Imported from jeremylongshore/tons-of-skills-marketplace (plugins/mcp/servicegraph/skills/find-pr-agency/SKILL.md). Install upstream with npx skills add jeremylongshore/tons-of-skills-marketplace --skill find-pr-agency. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).

find-pr-agency

Overview

Drive the ServiceGraph API (https://api.servicegraph.co) to find, shortlist, and enrich US PR and communications agencies via the pro_services dataset.

Always pin service_provided:public-relations. Note: the catalog's nominal industry:pr_comms value returns zero firms in the live release — PR/comms firms are tagged with service_provided:public-relations instead, typically under adjacent industries (marketing_agency, other_pro_services). Pin the service tag, not the industry. Sub-types (media relations, crisis, IR, public affairs, healthcare PR, tech PR, B2B PR, internal comms, brand reputation) are NOT separate tags — sub-type specialization is a keyword substring search on firm text.

Any HTTP client works (curl, fetch, requests). Examples below use curl.

Sibling skills — defer when scope is broader

If the user wants a multi-service marketing engagement (PR plus content plus paid plus social), defer to find-marketing-agency — that skill covers full-service shops where PR is one of several service lines.

This skill is correct when PR/comms is the primary deliverable — launches, media relations, crisis, IR, public affairs.

When NOT to use this skill

• "Write me a press release / draft these talking points" → DIY work.
• In-house comms/PR hires (Head of Comms, PR Manager).
• PR-software comparisons (Cision, Muck Rack, Prowly).
• Influencer-marketplace asks — that's paid media; defer to find-marketing-agency or refuse for marketplace product questions.
• "Explain how earned media works" → knowledge question.
• Non-US firms.
• Individual freelance PR people / publicists.

Prerequisites

• ServiceGraph access, either:
  • the ServiceGraph MCP server (https://mcp.servicegraph.co) loaded in your harness — this plugin's .mcp.json wires it up; OAuth 2.1 + PKCE keeps credentials in the harness sandbox — or
  • a ServiceGraph API key (vk_…, minted at https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys) available as SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY in the environment or .env.local for the REST path (setup steps under Auth below).
• An HTTP client for the REST path — the examples use curl.

Instructions

The loop is free-first: discovery, validation, search, and brief reads cost nothing; only unlock after the user confirms the spend.

1. Pick the call path — the ServiceGraph MCP tools if loaded, otherwise the REST flow (MCP server and Auth sections below).
2. GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/fields?include_values=1 — confirm the fields and values you plan to filter on exist.
3. Build the filter (Filter DSL below) and validate it with GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/check — or draft it from plain English via POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/translate-intent.
4. GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search — present the free brief cards and let the user pick.
5. Quote the unlock cost (10 credits per row, 30-day TTL) and get an explicit go-ahead.
6. POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks with the chosen apexes; report the revealed detail.
7. GET /v1/me/credits to report the remaining balance when asked.

MCP server (preferred for authed calls)

If your harness has the ServiceGraph MCP server loaded (tools containing servicegraph in the name), prefer those — credentials stay in the harness's OAuth 2.1 + PKCE sandbox and no token enters LLM context. Otherwise use the REST flow below.

API surface (dataset id: pro_services)

Every endpoint requires the bearer (Authorization: Bearer vk_…). No anonymous tier.

Cost model. Discovery / validation / search / brief reads are free. Detail (url, phone, email, social, address, full platforms map) costs 10 credits per firm and lasts 30 days.

Auth

Tokens are vk_* API keys minted in the dashboard. Keep the token out of the LLM context — never read .env* files; dispatch every authed call through a shell wrapper.

1. Try the call first through a shell wrapper that sources .env.local:

   ( set -a; [ -f .env.local ] && . ./.env.local; set +a;
     curl -sS -H "Authorization: Bearer $SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY" \
          'https://api.servicegraph.co/v1/datasets/pro_services/fields' )

2. On 401 unauthorized, prompt the user:

   "Open https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys, create a key, and add SERVICEGRAPH_API_KEY=vk_… to .env.local here (or export it in your shell). Tell me when done. Please don't paste the key into chat."

3. Retry after the user signals ready.

Filter DSL

GitHub-search-style.

filter   := orExpr
orExpr   := andExpr ("OR" andExpr)*
andExpr  := notExpr (("AND")? notExpr)*    # whitespace = implicit AND
notExpr  := ("NOT" | "-") notExpr | atom
atom     := "(" filter ")" | predicate
predicate:= IDENT op valueOrList | bareword
op       := ":" | "=" | ">=" | "<=" | ">" | "<"
valueOrList := value ("," value)*
value    := IDENT | NUMBER | tagAtEvidence
tagAtEvidence := IDENT "@" ("low"|"medium"|"high")
bareword := IDENT | NUMBER          # → keyword:<bareword>

Four rules that bite: AND binds tighter than OR (use parens); comma list = OR within one predicate; negation is -x or NOT x (no negative literals inside comma lists); bareword = keyword search (multi-word phrases must be quoted or split).

PR-flavored examples (validate yours with /check):

service_provided:public-relations tech state:NY
service_provided:public-relations healthcare
service_provided:public-relations b2b saas
service_provided:public-relations crisis
service_provided:public-relations "investor relations"
service_provided:public-relations ipo state:NY,CA
service_provided:public-relations "public affairs" state:DC
service_provided:public-relations rating>=4 has:clutch

Sub-type / vertical → keyword mapping:

Identifying firms — apex

Firms are identified by their apex domain (edelman.com, not www.edelman.com/about).

Output

All responses are JSON.

• Search returns free brief firm cards — apex, name, location, and rating signals — plus a per-row unlock hint and the match total. Briefs never include url, phone_primary, email_primary, legal_name, address_full, or the full platforms map.
• Unlock (POST …/unlocks) returns each unlocked firm's detail block — contact fields, address, socials, the platforms map — plus per-item billing; detail stays readable for 30 days.
• Errors arrive as a JSON envelope {"error": {"code": "…", "message": "…"}} — see Errors below.

Examples

A. Tech PR for a Series-B announcement

User: "Tech PR agency in NY for our Series-B announcement."

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+tech+state:NY&limit=10
# → 10 brief cards + total + per-row unlock.status

# Present, get pick of 3. "Unlocking 3 = 30 credits, 30-day TTL."
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks
  { "apexes": ["firm-a.com", "firm-b.com", "firm-c.com"] }

B. IR firms for an IPO

User: "Three IR firms for our upcoming IPO roadshow."

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+("investor relations" OR ir)+ipo&limit=10

C. Crisis comms (urgent)

User: "Crisis comms help — brand reputation issue blowing up online."

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+crisis&limit=10

Skip the validation hop and present briefs immediately given the urgency.

D. Healthcare / regulatory PR

User: "Healthcare PR agency familiar with FDA regulatory comms."

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+healthcare+(fda OR regulatory)&limit=10

E. Indirect intent — "we need press"

User: "We need press for our Series-B — get us into TechCrunch, WSJ, and the trade press."

That's product-launch / tech PR. Either translate by hand:

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+(tech OR startup)+(launch OR series-b)&limit=10

…or hand the intent off:

POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/translate-intent
  { "intent": "PR agency to get our Series-B into TechCrunch and trade press" }

If thin, drop the launch/series-b keyword — most tech PR firms run launches as a default deliverable.

F. Public affairs (state government)

User: "Public affairs firms with state-government experience in California."

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=service_provided:public-relations+"public affairs"+state:CA&limit=10

G. BYO apex list — enrich domains

User pastes 8–20 PR-firm domains:

1. GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/:apex per domain — free brief (404 = not in catalog, no charge). Flag misses.
2. User picks N to fully enrich. POST /unlocks with all of them = 10×N credits, atomic, detail returned.
3. Re-runs within 30-day TTL are free.

Gotchas

• Pin service_provided:public-relations, not industry:pr_comms. The industry value is empty in the live catalog; PR firms sit under adjacent industries. Without the service pin, "tech PR" / "crisis" / "investor relations" keywords leak into general marketing.
• Defer to find-marketing-agency for full-service marketing. When PR is one of several service lines (PR + content + paid + social), the marketing-agency skill is the right fire.
• Sub-types are keyword-only. Multi-word sub-types split into ANDed barewords unless quoted (investor relations → investor AND relations; "investor relations" → one phrase).
• "Write me a press release" / "draft talking points" is do-the-work. Refuse and offer to find a firm if the user wants to engage one.
• Influencer marketing is NOT PR. Influencer marketplaces (Aspire, Grin) and influencer outreach are paid-media work; defer to find-marketing-agency or refuse for marketplace product questions.
• PR-software comparisons (Cision, Muck Rack, Prowly) are NOT procurement.
• Briefs DO include apex, name, location, ratings. They DON'T include url, phone_primary, email_primary, legal_name, address_full, full platforms — those require an unlock.
• not_found / not_in_dataset 404 = not in pro_services. Not charged. Skip.
• Unlock is atomic. 5 apexes either all charge (up to 50 credits) or none charge on 402.
• Within-TTL re-views are free (was_cached:true).

Errors

JSON envelope: {"error": {"code": "...", "message": "..."}}.

End-to-end example

User: "Three tech PR agencies in NY for a Series-B announcement, ideally with 4-star ratings and Fortune 500 client experience."

GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/fields?include_values=1
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/check?filter=service_provided:public-relations+tech+state:NY+rating>=4
GET /v1/datasets/pro_services/search?filter=...&limit=10
# Present briefs. "Unlocking 3 = 30 credits, 30-day TTL."
POST /v1/datasets/pro_services/unlocks
  { "apexes": ["firm-a.com", "firm-b.com", "firm-c.com"] }
GET /v1/me/credits

Resources

• Upstream source: https://github.com/nostrband/ServiceGraph
• ServiceGraph API: https://api.servicegraph.co — keys at https://servicegraph.co/profile/api-keys
• Hub skill: servicegraph (this plugin) — the dataset-agnostic entry point when the user names ServiceGraph explicitly.