How should a Hong Kong-listed company choose the best PR agency in Europe?

Start with the decision the agency must support

Define the project before requesting credentials: acquisition, first subsidiary, distribution launch or manufacturing investment. State the countries, business stage, audiences and decisions still open. A partner suitable for a consumer product launch may lack the organisational experience needed for a sensitive acquisition. Ask each candidate to explain the main communication problem in its own words. The quality of that diagnosis is more useful than a generic promise of European visibility.

Test European coverage through named responsibilities

Europe should be broken down into the markets that matter to your project. Ask who will lead the work, who writes local materials and who answers a journalist when the regional lead is unavailable. Distinguish permanent team members from partner agencies and translators. An integrated network can help a multi-country launch; an independent adviser can fit a concentrated or sensitive mandate. Request the actual delivery arrangement, reporting line and escalation process for the countries you need.

Make the pitch a practical exercise

Give shortlisted firms the same public-information brief. Ask them to propose three media angles, identify facts still needed and draft an opening response to a difficult question. For an automotive supplier, this might concern continuity of supply after an acquisition; for a technology company, access to customer data. Evaluate accuracy, relevance and restraint. A persuasive presentation that invents a local investment amount or treats an unapproved commitment as certain exposes a serious weakness.

Examine listed-company coordination

Ask how the agency works with investor relations, the company secretary, legal advisers and local management. The SFC's guidance on inside-information announcements provides a useful reference for this discussion. The agency should show a version-control process, a release sequence and a way to manage translations and time zones. Legal advisers establish the disclosure requirements. The communication team must know which facts are public, which require review and who can approve an answer under pressure.

Compare the contract and the evidence

Request anonymised examples that state the situation, the agency's precise role and the outputs produced. Separate a consultant's earlier experience from the current firm's mandates. Ask for a draft staffing plan, approval assumptions, meeting rhythm and treatment of additional work. Compare the total scope rather than the monthly fee alone. Define useful evidence of progress: message accuracy, quality of relevant coverage, response readiness and stakeholder questions resolved. Editorial coverage and commercial outcomes cannot be guaranteed.

Use a decision scorecard and a first-mission review

Set criteria before scoring pitches: understanding of the investment, local execution, senior judgement, governance, evidence and value for money. Record the reasoning behind each score. Then translate the winning proposal into a concrete first phase: diagnostic, evidence file, media priorities, spokesperson preparation and an agreed review date. Belief System can be evaluated against the same criteria. The first conversation should establish whether the proposed scope, decision process and working relationship fit your European project.

Sources and reference points

Reference sources checked on 9 October 2026. The proposed methods and hypothetical situations are Belief System analyses. Your advisers determine the rules applicable to your project.

SFC · Disclosure of inside information

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