Most public relations and social media agencies still haven’t seen the light. They haven’t yet embraced creative deliverables as a requisite for going to market in today’s communications world.  Most haven’t complemented their existing client programs with high-impact videos, infographics, or other creative elements that improve the story-telling and help key messages reach key audiences in an effective manner. We opened our physical studio a few months back – after outsourcing too much creative work to other providers – and our in-house team of producers and designers are hopping!

Here are five reasons why having a creative studio as part of your public relations and social media agency kicks ass:

First, the market demands visual storytelling and any PR agency with in-house talent and related equipment has a leg up on the competition. Clients understand that they benefit when their PR and social media representatives work in lock step with their creative staff.  An agency can go to a pitch – or propose a program to an existing client – that is truly comprehensive, and that’s a key differentiator.

Second, the efficiencies of having the PR and social media team in the same building as the creative team are many, and they relate to both process and budget.  A minor change can remain minor, while something more significant comes out of the starting block several steps ahead.  Those who help with key messages and how to connect those messages with key audiences are already in the building and on staff.  Rather than working with two providers, maintaining alignment with one “team” is ideal for project management.  (Editor’s note: the efficiencies are so great that here at Matter we are commonly finding that our creative team is able to deliver sought-after creative content faster and more cost effectively than the client’s own in-house creative team.)

Third, investing in people and technology continues to pay dividends. We’re experiencing it first hand by having made a technology investment for one client and now having the opportunity to offer the same service to our entire client roster and prospects. (In Studio-C by Matter we have the ability to execute live and interactive broadcasts with any broadcast TV station globally. We’re offering satellite media tours for our clients at a fraction of the cost of the traditional vendors.) Having creative equipment is unique and while the market is competitive, there’s opportunity to offer new services to new clients.

Fourth, we can do “more” because we have a physical space dedicated to creative activities. We have multiple backgrounds for our video shoots, and an area dedicated to still product shots, as well as enough lighting equipment to create virtually any environment desired by a client. We can get creative – as creative as we need to be – because the space was designed specifically for such activity.

Finally, it’s exceptionally fun. It’s new and refreshing. In some ways I believe it’s exactly what the PR industry needed following the meteoric rise of social media. While we still spend lots of time and energy thinking about the words we use (and how to share them most effectively), it’s fun to think visually and deliver complementing creative content that dramatically improves engagement.

Do you work with an agency with an agency that has a creative an in-house creative studio? Do you agree that that set-up kicks ass for you and your business?