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What is a Public Relations Officer? What is Public Relations? What is Publicity? When do you call in your PR adviser? What qualities make your PR adviser vital? What defining quality would you need to see before you appoint a PR adviser? What would make you lose faith in your PR person? What would you consider a sackable offence? Should PR people have a place at the top table? Should your PR adviser get the inside picture in difficult circumstances first? How safe is the future for PR people? How do I decide where I should focus my ads? How often should I advertise? How much should I spend per ad? Have you pre-tested your new ad with current customers? How do I determine the amount of space I need? Should I request placement in a particular section of a paper? How do I measure response to my ad? What is "saturation advertising?" How do I determine the true audience for my ad? Should I have tested my ad? Should I always advertise in the same publication? Should I attempt to have my ad located in the same spot? What do my primary customers read most often? How can I create an identity through my advertisements? What are some characteristics of a nicely designed ad? How do publications determine their circulation? What's the best way to advertise within a downtown area? What's the most effective way to advertise next to a highway? How do I value sponsorships, advertising, and marketing by other businesses in my building? How can we get less people passing up our eatery for the one down the street? How do we advertise and market a business conference without cold calls? Where can I find information on what the value of the advertising space is on my search engine/website? Are flyers a good way to advertise for a business? How essential are yellow page listings to a business? What are some good advertising techniques to use when moving to a new community? How do I publicize an event that would make a good story to the media? How do I write a sales letter to a franchise? How do I generate a tagline for my business? I want to change my clientele to a more professional audience. How do I do this? How do I get spotlighted in a magazine article? How do I create the most effective message in a TV/Newspaper/radio ad? How can I get exposure of my company in your magazine or on your search engine/web site? How do I nominate my company for the Top 100? Are TV/radio ads worth buying if you're on a tight budget? How do I create a quick "elevator pitch" for my business? Is it ethical to deliberately utilize a set of people to advertise for a business? |
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What is a Public Relations Officer?
A public relations officer is someone who is responsible for maintaining the reputation of the company she or he works for. Small companies may have a single staffer who handles public relations, while others may have an entire public relations department. In addition to representing companies, public relations officers can also have public relations for individuals such as politicians, celebrities, and other prominent figures who want to maintain a good reputation with the public. Public relations is a delicate art which requires a high degree of skill and experience. Most public relations officers have a bachelor's degree in journalism, communications, or public relations, along with experience working in public relations. These professionals must be constantly on call and available to handle emerging situations as quickly as possible. Rapid and effective responses are crucial for public relations. The public relations officer works with the employer to generate and maintain an image in the eyes of the public. The desired image may vary; a car company, for example, might want to be known for reliability, style, and affordability, while a celebrity might prefer to be better known for eccentricity and unusual antics. This image is carefully constructed and controlled with the use of advertising campaigns, press releases, press conferences, and other materials. Basic public relations can include tasks like arranging meetings, sending out promotional materials, identifying a target population and focusing on them, talking about proposed projects to make sure that they fit in with the overall image, and so forth. In crisis public relations, the public relations officer is focused on responding to a crisis as quickly as possible, with the goal of maintaining reputation throughout the crisis so that people do not begin to think negatively about the person or company represented by the public relations officer. A skilled public relations officer is able to balance multiple tasks at once and to prioritize items on a schedule so that the most important things are accomplished quickly. Public relations officers are also very skilled at communications and conveying ideas, in addition to being at ease in a wide variety of settings. They also know the people, companies, brands, and ideas they represent backwards and forwards and are very aware of how any event or activity can impact the employer's reputation. In addition, public relations officers are able to think about expansion and how to shift marketing and relations to meet the needs of different populations. A campaign which works very well in Japan, for example, might not be as effective in Britain. What is Public Relations? One simple answer is the advertiser has full control of the message all the way to the audience while the public relations professional has control only until the message is released to media gatekeepers who make decisions about whether to pass it on to the audience and in what form. There are certain skills that are helpful for people who work in public relations. These include a high level of communication skills, both written and verbal. What is Publicity? At its core, publicity is the simple act of making a suggestion to a journalist that leads to the inclusion of a company or product in a story. Newspapers, magazines, TV programs and radio shows have large amounts of space to fill and depend upon publicists to help provide story ideas, interview subjects, background information and other material. For the most part, the act of making a suggestion to a journalist, when successful, will lead to one of two types of coverage: A story created from scratch built around the story "angle" you suggest (e.g. a feature story on your company; a story about a trend that you present to a journalist; an interview segment, etc.) The inclusion of your product, company or service in an already existing story (e.g. the reporter is already working on a story about your field and your contact with her results in your product being included in the piece). When do you call in your PR adviser? You don't. If your PR adviser is any good they will have found out first and they will be calling you in. What qualities make your PR adviser vital? Loyalty, a well-developed sixth sense, optimism, unbounded energy and an unfailing ability to think in a vertical position. What defining quality would you need to see before you appoint a PR adviser? A belief in what you are trying to achieve. When you appoint a PR person you are putting your reputation in their hands. You have to have a hell of a lot of trust in someone before you are prepared to do that. What would make you lose faith in your PR person? Your PR person losing faith in you. What would you consider a sackable offence? Treachery. It's far more damaging than incompetence. Should PR people have a place at the top table? No. In most organisations the top table is simply a means of placating those who are obsessed with status. The real action happens elsewhere. The sort of PR person who gets hung up about having a seat at the top table is likely to be part of the problem rather than the solution. Should your PR adviser get the inside picture in difficult circumstances first? If they don't it's a sign that they are no longer trusted. How safe is the future for PR people? Quality PR people will always be in demand because there are so few of them. 10 Differences Between Advertising and Public Relations If you're searching for a career or trying to promote your company, you may have questions about advertising vs. public relations. These two industries are very different even though they're commonly confused as being one and the same. The following ten properties just scratch the surface of the many differences between advertising and public relations. 1. Paid Space or Free Coverage Advertising: The company pays for ad space. You know exactly when that ad will air or be published. Public Relations: Your job is to get free publicity for the company. From news conferences to press releases, you're focused on getting free media exposure for the company and its products/services. 2. Creative Control Vs. No Control Advertising: Since you're paying for the space, you have creative control on what goes into that ad. Public Relations: You have no control over how the media presents your information, if they decide to use your info at all. They're not obligated to cover your event or publish your press release just because you sent something to them. 3. Shelf Life Advertising: Since you pay for the space, you can run your ads over and over for as long as your budget allows. An ad generally has a longer shelf life than one press release. Public Relations: You only submit a press release about a new product once. You only submit a press release about a news conference once. The PR exposure you receive is only circulated once. An editor won't publish your same press release three or four times in their magazine. 4. Wise Consumers Advertising: Consumers know when they're reading an advertisement they're trying to be sold a product or service. "The consumer understands that we have paid to present our selling message to him or her, and unfortunately, the consumer often views our selling message very guardedly." Public Relations: When someone reads a third-party article written about your product or views coverage of your event on TV, they're seeing something you didn't pay for with ad dollars and view it differently than they do paid advertising. "Where we can generate some sort of third-party 'endorsement' by independent media sources, we can create great credibility for our clients' products or services," Flowers said. 5. Creativity or a Nose for News Advertising: In advertising, you get to exercise your creativity in creating new ad campaigns and materials. Public Relations: In public relations, you have to have a nose for news and be able to generate buzz through that news. You exercise your creativity, to an extent, in the way you search for new news to release to the media. 6. In-House or Out on the Town Advertising: If you're working at an ad agency, your main contacts are your co-workers and the agency's clients. If you buy and plan ad space on behalf of the client like Media Director _______ does, then you'll also interact with media sales people. Public Relations: You interact with the media and develop a relationship with them. Your contact is not limited to in-house communications. You're in constant touch with your contacts at the print publications and broadcast media. 7. Target Audience Advertising: You're looking for your target audience and advertising accordingly. Public Relations: You must have an angle and editors to get them to use info for an article, to run a press release or to cover your event. 8. Limited or Unlimited Contact Advertising: Some industry pros such as _______ have contact with the clients. Others like copywriters or graphic designers in the agency may not meet with the client at all. Public Relations: In public relations, you are very visible to the media. If there was an accident at your company, you may have to give a statement or on-camera interview to journalists. You may represent your company as a spokesperson at an event. Or you may work within community relations to show your company is actively involved in good work and is committed to the area and its people. 9. Special Events Advertising: If your company sponsors an event, you wouldn't want to take out an ad giving yourself a pat on the back for being such a great company. This is where your PR department steps in. Public Relations: If you're sponsoring an event, you can send out a press release and the media might pick it up. They may publish the information or cover the event. 10. Writing Style Advertising: Buy this product! Act now! Call today! These are all things you can say in an advertisement. You want to use those buzz words to motivate people to buy your product. Public Relations: You're strictly writing in a no-nonsense news format. Any blatant commercial messages in your communications are disregarded by the media. 1.) How is advertising purchased in the print media? Magazines and newspapers divide their space into columns. If you decide to purchase a 3" ad, for instance, your ad would be one column wide by 3" deep, or three columns wide by 1" deep. A 6" ad might be two columns wide by 3" deep, three columns wide by 2" deep, or one column wide by 6" deep. Newspapers and magazines usually also sell ad space in fractions of a page... a full page, half, one-fourth, and so on. 2.) Explain the term CPM, or cost-per-thousand. This is a way for you to contrast space costs between media. You figure the cost-per-thousand by dividing the cost of the ad by the circulation in thousands. For instance, let's say your cost for an ad is $1000 in a newspaper with a 25,000 circulation. You divide the $1000 by 25. Your CPM would be $40. 3.) Should I use classified or display advertising? If you wish to reach a very targeted, specific group (shoppers looking for garage sales, special equipment, etc.) classifieds are ideal. Advantage: They're generally inexpensive, succinctly written, and -- if they appear in a daily newspaper -- often provide almost "instant" feedback...especially if you include a phone number. Disadvantage: They're often grouped in a big section with lots of other small all-type ads. And they generally do not appear adjacent to news stories. Display ads can be placed in specific sections of a newspaper or magazine. They're usually surrounded by news stories (editorial). Displays often appear with photo(s)...feature a headline or special offer...and can also contain coupons. 4.) How do I decide where I should focus my ads? We think a successful ad campaign should target a specific audience. Who are the primary customers you want? If you run a cheerleading school, you might select newspapers -- or sections within them -- that get read by school students. If you run a medium-priced restaurant, however, you likely look for a general audience...and especially target those in your geographic area. 5.) How often should I advertise? There are absolutely no rules here! An old adage says "The more you tell, the more you sell." Logically, the more your name goes in front of potential customers, the more likely they will remember you. Even more important...they should think of you in a favorable way. So, you must always be showing them a product they want...or showing them how to solve a specific problem. 6.) How much should I spend per ad? This is a very personal matter. We have seen company advertising budgets range from 2% to over 10% of gross revenues. Many are adjusted monthly, so ads become a "non-variable fixed cost" of doing business. These things should be considered: l. The price of your product/service. The higher the price, the fewer items you will need to sell to justify the expense. 2. Seasonality. Will my product sell better in summer? Winter? 3. What is your competitor spending? Has this had a positive effect on his/her sales? 4. What is your target market? What is the least amount you will have to spend to reach these primary customers? 5. How much revenue will I have to get to "break even?" 6. Are there residual -- or future -- benefits to advertising in a specific medium at this time? (Example: A business-to-business directory or a newspaper special section could keep selling for you all year.) 7. Have you pre-tested your new ad with current customers? 7.) How do I determine the amount of space I need? A half-page ad "will be about two-thirds as effective as a full-page ad in the same publication." Our gut feeling: An ad large enough to dominate other ads on that page -- or a fractional-page "island" (example: a one-third page ad surrounded by editorial) -- should be noticed. 8.) Should I request placement in a particular section of a paper? We always do. If it's a full-sized newspaper, we also request positions "above the fold," or on the outside columns (far left on a left-hand page, far right on a right). 9.) How do I measure response to my ad? (1) Track the total number of responses/inquiries you get from each ad with a unique 1-800 number or URL. (2) Track the number of sales you get from each ad. If you would like BETTER response to your ad, here are some ways to get it: (1) Put your special offer in the headline. Remember...it's read about four or five times more often than body copy! (2) Offer something free in your ad, like a free book, instruction manual, or product sample. (Recent ad tests indicate that something given away free as a premium gets better response than a discount offer.) (3) Show a picture of the item you plan to offer free. (4) Make the offer look more like a news article than a standard ad. (5) Include testimonials -- comments from satisfied customers -- in the ad. (Of course, get their permission first!) 10.) Do publications offer discounts? Usually. These are based on (1) the size of the ad, (2) the number of times it will run, or frequency, and (3) how you submit your ad. For instance, will it be prepared by an ad agency, submitted by you ready to print ("camera ready"), or do you wish the paper to design the ad for you? 11.) What is "saturation advertising?" This means if you've got $300 to spend, and three publications go to the same readership, you elect to spend all your money in a single publication instead of spreading it among all of them. Many ad experts think this is the best way to maximize impact. 12.) If I want to advertise outside my area -- in a publication I've never heard of -- what is a good way to decide on the right publication? Research and compare publication's "Media Kits" to ensure they reach the demographic market you're trying to reach. Mediabids.com provides media kits' for each of the nearly five-thousand publications on their website, to make it easy to compare circulation and demographic information. 13.) Do publications charge extra for creating my ad? That depends. Many publications do not charge for basic layout and copywriting services. However, if you require photography, special designs, logo creation, complex art techniques or special colors, there could be a charge. 14.) How do I determine the true audience for my ad? Ask yourself: "What category or customers -- or what industry -- buys the most from me?" That's where you need to concentrate your ad dollars. The easiest way to determine this is via sales history. Determine the demographics of prior purchasers. 15.) Should I have tested my ad? Yes. The easiest way is by asking friends and/or co-workers to compare it with your prior ads. Next, ask those same comparisons from your regular customers. (You might offer them some sort of free gift for critiquing your new ad.) Finally, prior to "rolling out" your ad to a large audience, you might test it with a smaller group first. 16.) Should I always advertise in the same publication? We believe you should give a publication time to work. This means trying, at minimum, three or four ads before testing another publication. 17.) Should I attempt to have my ad located in the same spot? For lots of companies, this makes sense. For instance, a sporting goods retailer would probably want to request his ad run in the sports section of a newspaper. But a stockbroker might want to move his ad around, running it in the business section one day, the news section the next, the metro section the next. Ask yourself this question: What do my primary customers read most often? 18.) How can I create an identity through my advertisements? Consistency. Focus on a "unique selling proposition," a single theme and message. Reinforce it, and refer to it often. 19.) What are some characteristics of a nicely designed ad? A strong, appealing headline. A single, easy-to-understand photo that reinforces the offer. A cutline beneath the photo that further clarifies it. Body copy that constantly refers to the offer. An easily-remembered slogan or logo. 20.) How do publications determine their circulation? In many cases, they categorize it. (1) "Paid" indicates the number of subscribers who pay by weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. (2) "Comp" or complimentary circulation indicates the number sent free to potential advertisers, other media, VIP's, etc. (3) "Requester" circulation means people who have requested the publication, but generally do not pay for it. (4) "Free" is just what the name implies. People might get free publications delivered to their home, or may pick it up at a distribution location. (5) 'Pass-alongs" are the estimated number of publications -- usually determined by a survey -- which are sent to one subscriber, but are "passed along" to co-workers or family members. For instance, a magazine sent to a three-member household might have one subscriber and two pass-along readers. Advertising & PR What's the best way to advertise within a downtown area? What's the most effective way to advertise next to a highway? How do I value sponsorships, advertising, and marketing by other businesses in my building? How can we get less people passing up our eatery for the one down the street? How do we advertise and market a business conference without cold calls? Where can I find information on what the value of the advertising space is on my search engine/website? Are flyers a good way to advertise for a business? How essential are yellow page listings to a business? What are some good advertising techniques to use when moving to a new community? How do I publicize an event that would make a good story to the media? How do I write a sales letter to a franchise? How do I generate a tagline for my business? I want to change my clientele to a more professional audience. How do I do this? How do I get spotlighted in a magazine article? How do I create the most effective message in a TV/Newspaper/radio ad? How can I get exposure of my company in your magazine or on your search engine/web site? How do I nominate my company for the Top 100? Are TV/radio ads worth buying if you're on a tight budget? How do I create a quick "elevator pitch" for my business? Is it ethical to deliberately utilize a set of people to advertise for a business? |