Public Relations

I had a discussion with a potential client recently that got me thinking about the value of PR, how to measure it and how to explain what it takes to get results – especially to someone who isn’t familiar with public relations strategy or tactics. In the conversation with the potential client, his focus was on what the measurable results would be from a public relations campaign. It’s a fair question, but I think it’s one that needs to be put into context. It isn’t necessarily a straightforward answer.

Public relations, publicity, media relations, communications – whatever you call it – we’ve always had a challenge in defining its value, specific to measurement. The online world has forced an evolution in how the work we do is measured. The shift in traditional media has created the need to redefine what we measure and how we report out. And the blurring of lines between sales, marketing and public relations has created a demand that what we do be linked back to return-on-investment. None of this is impossible; it just all needs to be put into context and objectives need to be clearly defined at the start – relevant to organizational goals, campaign goals and impact, value and return-on-investment benchmarks.

The potential client I spoke with asked specific questions such as: “How many leads will a public relations campaign provide?” I couldn’t answer that question for him because I didn’t have all the information. The fact is, no matter how effective a PR campaign or initiative is, without creating a strategic PR plan, defining the budget, tactics and timeline, setting the objectives and goals and defining the criteria for success, it’s almost impossible to answer that.

The questions I had in return were:

  • How many leads do you get a day/week/month now?
  • What are the budget, length and approach of the PR campaign?
  • Who is the campaign targeting – what is their natural lifecycle of action or influence?
  • What are the metrics that can be used to understand the impact of the PR campaign? (Website visits, social media engagement/conversation, sharing with friends and colleagues, calls to the office, behaviour/action benchmarks, increase in awareness, message recall & retention, and purchase consideration.)

However well-defined the components are, they take time, energy and budget. An organization with a limited budget that sends out one news release or editorial style article once every year isn’t going to generate the same results as an organization that has a consistent focus on sharing information and on creating opportunities for exposure and engagement. Exposure and engagement lead to influence and action. For most organizations, that takes a commitment to PR beyond one short campaign.

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In the past week, we have had several conversations with clients about social media and what they could be doing or doing differently in this area. It’s always interesting to have these types of discussions and to take a good, hard look at what is being done, what needs to be done and what could be done differently.



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I read an article recently about a computer company in Germany that undertook what they thought was a smart promotion. They began gluing hard drives to alarm clocks and sending them to companies with a note reading, “Your time is running out.” Well, many of the people who received them were terrified and called the police, thinking the package held a bomb. You can read more about it here.



It reminded me of an old episode of WKRP in Cincinnati in the late 70s/early 80s, where they did a Thanksgiving promotion by dropping turkeys out of a helicopter… only problem – turkeys can’t fly.



When it comes to these types of guerilla promotions or any kind of publicity stunt, you need to think it through from all angles. You need to be critical and tough on the idea and think about the worst thing that could happen and the worst reaction someone could have. In this day and age, it’s likely someone will have that reaction and share it via social media.



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There is an unflattering news clip making the rounds right now of B.C. Premier Christy Clarke’s new communications director. I am sure it is going to be included in every media training session for the next decade – it is a perfect example of what not to do. If you haven’t seen it, you can view it here.



I have an entire rant about how valuable journalists are to a free and just society and how I believe communicators and journalists actually work in partnership (we don’t always have to agree or even like each other, but we do have work together). The actions of this communicator go against everything I believe you should do in media relations. But that’s not what I am going to talk about today. Today, inspired by this video, I want to go back to some common courtesies of communication. The basics.



I am often amazed (and appalled) at the lack of courtesy and common decency that I see in the world. Seemingly small things like please and thank you. Holding a door so that the person behind you doesn’t get it slammed on them. Responding to an email or phone call in a timely fashion. Showing up on time to meetings and appointments… the list goes on.



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