Communications Synergy for Best Effect

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Inside The Minds Trust Building vs. Publicity Public relations is being redefined to include a much more strategic definition and, importantly, a much more strategic role than most people associate with it. It isn’t just publicity anymore – not that publicity isn’t important. One of the major reasons public relations counselors are involved in an issue (or an opportunity) is to either generate exposure through publicity or to prevent exposure in the media. It will always be an important function of public relations. However, today, public relations as a discipline and public relations people as professionals can provide many new services, talents, and overall contributions. It explains why some people and companies are moving away from the words “public relations” to identify communications departments or communications programs. They are using other words to describe this function that are broader and more strategic. Terms such as “communications,” “corporate relations,” and “reputation management” are being used to identify the public relations function. The traditional perception of public relations is too limited, too tactical, and too, well, traditional. Actually, I am happy with the title “public relations,” as long as it is perceived as being as big and broad and important as it really is. In the past, public relations was 60 The Art of Public Relations very tactical in its orientation – the “PR guy or gal” wrote releases, developed speeches, created collateral material, staged events, generated media coverage, and handled other tactics of communications for clients. More recently, public relations has been involved in more of the strategic solutions for clients. The “PR person” has helped decide the role the communications function should play by interacting with other disciplines inside a company, such as human resources, marketing, public affairs, law, finance, and government relations. With this in mind, it seems logical in today’s world that the “public relations professional” is moving naturally into the policy-making area. Whether it’s as the communications experts or not, communications people are playing a critical role at the table along with other senior executives representing all the other important disciplines required to lead the company successfully. Communications people have earned this role over the years. They are invited to participate – not because a news release has to be written, or even to determine the specific role for communications – but because they bring critical thinking skills, knowledge of the industry, experience in similar situations, and insight into the company – and, I believe, because communications people typically think more broadly and with a holistic attitude. It makes the public relations professional more analytical, disciplineneutral, and sensitive to input – whether it’s research, 61 Inside The Minds instincts, or simply listening to others for clues that will solve problems. The communications person can also be counted on to encourage communications internally, so there is positive interaction that results in the best solutions. By understanding the concept of a “best teams” approach, the public relations person helps ensure that no one discipline or no one individual has any more influence than is appropriate. All these talents are typically inherent in a communications person. It has resulted in senior management wanting the communications person to be a part of the team that creates and manages solutions to challenges and opportunities that exist in every company. Another important dynamic that has elevated the role of the public relations counselor is the growing recognition of the importance of communications. Smart communications strategies must be at the foundation of every smart business decision. And, many times, it is a challenge. There are competing messages, lack of understanding, too much information, too many information channels, not enough time to comprehend, no willingness to find the time. But more and more, everyone wants to make an informed decision. 62 The Art of Public Relations Public relations people who understand how to solve problems, how to develop relevant messages, and how to deliver those messages in a high-impact way to the right audiences deserve to be on the senior management team. Getting at the Emotions The goal of a successful public relations professional has changed over the years. It used to be providing exposure. Then it moved from not just providing exposure, but encouraging an understanding. The next evolutionary step is not only to provide understanding, but also to create a sense of advocacy. At our firm, we believe the best way to accomplish this goal is through the creation of trust. So the challenge is to move the constituents – whether they are employees, shareholders, neighbors of the plant, government regulators, or the consumers – not only to be aware of the product, and not just to understand what the product does, but to want to make that product, service, or company a part of their purchase habits and a part of their lifestyle – and, importantly, to advocate that others should feel and do the same. This is one of the things that public relations can do so much better than other communications disciplines. It is inherent in public relations to get at the emotion, the credibility, the need to understand, and the desire to take action. 63 Inside The Minds The fundamental role of a public relations person is to deliver results. Demonstrating that our communications strategies – when executed effectively to the key audiences – create the desired action must be our primary goal. Communications Synergy for Best Effect On the agency side, success for a public relations professional can be measured by everything from a thank you from the client, to a client renewing a contract, or the client giving you more to do because he realizes you get results. At another level, it includes having research that indicates you did move the needle on awareness or attitudes. At still another level, it is the methodology to track increases in sales or the increase in share price or positive scores in a survey of employees that are all the direct result of public relations activities. With this in mind, there are some very quantifiable measurements that can be employed, with time and other resources. It is a myth that you can’t track the results of public relations, although, because of the influences of other forms of communications activities, such as direct marketing, event marketing, and advertising, it may be very difficult to determine what impact the public relations programming itself had. 64 The Art of Public Relations In fact, public relations can be at its most valuable by working synergistically with other communications activities. It can be argued that public relations helps the other forms of communications be that much more effective. For instance, the consumer might be more willing to pay attention to the 30-second commercial if he or she read a story about the product earlier in the day. You might open the envelope you received in the mail – not thinking of it as junk mail – if you realize it’s more information about the product you just read about in a newspaper or magazine, or saw demonstrated on a television talk show. An interesting development in public relations is the use of “non traditional” tactics. They are “non traditional” because public relations people typically were not expected to provide the counsel or the execution of these tactics, and because they are totally new techniques – sometimes driven by new technology – to reach people effectively. Because people are overwhelmed by the choices of television channels and don’t have the time to read the newspaper or magazine or even access the Internet to keep up-to-date on the news, public relations people have begun to use other ways of reaching the client’s target audience more than ever before. So now, event marketing and buzz marketing are techniques that a PR professional employs to ensure the right messages are getting to the right people in more ways than just through media coverage. And the use of sales promotion, direct marketing, and even advertising 65 Inside The Minds can be found in the overall planning of a public relations campaign. The Internet should also be the responsibility of the public relations experts. It’s all about being interactive. That’s what public relations people do. No matter what it takes, the public relations professional must develop programming that delivers measurable results. This requires agreement on what results are to be achieved and on applying resources to develop appropriate measurement techniques. Commit to Measure The first step to measuring a return on an investment in public relations is to find out what your client will recognize as a valid, worthwhile, or credible return. Every client is a bit different. Some clients measure success by the amount of publicity coverage. Others measure success by the quality of that coverage. Others measure it by determining what happened as a result of that quality coverage. Still others go right to sales figures and want to know what can justifiably be attributed to the role of public relations. Public relations people are becoming as smart and resourceful as their advertising partners in the development 66 The Art of Public Relations of measurement techniques or devices the client or senior management will recognize as valid. Part of that is a function of the growing size of public relations budgets. It is easier to allocate dollars for research when the total amount of money to be spent reaches significant amounts. I’m reminded of an association client who asked us early in the relationship to meet for a day of planning. One group met with the market research experts of the companies that made up the association in one room, and another met with the communications experts of these member companies in an adjoining room. The objective at the end of the day was to determine how to spend the million-dollar program budget and measure its impact. The communicators created a million-dollar program in one room, and the market research people created a $300,000 measurement program to evaluate the success of the program in the other room. When we got together, we realized measuring the milliondollar program was going to require $300,000, so now we only had a $700,000 program – and lots of discussion on whether to spend the $300,000 to measure it. The answer, by the way, was “no.” But we did create a series of very effective measurement tools for that program because there was a commitment to do it right. Over time, a number of very sophisticated evaluation methods have been developed for public relations. Both output and outcomes can be tracked with high degrees of detail. The application 67 Inside The Minds of technology – especially the Internet – has been particularly important. Since trust between our firm and our clients is also an important goal, we know that a strong commitment to measurement is key. The return on the communication investment is as important as all other forms of investment. Building – and Busting – Trust One advantage public relations has over all other forms of communications activities is the way it informs people about the client’s message. I believe people are more willing to learn more comprehensively through the tactics of public relations. For example, if I am at home reading my mail, I am not willing to stop to read a long promotion piece. I am going through my mail. If I am watching my television, I can’t learn enough in a 30-second spot. One thing I think public relations does very well is provide indepth and comprehensive information. The second is that it provides an endorsement of the product or service that is not inherent in advertising. If I read an article in a newspaper or listen to a spokesperson on a television talk show or hear about a product from a family member whose opinion I respect, that endorsement and the credibility associated with it give that message a very strong impact. 68 The Art of Public Relations In addition to that, there’s also an emotional bond that can be generated through the techniques of public relations. It’s not that a 30-second spot can’t tug at your heartstrings, but the tactics of public relations have a way of ensuring that emotional bonds are created between a customer and the product, or the employee and the employer. It basically comes down to the concept of trust, which is the most all-inclusive dynamic that should exist between a communicator and the receiver of that communication. If it is prevalent, it generates loyalty, a sense of credibility, and a sense of dependability. More importantly, it gives a sense of confidence and advocacy that will withstand challenges or temptations that could affect the bond. In other words, it’s generating goodwill between a brand and the consumer. Because of the trust instilled in the relationship, the individual will doubt whether bad news about the brand can be true before making any conclusions, and will grant the company or the brand a chance to correct itself if necessary – and will accept an apology. We call this the TrustBank. Our founder, Al Golin, and the founder of McDonald’s Corporation, Ray Kroc, created this concept years ago. Simply stated, it is doing the right thing to build goodwill with your key audiences. It includes everything from sponsoring sports teams and school programs in local communities to making responsible decisions in times of a global crisis. 69
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