Without trust, all we are left with is a kakistocratic state – run by the worst of what we could muster. A world in which nobody believes a word anyone says, promises are worthless and everyone assumes the person sitting opposite them has an ulterior motive.

Cheery thought, isn’t it?

But PR is all about trust, isn’t it? People won’t buy from you if they don’t trust you. They won’t believe your promises, buy into your vision or recommend you to someone else. And when something goes wrong, they’re far less likely to give you the benefit of the doubt.

That’s why trust is the currency of reputation. And at Catalyst PR we spend our working lives helping businesses earn it, protect it and, when necessary, rebuild it. We advise clients on transparency, authenticity and accountability. We help them explain who they are, what they stand for and why anyone should believe them.

Which makes the recent hullabaloo in PR circles all the more uncomfortable. You’ll probably know nothing of this, but an anonymous letter from a “whistleblower” on the eve of the biggest PR award ceremony, containing serious allegations about agency culture, leadership and client treatment, dropped in the inboxes of some key stakeholders. It has prompted plenty of discussion across our industry.

And the furore raises a seriously genuine question: how can we sell trust if we can’t be trusted ourselves?

Ok – so this is an isolated case and while I’ve witnessed certain practices I can’t agree with in the past, the absolute majority of PR agencies out there are honest, and work diligently for their clients.

You have to earn trust, and if you’re choosing a PR agency to help build your reputation, you probably want a little more to go on than a nice website and a reassuring conversation over coffee.

Here are three things we believe count when it comes to earning that trust.

1. We tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear

Let’s start with the relationship between agency and client.

A good PR agency shouldn’t accept everything that’s suggested to them. If your big announcement isn’t newsworthy, your survey won’t generate headlines or your latest idea is unlikely to get the attention you want, we’d rather have that conversation before you’ve spent money on it with us.

That doesn’t mean dismissing ideas that aren’t ours, it means being honest about what’s likely to work, what isn’t, and what we might do differently because PR isn’t a vending machine, and anyone promising guaranteed coverage in the national press should probably explain exactly how that works.

Our job is to bring experience, ideas and judgement to the table, challenge assumptions where necessary and help you make informed decisions. Sometimes that means telling you something you don’t want to hear. We’d rather do that than spend your budget proving ourselves right.

2. We believe credibility comes from evidence

Trust is built by having something credible to say and being able to demonstrate it – to show that you’ve been there, done it and can translate that into something your audience genuinely has an interest in.

That applies to the work we deliver, too. We want to build stories around genuine expertise and useful insight, not churn out press releases because the monthly report looks a little thin.

And getting your story out there is only part of the job these days. Traditional media coverage can put your business in front of audiences you might otherwise struggle to reach. Likewise, relevant, authoritative coverage can strengthen your reputation beyond the immediate readership of a newspaper, magazine or website.

But the way people discover businesses is changing, as search engines are increasingly influenced by the quality, relevance and credibility of the information they find online. And AI tools, including large language models (LLMs), are becoming the default way people research suppliers, compare options and seek recommendations.

3. Don’t just take our word for it

This brings us back full circle – you shouldn’t have to take an agency’s claims at face value. Ask questions, look at its work and talk about how it measures success, how it reports results, and what happens when something doesn’t go to plan.

And you should know what your agency is doing, why it’s doing it, and what it’s trying to achieve. You should be able to challenge the approach, question the results and expect an honest answer. In fact, a relationship in which nobody ever challenges anything probably isn’t working as well as either party thinks.

Trust us?

The recent noise in PR circles will eventually subside and there’ll be another industry controversy, another awards ceremony, and another round of LinkedIn commentary before long. That’s the nature of our business.

But if we’re asking businesses to trust us with their reputations, we need to give them good reasons to do so, such as honesty, and sound advice.

We won’t get everything right, and we certainly won’t pretend we have all the answers. But we’ll tell you what we think, explain why we think it, and work with you to build a reputation that stands up to scrutiny.

If you’d like an honest conversation about the work we do, and how that might help you, get in touch.