Let’s face it – PR can be confusing for those who aren’t in the game. It’s a sort-of-marketing, sort-of-advertising hybrid that often gets overlooked because let’s face it – do you really know what PR is? Hint – It’s ok if you don’t!
Those that do have a faint knowledge of the industry likely consider it to be all air kissing and champagne drinking (huh, we wish)! That’s because that’s the stereotype of yesteryear was more akin to Samantha from Sex and the City. Sure, we still do schmooze the who’s who, and are always armed with our enviable little black book, but we can do a lot more than write a fluffy press release.
For far too long PR has been considered as an afterthought, but I’m here to tell you, it should be your first thought. It’s the thing that can navigate all your strategic thinking and planning, whilst bolstering your marketing and advertising efforts. But more importantly, it can earn you credibility, trust and a favourable reputation. So why should it be your first thought? Well, it can save you money.
One of the easiest ways to describe how PR can save you money is this real-life example. I once worked with a well-known beauty brand who spent a substantial amount of money on creating some photographic assets for their advertising. Once all the planning and photoshoot had taken place, they decided to engage in PR (which quite frankly, felt more like a tac on afterthought to all their in-depth planning). The images they had created were beautiful, however they had used little known models who didn’t have any media interesting but were hoping we could use these new campaign images for publicity. That’s true, we certainly could have used them for publicity when telling brand stories or garnering brand placement. But could we have generated a bigger impact if we had been involved in the initial planning? The answer is YES! The brand wanted to make a huge splash in the media (and rightly so) so we worked together to do another photoshoot (this time considering it from a PR perspective and using models and influencers who had media interest). As part of the negotiations with the models and influencer’s agents, we worked in media interviews into their contract along with social posts. Then, once we had the images, we were able to leverage the models and influencers media interest and offer interviews about the campaign and brand. The results? Over 2 million dollars’ worth of PR value. BUT, the client essentially paid to do 2 photoshoots using 2 different agencies (when they could have gotten away with half the cost had they factored in PR from the start). If we had been approached during planning phases, we could have suggested a different approach using models with media interest and saved everyone a lot of time and money.
There’s no arguing that Marketing and Advertising are paramount in your overall strategy, but many people overlook PR until the last minute. Take SEO for example. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on SEO as a sole focus, enlist your PR team. Any good PR professional will know how to ensure PR content features on high domain authority sites with backlinks that drive to your website. This enables you to scale back or your spend on SEO (because we’re already doing it for you)!
PR, Marketing and Advertising go hand in hand, but ideally you wouldn’t want one without the other. The key difference to consider is this: In Marketing and Advertising, you’re telling your consumers you’re a great company, but in PR, credible sources are telling consumers you’re a great company (not the brand itself). Credibility can almost be seen as the money-can’t-buy holy grail for brands (unless you’re buying it when you spend money on PR). PR has more credibility because it is independently verified by a trusted source, or ‘earned’, rather than purchased by the brand itself. Yes, things like credibility, brand trust and brand awareness can be tricky to measure, but imagine what can happen if you don’t have these?
PR is all about communication, so it’s almost ironic when Marketing and Advertising teams aren’t talking to PR from the very start. Any brand that spends thousands on their marketing and advertising efforts no doubt wants to maximise their ROI. The best way to do this? Bring in the PR team. Too often brands worry about additional PR costs, but they forget that PR can actually save you time, money and leverage what you’re already spending. Publicists have the ability to spot a news opportunity or create a newsworthy story by creative storytelling, tapping into calendar hooks, agendaneering and leveraging content creation and all your other efforts. We can quickly garner local and international attention, exposing your business to new audiences and build the brand to a high-level scale of success – from the start. So get in touch with us when you’re in your planning phases, not when you want to get the word out there.