Why is Public Relations More Relevant Than Ever During COVID Times?

“Advertising is saying you’re good. PR is getting someone else to say you’re good.” Jean-Louis Gassée, Founder BeOS  

After speaking to leadership at many thriving companies in Israel, I have come to the realization that there is little understanding of the PR function. It is usually lumped into a content marketing role or simply ignored. Over the years, and especially recently with the dramatic rise in social media use, the lines have blurred and it is often hard to know where one discipline ends and the other begins.

Since COVID hit the world in March 2020 without prior warning many businesses found they had little choice but to transfer their offerings online. As such they have delved further into the marketing / PR sphere than they might have done otherwise. We have essentially fast-forwarded our digital presence due to the unexpected appearance of corona virus. Businesses are more keen than before to cut through the noise, get heard and promote themselves.

However, while advertising and marketing spend is drastically decreasing due to the tough economic conditions, in these difficult times it is PR that is maintaining the communications that matters between the brand and its customers. PR is creating and building the trust that consumers require from a company and it is that trust that will make a difference to the company’s future.

It is therefore more important than ever before to understand the differences between PR and marketing and what these functions accomplish. PR is still often confused with marketing or advertising and therefore its true potential within a company’s business strategy is often not appreciated or executed. 

Below I have outlined 6 key PR benefits in a way I hope is simple to take on board. My aim is that these may guide you, or at least help unlock the true potential of PR within your marketing mix and within your overall business strategy.

Crucially, How are Marketing and PR Different?

First, and most important, it is critical to understand that the marketing and PR functions and goals are different: 

• Marketing focuses on promoting a product or service in order to increase sales. 
• PR centers on maintaining a positive reputation and creating buzz for your company so as to increase the attractiveness of your product or service.

Marketing and PR strategies target different audiences also. 

• Marketing targets the customer and continuously works to meet their needs.
• PR’s main target is the range of public stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers and investors. They are usually reached through the channel of mainstream or industry-specific media. 

6 Benefits of PR

Although marketing and PR often work best in tandem, below I have delved into a little more detail about the 6 core benefits of the PR function:

1) PR is about generating awareness of your product, brand or service. 

Unlike advertising and marketing the main goal of PR is not directly related to increasing customers or sales or talking about a new promotion, although this may come as a welcome knock-on effect. The aim of PR is to raise awareness of the brand, product or service. PR’s main goal would be to tell the company story and the value it brings to the world.

Why does this even matter? Well, if customers are not aware of who your company is or what it does they will not engage as well. So if you run a costly marketing campaign, your potential customers are far more likely to be aware of this if a PR campaign has preempted this or is running alongside your campaign. This joint approach is more effective and should help generate far more ROI than a marketing campaign without the use of PR.

2) PR is about maintaining a positive reputation and relationships with stakeholders 

PR is about building a credible reputation for your company through positive media coverage. However, whereas with advertising and marketing the message control is guaranteed, with PR, as the media is “earned” IE. no payment is attached to an article, no such guarantees exist. 

A journalist’s job is not to write a free ad for your company; it’s to inform readers of news and stories that affect them or provide a solution to a problem facing society. As such it's very important for a company to find its own unique story. A skilled PR professional will be able to work with the media and with yourselves to generate a good story and set the right tone and content. The PR strategy, through the media, will cover a broad audience and will reach out to potential stakeholders, including current and potential customers, employees and shareholders. 

3) PR is mainly about getting your company “earned media.”

As above, this means being featured in an article written by a journalist - without payment. This is because the journalist thinks your company has a compelling story to tell. Marketing and advertising might focus more on a company’s own platforms or via paid promotion.

It is important to underline here that PR is perceived as far more credible because you are getting third party endorsement rather than shouting your own praises. As Richard Branson stated: “A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad”. 

For example, I recently placed a client on The Claman Countdown on Fox Business - a TV show with millions of viewers. This “earned” media slot resulted in around 8 minutes of brand coverage equating to millions of dollars in marketing spend. The opportunity would likely never have been considered as a marketing strategy as it would have been too costly. With PR there was no expense to the client whatsoever as the entire interview occurred online. And the value was infinitely higher. 

4) PR is more valuable than marketing or advertising if done correctly. 

This is because messages delivered through PR, such as via articles, interviews, or through known bloggers or vloggers are regarded as more trustworthy than those presented through marketing i.e. through the company itself. 

Why? Because people are exceptionally attuned to marketing and advertising. They know that the primary goal of any company is to drive its own sales. So an article by a recognized journalist, or a presentation by a highly-regarded speaker or expert will have far more success in convincing a customer because it is not the company talking about itself but a third party singing the company’s praises. Think about it - if someone bragged about how great they personally were at cake decorating for instance, would you take it as seriously as if you heard the same information through a friend or acquaintance? You would undoubtedly be more impressed and more inspired to investigate further if it was the latter. 

5) PR is a long-term strategy

A PR program should be viewed as a long term investment. It is about building the credibility, awareness and positive reputation of a company over a period of time. PR is a relationship management function. It takes consistent media interaction to perform effectively and reap the rewards. This can be seen most clearly in recent Covid communications of well-known brands where consumers stated that a brands’ actions impacted their perceptions by 60%! Of course shorter PR campaigns are also effective but the long-term strategy produces far more ROI. Marketing on the other hand is about instant and tangible sales success. The two together make a formidable team.

6) PR and Business ROI

Despite available measurement tools, it is traditionally more challenging to measure ROI for PR than it is for marketing, because it’s harder to demonstrate a change in attitude as opposed to a change in direct sales. This is one of the reasons why PR has lagged behind marketing somewhat in the tangible ROI stakes. However, over time the benefits are much easier to see as societal shifts in attitude become more transparent and more straightforward to quantify and evaluate.

So, what does this all mean and why is it crucial for your business to grasp PR now? 

Well, firstly, businesses must understand the differences between marketing and PR in order to appreciate the value each brings to the table. Once understood PR can be activated effectively and the most value can be gained from the services it offers.

Additionally, it is equally important to understand that marketing and PR, while functioning in different ways, are reliant on each other. One cannot function effectively without the other. PR builds awareness while marketing creates demand. Each drives results in different ways and when coordinated each supports the other. Therefore as a duo they serve the overall company objectives in the strongest possible way. Both need to be deployed to achieve the most effective communication strategy and, therefore, optimum business success.

Finally, if you need any more convincing, here is a quote by Bill Gates, one of the world’s most respected businessmen and entrepreneurs: “If I was down to my last dollar I’d spend it on PR”.

If you haven’t already, it might be worth exploring why…