How To Budget PR For Holiday Gift Guides

A few months ago, the fine folks at Ragan Communications and PR Daily gave me a platform to expand on how brands should budget for holiday gift guide season and their public relations efforts.

The article (linking to it actually would hurt my LinkedIn / LinkedIn Guide to Creating visibility - sorry - but DM me if you can't find it) is somewhat wordy, even by my standards ??. Here's the gist:

Similar to your performance marketing spend, your PR efforts compete against all other brands looking to target the same archetype and be in the same media outlets. NOT JUST YOUR DIRECT COMPETITORS!

To paraphrase the president of a globally known brand who lent me some time to chat at the start of the pandemic:

When budgeting PR for the coveted holiday gift guides, there's a lot to consider. Here are some highlights:

1. Is your item actually giftable? How many people want it? Media want clicks on these stories.
2. The space is more crowded this time of year. It's going to take more effort. Are you budgeting more than you usually do throughout the year?
3. What percentage of importance are holiday gift guides to your brand in terms of your PR efforts??
4. How well-known your is your brand, and does it have a history on the affiliate side of driving sales? How competitive will your affiliate program be? Are you communicating that to the right people and publishers? In today’s modern PR world, I hope you know what I’m talking about.
5. How much effort do you place on PR versus your closest competition??While you compete mainly against all other brands looking to target the same demographics, you also are fighting against your direct competitors.

While PR efforts can be more effective than other marketing tactics, they tend to be under-budgeted. Why? Because lucky shots do happen. Sometimes that one email lands that massive placement.

Sometimes you throw the ball from half-court and sink a basket. That's not a strategy for winning games.

It’s easy to get sucked into the “guarantee” of performance marketing. Still, as other brands with more resources compete for the same eyeballs, maybe it’s time to consider an effective avenue where there’s more space for success.

One more thing to keep in mind about the power of PR.

When was the last time you heard someone brag about how much they spent on advertising?