10 Issues that Cause Public Relations Campaigns to Fail and How to Solve Them

A successful PR campaign requires more than just great ideas; it demands careful planning, strategic targeting, and relentless execution. However, even experienced public relations agencies can sometimes fall short, missing crucial steps that can make or break a campaign. From inadequate research to poor communication, these common pitfalls can lead to PR campaigns that fail to achieve their intended impact. The good news is that these issues are entirely avoidable. By addressing key areas of concern with straightforward, actionable solutions, public relations agencies and practitioners can transform potential failures into resounding successes, ensuring their campaigns deliver real, measurable results.

Here are 10 reasons why public relations campaigns fail and how to solve them:

1. Lack of Targeted Pitching

PR professionals sometimes send media relations pitches to journalists without sufficient research into their interests or beats, leading to irrelevant outreach. This is the top complaint of journalists, according to the Cision State of the Media 2024 report.

• Solution: Research your topic, industry, and competitors to find out who is covering them. For example, if your client is a new real estate developer, look for journalists and outlets that cover real estate, architecture, and housing. Depending on the theme of your press release, you could also target media covering interior design, municipal affairs, homelessness, etc.

2. Lack of facts or proof of Facts

The media and the public, more broadly, are hesitant to believe something as fact without data as confirmation. Providing inaccurate or unsourced information is the second biggest complaint journalists have about public relations pitches.

• Solution: Include statistics from reputable sources to back your claims. Journalists don't have time to do your research for you. Make sure you provide them with everything they need to ensure they are telling a factual story.

3. Not Newsworthy Content

PR agencies may pitch stories as part of a media relations campaign that have no real news value, which leads to journalists ignoring the pitches.

• Solution: Review your pitch from the point of view of the news audience and consider whether it would be of interest. If you were at home, would you read a story on this topic if it didn't come from your client? For example, a pitch that ABC Company is going to be at a trade show is not news. It does not impact their lives in any way. It does not evoke an emotion. Remember, journalists are not your intended audience in media relations. Their readers are the stakeholders you are trying to reach.

48% of Journalists Say Constant Follow-Ups Will Land You on Their Don't Call List.

4. Persistent Follow-ups

Excessive follow-ups irritate journalists and potentially damage the reputation of both the  public relations agency and the brand they are working with.  

• Solution: Limit follow-up communications to one email within a week of the initial pitch. Yes, they saw your email. No, if they did not respond, they are not interested. Public relations agencies need to do a better job respecting the journalist’s time and decision-making process.

5. Poor Communication Quality

Sending pitches with typos, broken links, or irrelevant attachments can severely undermine the credibility of the pitch.

• Solution: Implement a rigorous review process to ensure all communications are polished, professional, and ready to make a strong impression before they are sent out. Having an in-house copy editor at your public relations agency could prevent these issues.

6. Not Respecting Deadlines / Not Responding to Follow Ups

Journalists are on extremely tight deadlines. Yet often, PR agencies don't respond to requests for further information or interviews. A lengthy wait will almost surely lead to the journalist dropping the story and moving on to something else. (Not to mention, blacklisting you as an unreliable contact).

• Solution: Respond to journalists immediately, even if it is just to say you are working on their request and will get back to them with an answer shortly. Make sure you also have your brand representatives ready and available for an interview when asked.

7. Canceling at the Last Minute

Like the previous frustration, this is an incredible waste of a journalist's time. They have spent time preparing for your interview and now have to start over with another story. In the case of television or radio broadcast, they now need to fill the time allotted on their program with something new, with often little or no warning.

• Solution: Triple-check with your brand representatives to see if they are able to do interviews and confirm their availability. Also, ask for backups in the event that the initial representative has an emergency and can't make an interview.

8. Lack of Integration with Marketing

PR efforts can sometimes operate in silos, disconnected from the broader marketing strategy.

• Solution: Public relations agencies must encourage robust collaboration between PR and marketing teams to align messages and tap into cross-promotional opportunities, such as integrating PR content into email campaigns or social media strategies.

9. Undefined Measurement of Success

Brands and their PR agencies often struggle with a lack of clear metrics or KPIs to measure the effectiveness of PR campaigns.

• Solution: Establish specific, measurable objectives for PR activities—such as media impressions, engagement rates, or lead generation—and use systematic tools to track these metrics. Measurement should always be tied to your original objectives, so if your measurable objective is to increase website traffic by 25%, your measurement should explain whether you met that objective.

10. Slow Adaptation to Digital Trends

As digital media evolves, some Public relations agencies lag in adopting new technologies or platforms.

• Solution: Stay ahead by incorporating the latest digital trends and technologies into PR strategies, including social media analytics, SEO practices, and cutting-edge digital content creation.

These are some of the best practices we use at Amplify, and you can see how they've helped us craft award-winning campaigns on Our Work page. 

If you’d like to ensure success with your next public relations campaign, please reach out to us at info@amplifyonline.ca.