How long does it take to choose a PR agency?

Three to five weeks from brief to signature: one week for questions, two weeks for agencies to prepare proposals, and one to two weeks for presentations and the decision. Start three months before any fixed launch or funding date.

Should we pay agencies to pitch?

For a standard brief, no: agencies usually prepare a proposal for free. For a large multi-country brief that asks for detailed creative work, some agencies ask for a pitch fee. Limiting the shortlist to three or four agencies per market avoids the question.

How many PR agencies should we invite?

Three to four per market. Fewer gives you no comparison, more takes weeks to review and discourages the best agencies, which often decline open calls with many competitors.

One agency for all of Europe or one per country?

One per country gives the strongest local networks but more coordination. One lead agency simplifies management, with uneven quality across local partners. If you enter one market first, start with a local agency there.

What should we ask an agency's references?

Ask what coverage the agency obtained in the first three months, who actually did the work, how reporting was done, and whether the client renewed. A reference in your sector and in the same country is worth more than a famous logo.

Can we start with a trial month?

Rarely. Most agencies ask for three months minimum, because a first month is spent on the story, the materials and the media list. A three-month initial term with a one-month notice period afterwards is the usual compromise.

How to brief and select a PR agency for France and Europe

Marketing team comparing PR agency proposals for France and Europe

Article summary

Decide the structure before writing the brief: one agency per country, or one lead agency coordinating local partners. This choice changes who you invite.
A good brief gives agencies your markets in priority order, your measurable objectives, the proof you can share, your spokespeople and their languages, your timeline and a budget range per market.
Invite three to four agencies per market. More proposals rarely improve the choice, and serious agencies decline open calls with ten competitors.
Score proposals on a fixed grid: market and story understanding, a relevant media network in each country, the actual team, the first 90 days, reporting, and price transparency.
Plan three to five weeks from brief to signature, then about 30 days to a first publication. On five published three-month missions, Linker obtained 7 to 15 pieces of coverage each.

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To choose a PR agency in France or Europe from abroad, conduct a short and structured tender process: a brief that specifies your markets, objectives, and budget; three to four agencies consulted per market; and a single scoring grid for all proposals. This guide provides the brief template, the grid, and the contract points to compare agencies from different countries on an equal footing.

Last updated: October 2026.

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One agency per country or a lead agency: what should you decide first?

Decide on the organization before writing the first line of the brief. Two options exist. Either one agency per country, which writes in its own language and reports directly to you. Or a lead agency that coordinates local partners, with a single contract and a single reporting line.

One agency per country provides the best local networks, at the cost of more coordination. A lead agency simplifies management, with quality that varies from one partner to another. If you are opening a first market, start with a local agency in that market. Our ranking of European PR agencies for tech scale-ups compares the two models country by country.

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What should you include in a PR agency brief for France or Europe?

A good brief answers the questions every agency would ask during the first call. The template below lists the sections to include and what to write in them. Two to three pages are sufficient.

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Section	What to write	Example
Company and product	What you sell, to whom, stage and funding	B2B payroll software, Series B, 200 customers in the UK
Markets and priority	Countries in order, with entry dates	France in Q1, Germany in Q3
Objectives	What success looks like after three and six months	Coverage in national business and HR trade press, inbound demo requests from France
Proof available locally	Local customers who can be named, data, partners	Two French pilot customers, payroll data across 50,000 employees
Spokespeople and languages	Who can speak, in which language, how available	CEO in English, French country manager from January
Timeline	Fixed dates and milestones	Paris office opening in March, VivaTech in June
Budget	A monthly range per market, excluding VAT	€4,000 to €6,000 per month for France
Reporting	Language, frequency, indicators	Monthly report in English, coverage and pitches sent
Selection process	Deadline, format, decision date, number of agencies consulted	Proposals by 15 January, 45-minute video presentations, decision on 31 January

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Two sections make the difference for a foreign company. The first: shareable evidence on the ground, such as quotable French or European clients, local data, or partners. According to Muck Rack's State of Journalism 2026, 40% of journalists value original data in a pitch: state what data you have. The second: the languages of your spokespeople, as French media expect interviews in French on radio, television, and in the regional press.

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How many agencies should you consult, and where can you find them?

Consult three to four agencies per market. Any fewer, and you lack points of comparison. Any more, and you will spend weeks reading proposals, and the best agencies often decline consultations with ten competitors.

Build your shortlist from several sources rather than just one directory:

The coverage that caught your eye. Look at who handled the press for a company in your sector that is well-covered in France. Their press releases generally cite the agency contact.
Directories with verified reviews. Clutch, Sortlist, and The Manifest rank agencies by country and specialty, with client reviews.
Rankings. PRovoke Media publishes regional rankings, which are useful for large and mid-sized agencies.
Recommendations. Founders or marketing managers who have recently opened the same market.

For France, our selection of PR agencies in France for foreign tech companies Here is an initial list, along with what you should verify before contacting them.

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How do you compare proposals from different countries?

Use the same scoring grid for all agencies, finalized before you read the proposals. Without a grid, the most polished presentation wins, which says little about results in a market you don't know. The grid below represents the weighting we recommend for companies hiring an agency in France or Europe. Adapt it to your priorities, but keep it identical for all candidates.

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Criterion	Weight	What a strong answer contains
Understanding of your market and story	25%	A local angle for your product, not a translation of your home-market story
Media network in each country	20%	Named target outlets and recent coverage in your sector, in that country
The team on your account	15%	Named people, their seniority, languages and time allocated
Plan for the first 90 days	15%	A dated sequence: story, materials, announcement, second angle
Measurement and reporting	10%	A sample report in your language, with coverage quality, not only volume
Price and transparency	10%	Monthly fee, hours included and costs outside the retainer, per market
References and fit	5%	Two clients you can call, ideally in your sector and country

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Ask each agency to name the journalists or media outlets they would contact first, and to show two or three recent placements in your sector and in that country. This is the fastest way to test a network. According to Cision's 2026 State of the Media report, 72% of journalists find less than a quarter of the pitches they receive relevant: an agency unable to name its targets risks sending generic pitches. For general selection criteria, see our guide how to choose a PR agency.

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What should a contract with a European PR agency include?

Check these five points before signing, as they vary significantly from one country to another.

Initial term and notice period. Most agencies require a minimum of three months, which is the time needed to secure coverage in a new market. Then, request a one-month notice period.
Team and seniority. Specify the individuals who will work on your account in the contract, not just in the proposal.
Language and reporting frequency. Specify that reports must be in English, provided at a fixed frequency, and include coverage, pitches sent, and next steps.
Out-of-pocket expenses. Wire service distribution, media databases, translation, travel, and events. Our comparison of cost of PR in France, the UK, and the US provides the standard rates.
Ownership of content. Press releases, press kits, and coverage reports must belong to you. Journalist contact details are personal data under GDPR; agencies generally do not share their databases.

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How much time passes between the brief and the first piece of coverage?

Allow three to five weeks between the brief and signing: one week for questions, two weeks for proposal preparation, and one to two weeks for presentations and decision-making. Then, expect about 30 days until the first publication after the agency begins its work.

For five three-month missions published, Linker secured between 7 and 15 pieces of coverage, with a median of 10. If you have a fixed launch or fundraising date, issue the call for tenders three months in advance.

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Where does Linker fit in?

Linker is an independent PR and LinkedIn agency founded in Paris in 2022, working with tech startups and scale-ups. For international companies, we write in French for the French press and provide reporting in English. We respond to briefs for France and, through our partners, for other European markets. Send us your brief via our page PR agency in Paris.