Public Relations Referral Coordination

---
name: public-relations-referral-coordination
description: |
  Refer clients, journalists and stakeholders onward and coordinate with other professionals and services.
  TRIGGERS - Use when a public relations consultant needs a referral & coordination for clients, journalists and stakeholders in PR agencies and client organisations.
category: Public Relations
license: MIT
version: 1.0
---
# Referral & Coordination — Public Relations

Refer clients, journalists and stakeholders onward and coordinate with other professionals and services. The deliverable is a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked.
This skill is written for a public relations consultant working with clients, journalists and stakeholders in PR agencies and client organisations.

## When to use
- You are a public relations consultant preparing, delivering or reviewing this part of your work in PR agencies and client organisations.
- You need a defensible, repeatable approach that produces a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked.
- A colleague, auditor or client asks how this was done and what evidence supports it.

## Key Concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|------|---------|
| Embargo | information released for publication at a set future time |
| Coverage | media reporting about a client or story |
| Key message | a core point a campaign aims to communicate |

## Workflow
1. **Step 1** - Confirm the referral is appropriate: what clients, journalists and stakeholders need that sits outside the public relations consultant scope in PR agencies and client organisations
2. **Step 2** - Prepare the referral from media lists — relevant history, current status, the specific question being asked
3. **Step 3** - With consent, send the referral and log who received it and when; chase non-responses on a set schedule
4. **Step 4** - Share incoming findings back into the main record so the plan and coverage quality and reach stay joined up
5. **Step 5** - Close the loop with clients, journalists and stakeholders: explain what happens next, who owns it, and what to do if things worsen — mindful of inaccurate statements to media

## Profession-Specific Components
| Component | Details for Public Relations |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| Core documentation | media lists; press releases; campaign plans; coverage reports |
| Core tools & equipment | media databases; monitoring tools; social platforms; design tools |
| People involved | clients, journalists and stakeholders; the public relations consultant; colleagues and other services in PR agencies and client organisations |
| Primary record | media lists — keep it current, dated and attributable |

## Output Format
**Context:** [Situation in PR agencies and client organisations] | **Objective:** [What this must achieve] | **Audience:** [clients, journalists and stakeholders and other stakeholders]

The finished output is a referral pack and a coordination log with responses tracked, structured as:
1. Summary of position and evidence
2. Detail, following the workflow above
3. Decisions, actions, owners and dates
4. Review point and escalation route

### Action Plan
1. **Immediate:** Confirm scope, consent and the evidence available in media lists.
2. **Short-term:** Complete the workflow steps and record outcomes against coverage quality and reach.
3. **Medium-term:** Review results, close actions, and update local procedures in PR agencies and client organisations.

## Success Metrics
| Metric | Target | Method |
|--------|--------|--------|
| coverage quality and reach | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from media lists and reviewed on a set cycle |
| message inclusion | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from media lists and reviewed on a set cycle |
| campaign milestones | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from media lists and reviewed on a set cycle |
| client retention | Agree a local target and track the trend | Measured from media lists and reviewed on a set cycle |

## Guardrails & Quality Checks
- Never let this happen: inaccurate statements to media.
- Never let this happen: crises mishandled.
- Never let this happen: embargo breaches.
- Work only within the competence and authority of a public relations consultant; escalate or refer anything beyond it.
- Record facts and observations, not speculation, and keep records confidential to PR agencies and client organisations's rules.
- Verify names, dates, figures and measurements twice before anything is issued or signed off.
- Use only real, verified information from the case in hand — never invent results, credentials or evidence.

## Example (illustrative)
A public relations consultant in PR agencies and client organisations applies this workflow for clients, journalists and stakeholders: they open
media lists, work through the five steps using media databases, and close by recording
the outcome against coverage quality and reach and agreeing the next review date. (Illustrative example only —
replace with the real details of the case in hand.)