Why would you pitch a story when you could create your own?
That's the question many integrated marketing and public relations agencies are asking themselves these days. Public relations is at its core an eyeballs business. Get more eyeballs, get more leads, get more business. However, with the shift going on in mainstream media and the rise of user generated content should you keep using the same strategy?
No. The game has fundamentally changed. Bloggers for the most part don't have an obligation to write about you, even if you give them what you consider to be highly important breaking news. Editorial content is just in a different state these days and isn't being pushed to the masses but rather niches.
Public Relations is now taking the lead on most (if not all) communication strategies for brands. The job is no longer just about media relations and corporate communications.
What should you do in this new environment? Build in creative elements to your pitches. Experiential content, big aspirations and a compelling storyline should all be a part of your arsenal now. Most companies and agencies aren't going to have someone (or a team) with the skill-set required for this type of endeavor.
Creativity isn't something that naturally fits into the PR world. After all, does anyone sleep here? With all the press releases, pitching, outreach and managing and editing communications? Most PR flacks barely have time to get a coffee much less invest the critical creative investment needed to take an idea over the top.
Execution isn't the problem for public relations. It's the critical thinking needed to direct, organize and strategize for the deployment of a campaign that can dramatically increase performance. This is why traditional public relations firms are getting absolutely crushed when in competition with an integrated agency.
You can't just promise to deliver. You have to do more.
Marketing and public relations won't make your product better. They will however put your product in front of more people where can people can make up there own minds. Would you rather they learned about and experienced your product in the most creative and fun way possible or from a rehashed press release?
To phrase it a different way: Which is going to lead to more press hits (both from mainstream and UGC)? You can certainly buy coverage through advertising and press pushes. But you are going to exponentially increase your reach if you include a component of experiential content or dynamic storytelling into the mix.
People like to write about cool stuff. It's human nature. Think about that before you send the next press release or email to a blogger or reporter. You may want to start looking at some bigger ideas.
Photo Credit: stuartpilbrow
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tagged as advertising agency, creative public relations, creativity in marketing, public relations agencies, ugc public relations
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
The problem with sole traditional public relations in this landscape is that it doesn't work. Can it serve as a foundation and get you in the door? Yes. But the creative integrated approach is going to kick you through it. Many traditional agencies are scared to be progressive because it's stepping out of their comfort zone. They get so used to pitching one way that they become a drone.
Which agencies are getting more business and growing? It's the PR departments that work with creative to get them further. They understand and expound on an existing business model.
LAF
You are right. Who wants to keep seeing the same old press release style that we are taught in school or by our PR mentors? Reporters and bloggers have seen this a million times. They want a story, something unusual… not the same old approach. Creativity does take time, and PR professionals will need to put in some more effort than the rigid box they put themselves in over and over. It's difficult to jump into something new and foreign, but I think once they taste and see the response might just amaze them. It is much easier to stamp out a quick and routine press release…. Are we willing to not send out 10 standard releases, but instead convert that same time into one mind blowing and creative approach? I guess the only answer is to test and see!
I've written 1 press release in my entire career. Yet I still consider myself a dedicated member of the PR/Social Department. (Kind of the genesis of this post.)
There are as many ways to 'do' PR as there are people, but I do have to question some of the statements here:
- Public relations is at its core an eyeballs business. Get more eyeballs, get more leads, get more business <<sometimes, but not always
- Bloggers for the most part don't have an obligation to write about you << neither does the print media; same principles apply: tailored, relevant information in the way the recipient would like to have it
- Creativity isn't something that naturally fits into the PR world <<I'm sorry, but this is SO not true; even financial PR firms, which are bound by strict legislation, know the value of creative photography
-You can certainly buy coverage through advertising and press pushes <<perhaps you can influence in these cash strapped times, but if you 'buy' it has to be clearly marked as advertorial. Frankly it's a bad strategy to try and buy coverage – I know as many journalists who will deliberately spike or subvert a story if you attempt to interfere with editorial indepenence as will accept the interference. There's no substitute for a cracking story, well told.
I think the ultimate sentiment of this – more creativity and a great story – is bang ion the mark, but hope you won't mind me standing up for my profession.
Let's not forget that the founder of Public Relations, Edward Bernays, started off getting Suffragettes to smoke cigarettes while marching for women's rights, therefore promoting tobacco use by women and making it mainstream. PR has always been about making news for clients, and telling stories. Because social media is all about dialogue, and about narrative, PR practitioners “get it” maybe better than creatives who think in terms of 60-second TV spots and campaigns (that inherently are one-offs and not about building relationships). Because the idea of a brand is no longer in the hands of the companies behind the brands, PR people can bridge the gap between producer and consumer. The best PR folks, like Bernays before them, made the news, and made it viral because everyone wanted to talk about it. The more things change, the more…. you get it.
Very thought provoking article. I agree that creativity is essential to effective PR, but you also must have clear and important content at the same time, just be able yo present it in a creative manner. I also like what Lauren says in her comment, that the landscape has changed, therefore, the pitches must change to accommodate the landscape.
If a publication gets thousands of pitches every day, you sure as hell better be creative if you're going to stand out. Key I think is greater integration of PR “silos” with other, creative, areas of your business.
David
Community Manager, Scribnia.com
@DavidSpinks
I believe that good PR has a lot to do with big ideas. People want to be inspired, provoked and that's a major breakthrough if you succeed.
Jon Stromberg
I believe that good PR has a lot to do with big ideas. People want to be inspired, provoked and that's a major breakthrough if you succeed.
Jon Stromberg
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