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Focus PR recently took part in a very interesting roundtable discussion with Marketing magazine about PR’s evolving role in the marketing mix.   We also penned an article about PR’s ability to deliver more value to clients and the opportunities and challenges presented by the current climate.   

In these straitened times ‘doing more for less’ has become something of a mantra among marketers.  Finance directors are scrutinising every penny and campaigns are being measured to within an inch of their lives for ROI; shareholders are fully focused on value; and ultimately the buck stops with the agency to deliver outstandingly effective and cost-effective work.

But how feasible is it to reach as many (or even more) consumers with a reduced level of spending?  How far can you cut your cloth before you are actually committing indecent exposure? 

Evidence abounds of brand owners reducing advertising spend over the last two years but, while it hasn’t been plain sailing in the PR world, we have seen a significant proportion of our clients – particularly the larger brands – increasing their PR spend during the recession. But there are more factors at play in this decision than solely budget restrictions; just because something costs less doesn’t make it better value.  

I am prompted to think back to the late nineties when we read in Campaign that a big American wine company was to re-launch one of its brands into the UK market with a print advertising campaign.  Our view, based then on nearly a decade of experience in the wine sector, was that a well-executed, creative PR campaign would prove to be more effective and better value for money in this market than an ad campaign, and challenged them to set aside 10% of the advertising budget and brief us.  We finally agreed on 8% and devised a PR plan which included helping the sales team secure listings in the major grocers and an editorial drive to secure coverage in a broad range of consumer media, including titles which had never written about wine but whose readers were an important target audience.  And just to make things a little more challenging, the European sales manager (to whom we reported) was a self-confessed PR cynic. 

Such was the success of the PR (unfortunately the advertising bombed) that less than a year later the wine was listed in major supermarkets and had become the UK’s fastest-growing wine brand, with its re-entry to the market hailed as one of the launches of the year in the drinks trade.   For years two and three, the entire advertising budget was switched to PR.  And the client?  He commented, “We started with a sceptical attitude towards PR companies and what they could provide.  However, the success that Focus PR achieved in this field has radically altered our position.” 

The commercial success of the brand speaks for itself. As well as generating sales, the PR was able to do so much more than a print advertising campaign.  It brought the brand to life, made it relevant to consumers’ lives, created a talking point, communicated multiple messages and put the product directly into consumers’ hands.  It reached more people in more ways than the advertising possibly could, and delivered much better value as a result. 

A decade on, as the media landscape fragments and the influence of the internet, social networking and mobile technology grows, there are even more ways to connect genuinely with consumers and identify the right clusters of people you need to engage.   Complexity brings challenge but also opportunity and PR is better placed than other disciplines to take on the mantle (it’s no coincidence that ad agencies are frantically buying PR consultancies or setting up PR divisions) thanks to its ability to enter into and sustain meaningful dialogue, tailoring messages and reacting quickly to developments.   

As a result, rather than doing ‘more for less’ we find ourselves actually doing ‘more for more’, taking on expanded briefs and bigger budgets as clients see the growing potential of PR and put greater investment into it.  This recession may yet prove to be the dawning of a golden age of PR.

To see further examples of how we can do more, visit our website or, better still, invite us to come and see you.