The New Standard recommends a short decision summary that makes scope, costs, responsibilities and the next approval clear before a Brazil PR proposal goes to headquarters.
Choosing a PR agency in Brazil involves two decisions: whether the agency can do the work, and whether the people approving the investment understand what they are buying.
A promising conversation can leave important questions unanswered. Does the fee include translation? Who prepares the spokesperson? Is a publication a paid placement or an editorial target? What needs to happen before the agency can start?
If you are recommending a partner to headquarters, ask for a short decision summary alongside the proposal. It should make the scope, evidence and outstanding choices easy to assess without requiring everyone to repeat the discovery call.
1. Start with the business task
“Build awareness in Brazil” leaves room for several interpretations. Supporting a factory opening, introducing a B2B service and preparing for a sensitive announcement require different work.
Describe the audience, the change you want to support and the reason for acting now. Then specify what communications can reasonably contribute. A press campaign might support understanding or credibility; it should not turn into an unsupported promise of sales.
2. Make the boundaries visible
Ask the agency to distinguish included work, optional work and inputs your own team must provide.
For an announcement, that might mean separating message development, Portuguese materials, media outreach, interview preparation and reporting. Photography, event production, paid distribution and additional markets should each have a clear status.
For regional programmes, ask who handles each country, which languages are covered and who coordinates approvals. A list of countries alone does not explain how the work will run.
3. Separate the agency fee from external spending
A decision-maker should be able to identify the currency, fee basis, third-party costs and conditions before comparing proposals.
Paid content and earned media also need separate descriptions. For paid activity, identify what would be purchased and who contracts it. For earned activity, distinguish the outreach the agency undertakes from editorial decisions made by publishers.
If an email and a proposal describe the same item differently, ask for one corrected version before approval. Nobody should have to choose which interpretation to rely on.
4. Request relevant proof
A useful case explains the assignment, the agency's contribution, the evidence and its limits. Ask how that experience relates to your brief.
For example, TNS's published Gestamp case describes media relations around a plant opening in Piracicaba, including executive interview work and on-site press coordination. Those details help a buyer assess event-related media experience. They do not guarantee the same coverage for another company or announcement.
One relevant, clearly explained example can give colleagues a practical basis for questions about delivery.
5. Agree what the report will tell you
Define success before commissioning the work. Which audiences and publications matter? What messages should the coverage communicate? What would useful website activity or enquiries look like, and how could they be observed?
Separate communications outputs from business outcomes. Coverage volume is not the same as qualified demand, and an estimated advertising value is not revenue or return on investment. Agree which measures are available and where attribution will remain uncertain.
6. Give the approval process an owner
Your day-to-day contact may need help from procurement, finance or senior leadership. Ask what each person needs to decide, rather than assuming another presentation will resolve every question.
Finish the summary with a specific next decision, an owner and an agreed date. If timing depends on a launch asset, budget or internal approval, record that dependency plainly.
A summary your colleagues can use
Before circulating a proposal, check that it answers seven questions: Why this work? For which audience and market? What is included? What costs extra? Who is responsible? What evidence supports the approach? What decision is needed next?
For a practical starting point, use the agency-comparison worksheet in TNS's Latin America guide.
If you are preparing a Brazil brief, contact The New Standard with your target audience, timing and communications task. We can discuss whether the assignment fits our experience and capacity.
Christopher Suttenfield, Co-founder and Business Development Director, The New Standard, Sao Paulo.