Why PR?

PR - press relations - should be a key element in any marketing campaign. This applies to print, broadcast and cyber-media equally. Consider the following benefits:

1. PR broadens your reach. With PR you can extend your selling messages into markets that cannot be cost-effectively reached with paid advertising.

2. PR builds credibility. PR placements carry an implied third-party endorsement. A message is more believable when it appears on an editorial page ("They say…") than in a paid advertisement ("We say…").

3. PR stimulates qualified sales leads. We track sales leads on behalf of our clients, and we have found that editorial items often pull more and better qualified inquiries than ads for the same product in the same magazine. This is no doubt related to the credibility issue (see #2 above).

4. PR educates customers. A PR campaign permits you to provide more detailed information than can be presented in the constricted space of a paid ad.

5. PR builds brand awareness and loyalty. PR keeps your company's name and your brands in front of the marketplace. An ongoing PR campaign helps you rise above the noise threshold of other selling messages that are constantly competing for share of mind.

6. PR builds relationships with the media. Think of the editors and journalists covering your industry as the "gateway" to millions of readers. A key to successful PR is building and maintaining cordial business relationships with these key opinion makers.

7. PR is cost effective. There's no way you could spend enough money on media advertising to get you the same exposure as you can achieve with a strong PR campaign.

The bottom line is this. PR should be a key element in planning and executing a balanced, integrated marketing plan. And yet, it's a curious fact that it's one of the most under-utilized items in the marketing toolbox.

Why is this? I think it's because everyone is just too busy. As a result, PR tends to be done in a haphazard manner when it's done at all. The only answer is to dedicate the necessary resources to get the job done.