Information about why public relations doesn't just happen along with tips about selecting an agency.
A. So the blood doesn't show.
Many people think that once a company starts advertising, editors beat
a path to your door. In some cases, that actually does happen, but it's
not the norm. Public relations is a very important part of the
marketing mix, but it's a tremendous amount of hard, detailed work.
Public relations is very different from advertising. One main
difference is that you can't buy media placement. The story is either
newsworthy, or it's not. Paid placement is called advertising. A
successful PR campaign provides third-party endorsement of products or
services which is something no other marketing element can deliver.
Both marketing elements are important, but public relations can
sometimes be a slow build. Results don't happen in a few weeks or in a
month, especially with the three month lead time needed for magazines
print deadlines. When dealing with television, newspapers or radio, the
three month lead time is not an issue, but competition is an issue.
There have been situations where we've had an instant success story. We
created a museum event in Philadelphia at a small children's museum
that was an incredible media success story. Every newspaper, ethnic
publication and television station showed up for this event. Over the
years, we've also had a number of press conferences with tons of media
coverage the next day. This is expecially true if the news is
sensational or the product is very popular at retail.
In one case, we generated thousands of stories for a client, but we
were trying to generate an article in a major business paper. Nothing
worked. The editor was interested, but he didn't understand the point
we were using as the "hook" for the story. When we finally drove home
the point of differrence between mass market retailers and specialty
retailers, he wrote the story and it was fantastic. Our story ended up
on the front page of the business section minus one column, but it took
months and months of work.
Many clients don't understand the PR process. For example, when I was
handling the marketing for a major children's line of licensed apparel,
the client had signed the advertising contract, but not the public
relations contract. He just didn't understand the entire subject and
finally asked for a meeting to discuss things. Shortly into the
meeting, this charming, grandfatherly gentleman looked at me with a
straight face and said, "Why do I have to pay for this, doesn't it just
happen?"
At first, I thought he was kidding, but then I could see that he simply
didn't understand the process, or the discipline. After a rather
lengthy discussion, he signed the contract. The campaign was a big
success and so was the clothing line.
Some clients don't have the budget for the entire marketing mix of
trade advertising, consumer advertising, sales promotion, web site
development and PR. Many will start with PR and trade advertising and
then increase their marketing budget over time.
How To Choose An Agency
When you are ready to consider an agency, what should you look for in a
PR team? For starters, the chemistry has to be there. You also need
experience and media connections. Don't hesitate to ask for client
references. Once you have them, pick up the phone and make some calls.
Don't assume that the new business people will service your account. If
there is one account person that you feel has the expertise you need,
consider requesting that this individual be the point person on your
account. The agency should be willing to agree to this request in your
written contract. Beware of bait and switch, where you are courted by
the new business people who will never be seen again after the contract
is signed.
What You Can Expect
Some points to remember:
Nothing kills a bad product faster than excellent PR and advertising.
Customers may purchase the product once and then, that's it.
When products are photographed, the samples must be in perfect
condition. The camera picks up and magnifies very tiny flaws.
Retouching is expensive, so be careful when you select product samples
for photography.
PR is not a tool used to force retail distribution. If you try it, the
move will come back to haunt you. When an editor asks for information
about the retail distribution of a product and/or service, the PR
agency had better have answers or the ability to obtain the answers
quickly. Reporters and editors always manage to call for this
information when they are on deadline so everything is a rush. A
response such as we're planning to open outlets soon in your area is
not the correct answer.
Put yourself in the editor's place. He/she is interested in writing
about your product and the readers expect to be able to find the item
in local stores, on respected web sites, or in catalogs. If they can't
do any of the above, the editor will not write about the product.
I have had consumers track me down because they wanted a specific
product and could not find it at the retail store mentioned in the
article because the item had sold out. One Christmas, I was practically
running a mail order operation out of the agency because frantic
consumers were calling for one specific product that did not have wide
retail distribution.
Trade books usually publish one month in advance. Consumer books
publish three, yes three months in advance. If you're hoping for a
December magazine story, you'd better start planning in July or August.
If your agency is creative, it will come up with innovative "hooks" for your products or services.
PR is a wonderful marketing tool, but you must understand the basics to understand how it can work for your company.
Diane T. Creston
Creston Advertising
Your Strategic Marketing Partner
