This article has been written by Vartika Srivastava, by pursuing a Diploma in Advanced Contract Drafting, Negotiation, and Dispute Resolution from LawSikho. 

Introduction 

A public relations consultant contract is an exhaustive contract that covers the essential terms and conditions that a public relations company and the client are obligated to follow till the termination of the agreement. The agreement can be made for a specific project or any ongoing public relations (PR) work as well. To escape the ambiguity and prevent both the parties from being involved in petty as well as technical uncertainty, the public relations contract is signed up. To execute the hereinbefore mentioned reason, the important and specific clauses are added in an agreement that each party has to follow. To understand the public relations contract in contemporary times wherein so many companies and individuals in the corporate and marketing sector are approaching public relations agencies to promote and protect their companies’ image and goodwill. 

Who is a public relations consultant?

A public relations consultant is a broadcasting and networking expert whose objective is to show an optimistic and confident image of the organisation or individual who has hired them. They connect the business with the public, media, customers, and employees. They can be engaged to guide an existing PR manager or to manage the PR exclusively by themselves. A suitable consultant will engage with an advertising team to organize and manage events, counsel promotional and advertising campaigns, and make sure the organisation’s vision is consistent and positive. Moreover, the consultant will also be accountable for communicating the public’s expectations and anguishes to the organisation to empower them to acclimatize accordingly.

Public relations agreement

Usually, public relations companies draft public relations agreements, but the clients also have a say in it, they can suggest the clauses that they want to be included in the Agreement. Hence, it’s not a one-way street. The agreement is signed between the client, who wants to hire the consultant company for public relations, and the public relations company that offers pr services to the client. The agreement stipulates the jobs that clients need from the public relations companies. For instance, meeting and counsel, press release writing, etc. are the services that must be covered by the agreement.

Significance of the public relations agreement 

Whenever two or more parties enter into some form of understanding wherein one party offers services and other party receives/enjoys it, a well-negotiated and drafted agreement comes into existence. It gives a clear picture of the obligations of both parties without creating any ambiguity on the face of it. Therefore, well-drafted PR agreements are important for both public relations companies and clients. It ensures a safe and legal deal along with simplification of duties and obligations of each party by stating the same very explicitly.

The agreement would eliminate the chance of any confusion with regards to the terms of services, fees and payment, delivery date, output expectations, etc. If any sort of confusion arises, the existing agreement would be looked into to solve the raised issue as it would clear out the fact that which party breached the concerned clause of the agreement. The agreement elucidates the potentials of the relationship between the parties, dodging probable confusion in the future. 

Important clauses in the agreement

There are few significant clauses that are found in all public relations contracts. They are as follows:

1. Identification: This contract, like any other contract, begins with the introductory clause. It includes the names of the parties, their address, phone, and email details at the initial stage of the contract.
2. Services: This clause includes the services that PR companies would render to their clients. Details of the services that the PR company has agreed to deliver to the client must be mentioned explicitly to avoid any ambiguity later. 
3. The obligation of each party: The obligation of the client and the PR company should be thoroughly negotiated and mentioned in the contract to escape any future misunderstandings. It should be mentioned in a crisp and clear manner so that it could be easily referred to and understood at the time of interpretation. 
4. Fees and payments: This clause includes the details of the process in which finances would be carried out throughout the existence of this contract. The Agreement should include in detail the method of payment, the monthly/weekly fees levied by the PR company. Each party should check this clause and agree mutually before signing the agreement. This clause could also include security deposit payments and other miscellaneous expenditures as well. 
5. Term of the contract: This clause mentions the date and time at which the agreement came into existence and for the duration of time it will exist i.e., number of years/ months, in short, the start date of the agreement, and the end duration of the agreement. 
6. Terms and conditions: This clause includes the terms and conditions that each party needs to follow till the termination of the contract. It could include the confidentiality clause that will constrain the PR companies from disclosing the secretive details of the clients to any third party or using it for their own personal benefit. 
7. Dispute resolution: This clause provides a resolution mechanism to both parties if any dispute arises out of this contract. The clause will include the details of the Arbitration court that can be approached by either or both of the parties in case of any dispute in relation to the contract. The mediator/s is appointed by the arbitration court to resolve the issue between the parties.
8. Indemnification: This clause generally reveals a list of actions a party is insured against, for instance, all legal proceedings, liabilities, losses, and expenditures ascending out of the contract.  

Benefits and drawbacks of the public relations agreement

Benefits

• When a client enters into an agreement that has legal backing then it’s a surety on his part that he is engaging in work with a trustworthy, ethical and proficient public relations company. 
• There will be clarity of expectations, goals, and obligations of each party with respect to the other in terms of fulfilling the contract. 

Drawback

• There will be a risk of being stuck with the other party if the contract is of longer duration and there is no mention as such of termination by mutual consent in the contract. Thereby, even if both parties want to end the agreement, they won’t be able to exercise such discretion. Moreover, if either of the parties wants to terminate the contract, they won’t be permitted to do so since they are bound by the contract and breaching it would lead to some penalties on the part of the breaching party.

Conclusion

Public relations contract covers different clauses including the obligations and activities conducted by a company to promote and protect the image of the company, its services, and strategies in the eyes of the public. Thus, it aims to manage the public opinion of the organisation. The contract also covers clauses that facilitate the smooth functioning of business and the achievement of organisational objectives. The public relations contract ensures that there develops no ambiguity between the parties with respect to their obligations towards each other and if any sort of discrepancies arises in the future, it would be resolved in the arbitration court, amicably. 

References

• https://www.agreements.org/public-relation-contract.html/   
• https://eforms.com/employment/independent-contractor/consulting/pr/   
• https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/marketing-management/what-is-public-relations/31834  

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