Primarily for two reasons: personal service and affordable value.

Publicom-usa provides maximum client attention and produces tangible results. You work with the principal in charge directly.

Publicom-usa's ability to assess client needs in the marketplace, extensive experience in developing finely targeted documents and messages, executing multi-channel public outreach and media relations campaigns, rapid time-to-market and customer sensitivity comprise a proven formula for shared success of a true, results-based partnership.

Since the principal is the primary service provider, compensation is comparatively low. Plus, you are guaranteed of never having to pay more than a very small markup for services that Publicom-usa outsources to other vendors. Try getting a similar commitment from your typical agency. You can't.

What's the Publicom-usa advantage over a larger firm?

Actually, there are several.

Experience: The principal in charge has over 30 years of multifaceted communications experience spanning corporate, radio, television, print and the Internet (the last for over 10 years). This acumen includes both strategic and tactical service fulfillment.

Acountability: The person who sells you the service also fulfills it. This eliminates many of the communication and response challenges you typically incur with a larger firm. It also removes all those extra hands in your pocket, which dramatically lowers the rate you pay. Publicom-usa is not about padding the bill. It's about satisfying your needs.

The principal is primarily responsible for everything. No one else is culpable. Whether you lob bouquets or bullets in his direction, you know he will field all of them with sensitivity and aplomb.

There's one other advantage Publicom-usa has over a larger firm. After a little bit of time together you will come to appreciate that with Publicom-usa, you're paying for results, not effort.

That's the biggest difference of all.

Are there benefits to retainer-based relationships compared to a project basis?

AB-SO-LUTELY. The more you buy (and the longer you stay) the better your rate.

Significant discounts are offered for retainer-based relationships. But they are also available for stand-alone contracts if the volume of work justifies them (which usually begins at around 25 hours). Whether your needs include strategic planning, project coordination and/or day-to-day execution, there's a relationship structure and compensation package that's perfect for a partnership between us.

How does Publicom-usa bill for services?

Whatever's most comfortable for you: by retainer, project or hourly basis. In addition, writing services can be billed by the word or finished page.

Publicom-usa works with you to best meet your critical concerns and requirements within your budget. The billing process is flexible. A retainer is encouraged so clients can better plan their investment. But some prefer to be billed on an hourly or project basis, which is also acceptable.

Without a retainer or deposit however, all servces are billed C-O-D/net-zero. Large hourly projects (30 total hours or more) require a service agreement and deposit before work begins.

How does Publicom-usa handle out-of-pocket expense?

Publicom-usa's philosophy is to focus on client relationships and their communication success. Therefore, we feel it's inappropriate to charge excessive "handling or processing fees" to forward bills for projects you hired Publicom-usa to coordinate and manage.

Nevertheless, there are times when Publicom-usa must use time and resources to manage contract vendors in your interests. Rather than charge several hours in fees for the time spent, a small percentage, typically five percent, but never more than ten percent of that vendors invoice is added.

Many agencies have been known to mark-up such third-party services by as much as half (and a few even higher than that). So for example, when a vendor invoices $1,000 for services, the agency would then add as much as $500 (or more) in "processing fees" to that portion of your bill. Some have even been known to also invoice the time spent in managing those same vendors in addition to the processing fee ("double-dipping").

Compare the paltry five percent Publicom-usa adds ($50 in this example) and the savings become profound.