What a VP of Communications Should Expect in the First 90 Days With a New Agency

When a VP of Communications changes agencies, the first 90 days aren't onboarding — they're a live audition. The board is watching. The CEO is asking. The last agency's failure is still fresh, and the new one hasn't earned trust yet.

Founder-focused "first 90 days" playbooks don't map to your job. You already have a team, a strategy, a category, and a set of standing reporter relationships. What you need is a framework for evaluating whether the agency is additive — and whether they'll still be additive at month six, when the shine has worn off.

Here's what good looks like, week by week.

Week 1–2: kickoff, access, and the audit

What should happen:

• Named senior operators are on the kickoff — the same people who pitched you. No "meet your account team" surprise.
• Access requests are minimal and targeted: three executives, one analyst list, one media coverage archive, one CRM read-only seat for attribution.
• They deliver a candid audit of your last 12 months of coverage — including what your previous agency did well.

Escalation signal: they ask for eight hours of executive time in week one. Senior agencies don't need that. They read first.

Week 3–4: narrative, messaging, and target lists

• A one-page narrative framework — not a 40-slide messaging deck.
• A prioritized tier-1 reporter list (10–15 names) with the specific angle for each.
• An analyst engagement plan naming the two analysts who matter most and the briefing arc for the next quarter.
• A GEO baseline — where you currently surface in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Gemini, with a plan to move it. See how earned media drives LLM visibility.

Day 30 checkpoint: the honest go/no-go

A 30-minute call between you and the lead senior operator. Three questions:

1. What have you learned about our business that we didn't tell you?
2. What are you going to try to move in the next 30 days, and how will we know if it worked?
3. What's the one thing you'd change about how we're briefing you?

If the answers are generic, you have your first data point. If they're specific and slightly uncomfortable, that's the right sign.

Week 5–8: first pitches land, first analyst briefings booked

• First reporter pitches out the door with named responses — not "we're building relationships."
• At least one analyst briefing scheduled with a named analyst.
• First byline draft (executive voice, not agency house style) circulating for review.
• A monthly report template drafted and approved — the format your CFO will see.

Escalation signal: pitches are going out but no reporter responses are being shared with you. That's often a sign volume is being reported instead of engagement.

Day 60 checkpoint: measurement baseline set

By day 60, you should have a first, real, monthly report on the framework you agreed to in the RFP:

• Share of narrative vs. two named competitors.
• AI citation share, benchmarked against week-one baseline.
• Analyst inclusion status.
• Deal-cycle influence signals from Sales (qualitative is fine at this stage).
• Executive authority score components (bylines placed, podcasts booked, LinkedIn engagement trend).

If you're still getting a "we placed X clips" deck at day 60, the measurement framework isn't going to arrive on its own. Escalate it in writing.

Week 9–12: first tier-1 coverage and quarterly benchmark

• At least one tier-1 or high-authority trade placement live, or a booked interview on the calendar.
• Byline placed or accepted by a target outlet.
• Quarterly GEO benchmark showing measurable movement on at least one buyer-intent query.
• First crisis-readiness dry-run or statement library refresh completed.

Day 90 decision: renew, rescope, or exit

Sit with the lead operator and answer three questions honestly:

1. Did they do what they said they'd do in the first 90 days?
2. Would I re-hire them today, knowing what I now know?
3. What do the next 90 days need to prove that the last 90 didn't?

"Renew" is the answer if 1 and 2 are yes. "Rescope" is the answer if 1 is partial — most often because the scope was wrong, not the team. "Exit" is the answer if 1 is no and 2 is no. Don't slow-play a bad agency into month six because the contract runs 12; the pilot clause exists for exactly this decision.

Related reading

• PR for CMOs & VPs of Communications
• The PR agency RFP checklist for CMOs
• How to measure PR ROI: what enterprise boards actually want to see