I read a case study this week about a supposed successful television commercial that not only reportedly resonated with TV viewers but was also a hit on YouTube and created strong word-of-mouth blah blah blah.
Then the 'kicker' - the TVC also generated 'high levels of PR coverage'.
WHAAAT?
Unfortunately you hear this and similar terms ad nauseum in the marketing and advertising industry. Worse, you also hear it from some public relations practitioners themselves.
I've posted on this issue before: There is no such thing as 'PR coverage'...you can't 'do' PR, get 'free PR', nor is anything 'PR-able'. You can't have 'good PR' or 'bad PR'. And don't get me started on 'PR stunt' ("isn't that a stunt to get some free PR?"), or increasing 'PR potential'.
In all of these instances, feel free to insert the word 'publicity', 'press' or 'media'. Simple.
Why do I continue to bang on about this issue? Am I being too pedantic? Well, maybe a tad :-)
Constant and gross misuse of the phrase 'PR' in effect reduces what is a critically important, powerful and complex professional discipline to simply the generation of media coverage. Now, as I stress constantly, publicity and media relations is absolutely vital for most brands and organisations, but it's still just one element of the broader public relations arsenal. The problem with just looking at media in isolation is you risk missing optimum value from public relations as a whole.
When companies and organisations intuitively 'get' PR (and hence use it effectively), invariably they are all the stronger for it.
Their brands are powerful and respected, their corporate reputations remain intact (or at worst, are a more bullet-proof than the next guy), people want to work for the them, partners want to do business with them, investors want to buy their shares, and brand advocates come out of the woodwork to help spread the word in a positive way. And, as a general rule, these companies probably end up not needing to spend as much on costly advertising. Not bad, huh?
So you tell me: what company or organisation wouldn't want to maximise the benefits of a well thought-out, well-orchestrated strategic PR program?
The take-out from all this is:
Develop an understanding of the PR discipline. Respect it. Work it hard and cleverly. Ensure it serves as the cornerstone for your entire organisation's marketing and corporate communications. Then, and only then, will you reap the enormous rewards public relations can deliver.
Oh, and don't start talking about getting PR coverage!
FURTHER READING:
Here's the Wikipedia take on public relations.
BuildingBrands also provides a pretty good explanation.
According to the Australian/New Zealand Public Relations Manual (Tymson & Lazar): "Stripped to its fundamentals, public relations means communicating with others" - the book also lists a plethora of theoretical definitions.
I urge you to check out this feature article - Why PR is Bad for Business...BUT 'Public Relations' is More Important Than Ever.
Okay, time to get off my soapbox!
POSTSCRIPT: If you ever hear me use 'PR' in the wrong context, please feel free to box my ears! Unfortunately, like so many in our industry, it's very easy to fall back into bad habits :).
