In recession, ‘double down’ on PR

By on October 9th, 2008 In Advice

If chaos means “danger and opportunity” then tight times represent huge opportunities for PR practitioners. Here are a couple reasons why:

Firms support thin marketing staffs. In my career, I’ve survived about a dozen rounds of corporate staff and budget cutbacks. While those words drive fear inside organizations, they should be “magic words” to PR firms smart enough to take advantage on the outside.

Many companies assume the bloat in their operations is in the marketing department. They (wrongly!) see marketers as “fluff” or can’t easily quantify return on investment, so they cut staff to save money. Those who remain after layoffs are expected to do many times more work with significantly less resources. This is where a PR firm can lend huge value.

Often for less than the cost of a single employee, firms (and outside individuals) offer a team of connected experts on which to offload and execute projects. PR firms can help make internal marketing teams just as, if not more productive, at a lower cost.

PR spending is less than ad spending – with more potential upside. Big brands spend millions on ad campaigns and when tough times hit, they scale back, and in so doing, diminish their presence. In the ideal world, wouldn’t it be great if when your competitors scaled back, you doubled your presence? Think about that: your competitors retreat, and you rush in and fill the void, stealing precious market share. Of course, this almost never happens in advertising. But brands can maintain and grow marketshare with smart PR.

Adding $5,000-$10,000 to a monthly PR retainer is nothing compared to fighting to keep $5 million ad campaign. Good PR firms can carry on existing brand goals through earned media and “cheap and cheerful” ideas with impact. PR firms also have the best handle on catalyzing consumers through social media tactics, most of which are free.

Comments

Robyn Says:
October 9th, 2008 at 12:11 pm

Can I get an “Amen!”

It’s common knowledge for us in the industry that desperate times call for brilliant communicators. But sometimes we can get so caught up in the doom and gloom that it makes it hard to articulate the incredible, valuable asset we are as agencies.

Instead of shaking in our boots, we need to shout this from the roof! :)

Thanks Dan!

Add your Comment


Want Your Picture Icon? Go to gravatar.com and set a picture up to your email address for free. It also works on thousands of other websites, too!