Whenever I plan a brand communications campaign I start with the PR component. It seems, based on a recent article in The Economist, that others are taking the same approach.
“According to data from Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS), a private-equity firm, spending on public relations in America grew by more than 4% in 2008 and nearly 3% in 2009 to $3.7 billion. That is remarkable when compared with other forms of marketing. Spending on advertising contracted by nearly 3% in 2008 and by 8% in the past year.” The Economist reported, adding that PR’s position looks even rosier when word-of-mouth marketing, which includes services that PR firms often manage is included. Spending on word-of-mouth marketing increased by more than 10% in 2009.
“PR has done well in part because it is often cheaper than mass advertising campaigns. Its impact, in the form of favourable coverage in the media or online, can also be more easily measured. Moreover, PR firms are beginning to encroach on territory that used to be the domain of advertising firms, a sign of their increasing clout. They used chiefly to pitch story ideas to media outlets and try to get their clients mentioned in newspapers. Now they also dream up and orchestrate live events, web launches and the like.”
The downsizing of traditional media organizations with less journalists in fewer media organization has further increased the importance of PR with the best agencies able to attract the attention of remaining journalists or bypass them all together.
“The rise of the internet and social media has given PR a big boost. Many big firms have a presence on social-networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, overseen by PR staff. PR firms are increasingly called on to track what consumers are saying about their clients online and to respond directly to any negative commentary," The Economist reported.
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