Commons Misconceptions About Public Relations
If you have completed your marketing plans for this year, then it is time to look at the implementation of those plans.
The full extend of how Public Relations (PR) can work for your company can be easily brushed aside at the planning stage because of the many myths that surround PR as a marketing arsenal.
Here are some common myths about the role of PR that you should re-consider.
Myth: PR is less certain than advertising. With advertising, we know what we get from the start.
Wrong. If you are viewing PR as solely media-related, that is partially true. With advertising you have guaranteed placement, you know how much it will cost and you know how many will see your message. But certainty of outputs doesn’t mean that your audience will absorb the message. If you were to use PR and it were to generate editorial coverage there is plenty of research to show it will be more believable than your advertising and have probably many times the impact with consumers. It will also come at much lower costs. Surely, these days it is more important to think about how many different ways you can reach your consumer. So can you afford not to look at whether PR might be able to create media publicity for you?
Myth: The opportunities to use PR in marketing are limited.
Wrong. PR is now used across the board. Internationally PR budgets for many companies have increased over the last years. Your competition is most probably using it. PR has evolved to be a key marketing tool in the B2B sector. It is now routine to include a PR agency along with your advertising agency – either as a permanent part of the marketing team for ongoing brand support or for special launches and new product and services introductions.
Myth: PR should be bought in when we have decided our launch strategy for 2005.
Wrong. PR is often The Launch Strategy. In fact, the most potent use of PR is before the advertising so that any news value is exploited prior to advertising. That is also the time to work with the influencers and opinion formers namely the media. There are plenty of examples showing the power of PR in launching products - including Microsoft Windows 2000 to Coca Cola’s new vanilla flavour.
Myth: PR is impossible to measure
Wrong. The measurement of PR results has been an issue for many companies over the years. PR is not like advertising and should not be measured in terms of the dollar value of the space/time gained. For most companies today, PR is far more strategic in its planning and its execution. PR therefore should be measured strategically against business or communication goals. If you’re only measuring PR for coverage, then maybe you need to think about ‘how’ and ‘why’ you are using it in the first place.
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Tune-Up PR Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Be Promotional. If you can't get enough objective distance from your company to write a press release that's not filled with hype and puffery, hire someone to write it for you.. Joseph Reriani - PR Consultant
This article is part of Joseph Reriani's "PR Tune-up Blog" newsletter posted to over 6,000 subscribers weekly. The newsletter was first published in 2002 at http://www.Reriani.com. For more articles and PR tune-up tips, please visit www.PrudentPressAgency.com and www.SkyNewswire.com. Joseph Reriani is a Media Consultant and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations- United Kingdom. He is the President/CEO of Prudent International Inc and Executive Editor of Prudent Press Agency. He is also an Assistant Editor of SkyNewswire.com directed by Jackie Mugambi . He is a trained journalist and specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their public image by effectively employing the power of public relations. Mr Reriani can be reached at admin @ Reriani.com. You may freely copy and re-publish this article without altering any part in the body.