance of what they are sent: 72% believe that less than a quarter of the pitches they receive are actually relevant to their beat.

An agency should therefore be judged on its ability to be in that relevant 25%, not on its volume of outreach.

This credibility does not rest on a single spokesperson. The CEO carries the vision, the CMO drives message consistency, the technical teams validate the product, and the sales teams benefit directly from every piece of coverage. A good PR agency understands this cross-functional reality.

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The 9 criteria for choosing a PR agency

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1. Do they understand the reality of a startup?

A PR agency that supports early-stage startups does not work like an agency accustomed to major accounts. Ask yourself these questions:

• Have they previously supported startups or scale-ups at your stage?
• Do they understand the cycles of fundraising (seed, Series A, Series B)?
• Do they know how to work with a small team and limited resources?
• Are they familiar with the media and journalists in your tech vertical?

The maturity and sector of a company completely change the PR approach. A deeptech company and a SaaS scale-up have neither the same evidence to provide nor the same media outlets accessible to them.

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2. Their ability to structure your narrative

Even before talking to journalists, a PR agency must help you clarify:

• Your vision and company story
• Your key messages
• Your differentiating angles
• What you want to embody in your sector

If a PR agency talks to you immediately about distribution without strategic framing, it is not a good sign. The press amplifies a message; it does not create a vision for you.

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3. The actual quality of their journalist network

Every PR agency talks about their network. You need to look deeper:

• Do they have active relationships with the media outlets that matter to your industry?
• Can they name five journalists they’ve contacted in the last thirty days, and what topics they discussed?
• Can they show you recent coverage in the tech sector?
• Do they work with national, business, and trade publications (e.g., Les Échos, Maddyness, L'Usine Digitale, Frenchweb)?

The second question is the most telling. An agency that lists media outlets but not specific people doesn't have a network; they have a database. The distinction is critical: according to Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2026, 88% of journalists immediately discard pitches that fall outside their beat.

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4. Their vision: one-off campaigns or ongoing presence?

Some agencies only operate around major milestones: funding rounds, product launches, or strategic announcements. That’s useful, but it’s not enough to establish thought leadership.

A good PR agency should be able to offer you an annual strategy, regular opportunities to speak, and a gradual build-up of credibility. Explicitly ask for their plan outside of major announcements: white papers, op-eds, and newsjacking. An agency that only plans for your funding rounds will only generate three pieces of coverage a year.

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5. Spokesperson support (media training)

Credibility isn't just about the published article; it’s also about the quality of the interview. A serious PR agency prepares your spokespeople (CEO, CMO, or technical expert) for tough questions, refines key messages, corrects inaccuracies, and adjusts their delivery.

Without preparation, a media opportunity can be wasted. That is the purpose of media training, and we detail our method in our article on preparing for interviews and media appearances.

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6. Their ability to adapt to your growth stage

The challenges of an early-stage startup are not the same as those of a scale-up in hypergrowth. A good PR agency adapts its approach:

• Building visibility for a startup that is still unknown to journalists
• Managing sensitive announcements (funding rounds, pivots, security, data)
• Coordinating multiple spokespeople as the team grows
• Evolving the narrative when the market or product changes

Agility matters as much as experience: your agency must keep pace with you.

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7. Coordination with your overall communications

A PR agency can no longer work in a silo. It must understand your LinkedIn strategy, corporate communications, marketing positioning, and business objectives.

This is not just a cosmetic detail. According to the Cision 2026 survey, 62% of journalists use LinkedIn in their work, and 33% rank it as the platform that provides them with the most value. A leader who is visible on LinkedIn is therefore accessible to the exact audience that might reach out to them. A press feature without a LinkedIn follow-up loses most of its reach, and an active LinkedIn profile without PR remains a claim without third-party validation.

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8. Transparency regarding their methodology

A reputable PR agency should clearly explain the stages of the mission, expected deliverables, the cadence of activities, and the type of reporting provided. If you don't understand how the work will be carried out, you will struggle to measure its value.

Also, ask what is being measured. An agency that counts articles without looking at the audience of the outlets secured or your share of voice against competitors is measuring its own activity, not your results.

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9. Human and strategic alignment

You will be working closely with your agency. You need a partner who can challenge your ideas, has a deep understanding of your business goals, and offers a relationship built on trust and seamless communication.

A practical point that is often overlooked: in many agencies, the partner pitches the business, but a junior staffer does the actual work. Ask who your day-to-day contact will be, and meet them before you sign.

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What questions should you ask during the RFP process?

The criteria above can be verified in a single meeting, provided you ask the right questions and know what a good answer looks like. The table below provides a complete checklist.

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These questions will generally eliminate half of the candidates. To structure your request beforehand, our guide on writing a PR agency brief details what your RFP document should include.

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What red flags should make you walk away from an agency?

There are five responses that should make you stop the process immediately, regardless of how good the rest of the presentation was.

• A guarantee of media coverage. No agency controls a journalist's editorial decisions. An agency that guarantees a specific number of articles is selling something they don't own, or they are talking about paid content without disclosing it.
• A very low flat fee without an explanation of the hours involved. Below 2,000 euros per month, no service provider can maintain a strategy, keep a media contact list up to date, and provide diligent follow-up.
• No names of journalists. If an agency only lists media outlets, they are describing a target audience, not a network.
• A plan built solely around your announcements. This means the agency expects you to provide the content, and that nothing will happen between press releases.
• A pitch that doesn't ask a single question about your product. An agency that hasn't taken the time to understand what you sell won't be able to explain it to a journalist.

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How much does a PR agency cost?

Expect to pay between €3,500 and €7,000 per month for ongoing support from a tech-specialized agency, and €12,000 or more for a large agency focused on major accounts. A boutique agency suited for early-stage startups typically ranges from €1,500 to €3,500 per month.

Price isn't the right way to filter, but it does narrow down your options. A pre-seed startup signing with a corporate agency is solving the wrong problem, and a Series B company entrusting its reputation to a solo freelancer is misjudging its scale. Our article on PR rates in 2026 provides the full breakdown by agency profile and mission type.

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PR agency, freelancer, or in-house team: how do you decide?

These three options aren't mutually exclusive; they correspond to different stages. The deciding factor isn't the budget, but the volume of news you produce and the number of spokespeople you need to coordinate.

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We detail this trade-off in our comparison of PR agencies vs. PR freelancers, and our overview of the best PR agencies in France presents market profiles.

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What kind of results can you expect, and how long will it take?

Between 7 and 15 media placements over three months with ongoing support from a specialized agency. This is the range we observed across the five three-month campaigns featured in our case studies, spanning five different sectors.

• Abby, fintech: over 15 media placements in 3 months, including 2 executive interviews and 2 expert opinion pieces.
• HABS, deeptech neuroscience: over 10 placements in 3 months, including a live appearance on BFM Business.
• Moodwork, HR tech: 7 placements and 322,000 people reached in 3 months, including an opinion piece for the National Assembly.

Two honest clarifications regarding these figures. Volume is not the goal in itself: for HABS, the objective was to establish credibility in the neurotechnology debate, not just the number of articles. Furthermore, these results assume a narrative is ready before the first contact with a journalist, which often requires more time than the outreach phase itself.

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Linker, a PR agency specializing in tech startups and scale-ups

Linker supports tech startups and scale-ups in France, along with their key stakeholders: CEOs, CMOs, and technical and sales teams. Our PR agency approach is based on:

• Strategic positioning framework
• Rigorous spokesperson preparation
• Coordination between PR and LinkedIn, treated as a single system
• A long-term vision, not just one-off hits

We cover 18 tech verticals and hold a 4.9 out of 5 rating from over 39 Google reviews. Our goal isn't just to get you featured in the media; it's to turn your startup into a recognized leader in its market.

Discover our public relations agency for tech startups and scale-ups.