PUBLIC RELATIONS: THE DIVIDENDS OF POISE &
PATIENCE
by James R. Rauh
Rotary Club of
Beaverton, Oregon
Too often in
the kingdom corporate, the grip on public relations is uneasy. In
fact, sometimes the handle cannot be found.
Much to the
disadvantage of the private and public sector, the concept of
meaningful external communications frightens and befuddles.
Regrettable. Because with or without bell and whistle technology,
organizational credibility opportunities won't wait for the
unprepared and won't work without public relations planning.
Make no
mistake. Thought-provoking public relations can bring profitability
to the bottom line and, along with it, a type of market strength
pure advertising can't buy. Further, companies and institutions that
don't work on visibility through proactive public relations may not
be around long enough to worry about the positioning and the
productivity that might have been.
"The media
doesn't understand what we do, doesn't like business, and never
writes anything good about us." Familiar verbiage at your place of
business? What proactive solution has your organization taken to
correct the perception? How have you advised upper management?
Exactly what is your public relations visibility?
Like
advertising, its pay-per-exposure stable mate, public relations
demands foresight, planning, preparedness and timing. Executed
patiently, creatively and, where possible, in communion with
advertising, intelligent public relations reaps credibility --- an
end product often beyond the reach of advertising.
Most certainly
PR is a best effort proposition. It's intelligence, tact, timing and
persistence rolled into one. And the only advance guarantee that a
practitioner can make is best effort. Unless the print space,
cyberspace, or airtime is purchased, very disinterested 3rd
parties -- editors and reporters --- make the final decisions on
both content and publication.
PR can
influence and it will convince. But it=s
always a negotiated process and rarely the automatic slam-dunk the
client would prefer. PR gives the reporter or editor facts and
reasonable detail. It also requires follow-up, understanding,
tenacity and a dose of hope for the best.
Writing about
a product introduction in Success (March, 1994), entrepreneur
and former Inc. magazine publisher Wilson Harrell, described
PR as "a secret weapon that you must use, whatever you're trying to
do" and "the most effective and least expensive of all marketing
vehicles." Is PR cheap? No. But good PR, the stuff that generates
results, can be had for a comparatively reasonable price.
In public
relations, as in advertising, there are thousands of other messages
vying for business and consumer attention daily. When you get right
down to it, even if you're armed with a newsworthy item or angle, PR
involves ever-patient negotiation with the media.
So what
distinguishes your communications from the other guy’s? Don't rush
your answer. Did you plan what you said/wrote to the media? Was it
really news or was it fluff --- a long-obsolete exercise in
corporate self-adulation that renders editors nauseous.
Realize that a
clear, consistent and persistent line of communication with the news
media is essential to business identity and visibility. As an
integral component of an overall marketing program, professional
public relations is the business world's first line of offense or
defense. Managed properly, it’s not only useable news but serves as
a vehicle for the company message.
"One public
relations idea," stated Harrell, "was worth more than all the
millions" his company had spent on advertising. "Forgetting how much
can be accomplished (with PR)," he said, "is not only sad, it's
stupid."
Success in PR
(aka: marketing support services) depends on planning, preparation
and dogged follow-through. Be it routine or crisis, it's
communications and a key marketing tool.
If public
relations opportunities are developed, managed and monitored
properly, your organization may become a continuing resource for the
news media or perhaps a stand-alone feature focus. Without public
relations management, your firm may become a target.
It all depends
on preparation for and management of the opportunities. Developed,
deployed and practiced properly, PR can be a singularly powerful
marketing support tool that reaps sustained dividends for any
enterprise willing to make the investment.
James Rauh is a
past director of the Beaverton (Oregon) Rotary Club and Beaverton
Rotary Foundation boards, and was named 2000 Beaverton Rotarian of
the Year. He is creative director/principal at
JR&A Marketing Communications, a Beaverton consulting firm
specializing in marketing support services to established businesses
ranging from the professions, retail, industry, trade, retail food,
and transportation to public institutions and consumer accounts.
Rauh is a trained journalist, copy writer, and marketing consultant,
the former anchorman for the CBS-TV affiliate in Portland, OR, a
former corporate marketing executive, military public and command
information officer, and a mayoral aide. His website is:
www.jramarcom.com |
