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Public
Relations - The Fifth "P" of Marketing Strategy
All
marketers know the traditional “four Ps” of marketing: place,
price, product and promotion. In this article, soon to be
published in Basic Marketing (McGraw-Hill Ryerson,
2004), Daniel Tisch provides a perspective on public
relations — the emerging “fifth P” of any smart marketing
strategy.
By
Daniel Tisch, APR
President
Argyle
Rowland Communications
Public
relations takes many forms. A company issues a news release
to announce a new product. A community group stages a demonstration
to highlight a social problem. A CEO makes a quarterly report
to investors. A hockey team holds a news conference to announce
a free agent signing. A drug manufacturer meets with doctors
or patients to promote its new medicine. A power plant develops
a plan for crisis communication. A retail chain launches a
contest to promote a new line of clothing.
Since
these types of interactions happen every day, PR shapes the
way we see the world around us. And it becomes critical to
both an organization’s reputation and its overall brand.
PR
and the purchasing decision
To
understand the power of public relations, imagine that you
are about to make a major purchase. What would influence you
most? You would probably scan print and online news sources.
You might ask family, friends or colleagues for their advice.
You might speak with a representative of the company that
makes or sells the product. You would consider not just the
price and product features, but also the company’s reputation.
To
influence your purchasing decision, then, the company must
go beyond marketing and advertising. Advertising can play
a key role in raising awareness and communicating a message,
but for that message to be credible to the consumer, the company
must invest in its public relations — i.e., its relationships
with the publics who are important to its success.
It’s
not hard to see why. Consumers have become more sceptical
of advertising than ever, because they know the organization
is paying the media to deliver its message. In a 2000 survey
by the Environics Research Group, only 17 per cent of Canadians
agreed with the statement that “a widely advertised product
is probably a good product.” Since consumers are becoming
better informed all the time, that number may well be even
lower today.
However,
when people the consumer trusts — such as a journalist or
an independent expert — endorse the claims of an organization,
the effect is much more powerful. It is that concept that
drives a common maxim in public relations: advertising is
what you pay for, and PR is what you pray for.
The
PR practice — and its practitioners
There
are a growing number of academic definitions of public relations.
The simplest is that public relations is about the management
of communication between an organization and its publics.
(1) While marketing is interested in the market — i.e., consumers
and demand — public relations is interested in the relationships
that will create a favourable environment for the organization’s
products and services.
Can
anyone practise public relations? In a free society, the answer
is yes. Of course, that does not mean that anyone can do it
well. As public relations grows in importance, successful
organizations often look for a blend of experience, skills
and education in public relations practitioners or agencies.
Excellent
two-way communications skills — both oral and written — are
the obvious foundation for success. A top-notch public relations
practitioner will also understand a business issue quickly
and assess the elements that will be most relevant to the
organization’s publics. He or she will have strategic insight,
a strong sense of ethics, and the candour and confidence to
make recommendations to a client or employer. In implementing
those recommendations, the practitioner should develop a clear
plan to research key publics, analyze their needs, set measurable
objectives, communicate creatively and evaluate the results.
To
help organizations find practitioners with the right skills
and experience, the public relations industry develops standards
and recognizes achievement through associations such as the
Canadian Public Relations Society and the Public Relations
Society of America. These groups confer the designation of
“APR” (“Accredited in Public Relations”) on practitioners
who demonstrate a high level of competence, experience and
knowledge.
Practical
advice
As
organizations plan their public relations strategies, here
are a few things to keep in mind.
•
Beware of those who believe PR is about distortion
— i.e., “spinning” bad news into good news . They
don’t understand that public relations cannot fix fundamental
business problems. Good public relations is about telling
the truth. It’s about doing what’s right while exercising
your organization’s right to be aggressive in drawing attention
to its successes and addressing how it will deal with its
deficiencies.
•
Public relations is a management function, and requires
leadership from the top . In his landmark study on
public relations in North America, James Grunig found a strong
correlation between this approach to public relations and
organizational success. (2) It is not surprising that when
we think of great companies, we often think of CEOs who are
visible and visionary in good times and bad. Public relations
practitioners need both the support and the ongoing involvement
of senior management. Companies that treat public relations
as an afterthought and executives who hide behind their public
relations officers are rarely successful.
•
Public relations is a two-way street. PR
pioneer Edward Bernays once said that public relations is
about interpreting the public to the organization, and the
organization to its publics. Whether it’s communication with
one person or one billion, effective organizations seek dialogue
and collaborative solutions. Accordingly, a good public relations
strategy will include two-way interaction with key publics
and methods to evaluate how the strategy has affected the
publics’ impressions of the organization.
•
Consistency counts. Just as smart organizations
strive for consistency in their branding, it is important
that public relations strategies be implemented consistently
every month of the year. While it is tempting to adopt a “bunker”
mentality and become silent during difficult times, this is
precisely when the organization must communicate more
aggressively to earn and retain the confidence of its
publics. Of course, the best way to manage difficult issues
is by fostering relationships with key publics in advance
— before you need them.
Daniel
Tisch is President of Argyle Rowland Communications, one of
North America’s most established public relations firms. An
accredited public relations professional, he has an MBA specializing
in marketing from Queen’s University at Kingston.
(1)
Grunig, James and Hunt, Todd, Managing Public Relations.
(2)
Grunig, Excellence in Public Relations and Communication
Management.
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