Public Relations the Right Way

NoSpin Debunker #46: June 24, 2002

Please take 5-seconds to answer this week’s poll: “How do you rate Public Relations as a marketing vehicle for your company?”

This week’s guest Debunker author is Silas Deane, President and CEO of Logic Media Group, a Nashville-based PR firm.

As a preface to Si’s piece, here are a couple of NoSpin thoughts on Public Relations as a marketing tool:

A lot of “PR” has gotten a huge black eye the last couple years for acting as a marketing mechanism that promulgates spin, drivel, and corporate fibs and/or vapor. Unfortunately the prevalent attitude with a lot of big name, expensive PR firms has been to rarely or never challenge what a client wants to have said, regardless of accuracy and impact. The result: not more customers but rather the accelerated demise of those companies.

In fact, though, Public Relations that focuses on getting your company’s truthful, interesting story out via focused, mass media outlets can be a very cost effective and highly effective tool in your Marketing arsenal.

Here’s what Si Deane has to say about his approach to PR:

Public Relations the Right Way

As a small business owner myself, I know that there are no shortage of methods to spend my company's hard-earned money to market our products, most of which promise to find quick growth and greener pastures. When I got my Masters in the Wharton Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Marketing was a required course. We learned all of the latest strategies and techniques in sales, marketing theories and advertising, even some direct mail, but never once heard the words ''public relations'' muttered in a business marketing strategy context. To this end, most MBA's are coming out of the top schools missing a few of the best tools in their belts. This is why too many marketing campaigns today begin--and, consequently, end in advertising. But there is more.

Advertising is important and plays a role, but remember it is only one tool. Another thing I never learned in business school and an important lesson for businesses is that buying power is directly related and equal to the sum of the real need, perceived need and created need of your product or service and also your ability to deliver that product or service.

Public relations: What is it?

Public Relations is an evolved marketing and strategic tool for delivering your message in a third-party medium for market penetration and name. awareness. It provides the difference many times in the credibility of your product or service vs. your competition.
It is a planning process that can enhance a full-blown marketing, advertising and/or educational campaign.
Typically, it's a lower-cost marketing tool to help enhance that ''credibility factor,'' and it also positions you as an expert on subject that helps sell your product.

What PR is not?

PR is not advertising. Public relations representatives rarely, if ever, pay for the media they get.
PR is not about ''spin.'' The best PR is done with 100% honesty.

The benefits of using PR as a marketing tool are:

It increases name recognition.
Applied strategically, PR is a very effective tool to support a marketing/sales campaign and increase the return on your sales and advertising expenses.
It introduces a new product, brand, a company or organization.
Good PR campaigns will position a company to be economically sound, socially responsible or any other message building campaigns.

Did I mention it is usually cheaper too?

In the written and editorialized media, the playing field is much more level that in the advertising world where those with the big bucks get the best placements and discounted rates. On a newspaper page, everyone is the same. Also, think about the association factor. People want to know what you are doing and they want to be associated with a winner. Remember the ''As seen on TV'' slogans on ads? You still see them today. Being on TV and in Newsprint makes potential customers feel better about working with someone the press is covering.

Here are starting tips for those who want to launch a PR campaign:

Identify your customer and find out what they read.
Develop a strategic and coordinated media plan.
Legitimately position yourself and your company as an expert to the media.
Become a ''source'' with information.
Take the oath in your company that "No news is too small."
Be honest, and never become non-credible.
Constantly reinforce your key message.
Don't forget to use your Web site as a media tool (almost every journalist. today states that they use the Internet to find out more about a company
Most importantly, always remember, positive media coverage must be earned, not bought.

Please let me know what YOU think about this debunker!

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Tom Ranseen NoSpin Marketing 615.383.7157