FAQs.

What does ‘storytelling’ mean in terms of your services?

Rather than just being a PR, marketing or communications business, our focus at PRIMAL is to tell stories on behalf of our clients. That means getting inside a brand and really understanding WHY it exists – from there, we craft stories that play across a range of channels and media, targeted to specific audiences.

What’s the difference between stories and narratives?

Time, mostly. Narratives are big, overarching constructs that take into account everything about a brand, whereas stories can be small and short-lived; focused on one key flashpoint and nothing more. Essentially, narratives are timeless, and stories are timely.

How do you charge?

Depends on the work, but typically we charge by the hour at an hourly rate for strategy and execution, with the exception of copywriting, where we charge by the word. We’re happy to arrange other services for our clients, and will often on-charge based on what any engaged third-party providers charge us.

Who do you work for?

Lots of brands – we do have a lot of expertise in the auto sphere, based on founder Kurt and the team’s experience working in the auto industry across publishing, media and corporate, but we’re not limited by industry. We often consult to tech and lifestyle clients too.

What do you mean by ‘channels’?

A channel is a place to tell your story. Whether it’s with conventional media (websites, newspapers, magazines, TV), social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tik Tok) or something else – our focus is the story first, and then leveraging the right channels to amplify to a desired audience.

Just how sustainable are you as a business?

In this day and age it’s very difficult to not leave some footprint on the planet, but we’d like to think we’re pretty good at minimising it. We carbon offset what we can (our company vehicle, flights, energy) and we power our business using renewable energy. Being a virtual business with no fixed address we can keep our footprint low, but our approach to working – where we focus on reducing wastage and utilising as much from every activity as possible – also helps with that.

How much does a campaign cost?

We hate the phrase ‘how long is a piece of string?’, but campaign costs depend on what is required to achieve a client’s goals. To give an indication, smaller PR activities with direct media engagement from us would normally cost around one-two thousand dollars at most.

Do you only work on retainer?

No. While we do have a number of retained clients who benefit from reduced retained client rates, we’re happy to work on a project-by-project basis too.

Do you charge for a response to a brief?

Yes. This is because of the time it takes to respond to a brief properly and provide well-thought-out and actionable recommendations. We do however cap this cost at $1,500, with this cost being credited back to a client if they decide to proceed with PRIMAL.

What does ‘un-agency’ mean? Are you not a real agency?

Yes and no. We do things a little differently from other agencies in that we work virtually with no bricks-and-mortar office and have a team of experts who are only engaged as needed. This means we can keep costs down (for us and our clients) and minimise our carbon footprint. None of this makes any difference to our work, mind you, which we think is pretty excellent…

Do you consult to other agencies?

Yes. Founder Kurt is available for white label consulting to other businesses, including agencies, where he shares his 20+ years of experience with client teams who need specialised support and counsel for a range of outcomes.

So no office, huh? Where do have meetings, then?

“Anywhere with coffee and WIFI!” is what we always say as many clients prefer to meet over video conference, but in most cases, we will come to you.