Starting a relationship with a new PR agency should feel like you’ve just added much-needed horsepower to your marketing engine. All too often, however, those crucial first few weeks (or even months) are spent spinning wheels rather than gaining traction.

A slow start is often due to a lack of readiness. Internal debates over PR goals. Unclear market positioning. A lack of valid proof points. Or an approval process that turns every pitch into a bottleneck. In PR, speed is often the difference between a timely story placement and a missed opportunity.

With this in mind, here are three critical onboarding steps that help set your PR team up for success from day one.

Share the Materials That Matter Most

The fastest way to lose momentum is showing up with scattered promises to “send that later.” Your PR team is only as good as the information available to them. The more context you provide upfront, the faster they can start adding value.

Before that first meeting, prepare a detailed email or shared folder with the materials your PR team needs to get started.

Company & Product Intel:

  • Current product and company materials not found on your website
  • Messaging documents
  • Product roadmaps
  • Competitive analysis (who you replace and why you win)
  • Marketing calendar
  • Relevant analyst reports
  • Any customer success stories and reference rules (even if anonymous)

Media & Events Infrastructure:

  • Examples of past coverage that helped or hurt
  • Existing press and analyst lists, with briefing history notes (who loves you, who doesn’t, etc.)
  • Upcoming speaking commitments
  • Trade show calendar, with notes if you’re exhibiting, sponsoring, or attending
  • Award submissions you’re targeting

Brand & Creative Assets:

  • Corporate style and branding guidelines
  • Product photos, solution screenshots
  • Press kit with logos and executive headshots
  • Executive bios
  • Presentation and pitch decks used for demos, investor or analyst meetings, webinars, etc.

People & Process

  • Spokesperson bench (who can speak to what topics)
  • Approvals workflow to clarify who writes, who edits, and who gives final sign-off on PR materials
  • Rapid response protocols and after-hours contact information
  • Any constraints around confidentiality, legal review requirements, or off-limit topics

Think of these as your “source of truth” assets that provide the foundation for every pitch and story. This isn’t busywork; it’s context your team can’t Google. The more your PR team knows, the stronger their pitches and the faster they can execute.

Nail the Kick-Off Meeting

Your kick-off meeting sets the tone for the entire engagement. I recommend blocking one to four hours with a clear, detailed, action-oriented agenda. This may sound like a lot, but it’s worth the investment.

Use this meeting to align on goals, discuss target audiences, review competitive dynamics (who you compete with or who you want to compete with), and identify any sensitivities or landmines to anticipate. It should result in a shared definition of success for the first 90 days.

For example, are you planning a product launch? Establishing credibility in a new category? Building visibility with investors? Driving sales pipeline? Recruiting technical talent? The answers will shape what your PR team pitches, who they pitch, and how you measure progress. Get specific early and revisit these goals regularly.

Make sure your goals match the current business moment. A growth quarter demands different PR priorities than a reputation rebuild or new category entry. Define what “wins” look like beyond just coverage volume. You may want to consider success metrics around key message pull-through, narrative shift, or executive visibility in coverage.

Finally, use this time to establish your ongoing meeting cadence. Will you meet weekly or bi-weekly? Who will be your day-to-day contact? How will you handle urgent, time-sensitive requests? Getting these logistical details nailed down early helps prevent confusion later.

Build a 30 / 60 / 90 Plan

A good onboarding process should also produce tangible building blocks, not just platitudes about “getting up to speed.” Your 30 / 60 / 90-day plan should include a combination of quick wins (e.g., repurposing existing blog content for a thought leadership placement or a news moment to engage key industry trade reporters and analysts) as well as foundational work that sets you up for longer-term success.

First 30 Days

  • Focus first on tightening the company narrative, developing target press and analyst lists (by tiers), preparing your spokespeople, and identifying any initial content priorities.
  • On the messaging side, start by prioritizing a clear positioning statement with three or four key messages, a few noteworthy differentiators, and a compelling “why now” hook. And don’t forget about FAQs to help prepare spokespeople, especially any difficult or “rude” questions a reporter might ask.
  • At the same time, you should begin developing a “pitch bank” of 10-15 story angles – organized by audience and outlet type – that the team can pursue over the next quarter. This keeps your program from being solely dependent on a news announcement.

Days 31-60

  • Begin pitching your strongest two or three storylines. Prioritize reporters already covering competitors and adjacent companies. But not every conversation with a reporter needs to be an “ask” for coverage, as relationship-building briefings can pay huge dividends later.
  • This is also an ideal time for thought leadership pitches and milestone announcements, such as product releases, customer wins, new research, etc. Use any feedback collected here to further refine your messaging and strategy.

Days 61-90

  • It’s time to take a bigger swing, aiming for a broader industry trend piece, a more ambitious launch announcement, or even a top-tier media placement.
  • This is also a great time to look for newsjacking opportunities that build on your recent credibility.
  • Remember, it’s important to revisit your measurement approach within those first 90 days. Are you tracking the right metrics? Is coverage driving the desired outcomes? Use this window to refine how you’ll evaluate the future success of your PR program.

Onboarding isn’t a bureaucratic process. Instead, it helps avoid early pitfalls and build momentum. Do it right, and you’ll notice the difference in the very first media opportunity. The best PR onboarding experience should remove bottlenecks and get your story out quickly. Invest the time upfront, and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how quickly the results follow.

Want to see this approach in action? Check out a few recent case studies here.