City of Paris

While reports of the demise of print publishing and the decline of advertising, in general and especially in print, continue to dominate discussions of marketing communications, PR is emerging as a winner in the changing media mix. Forecasts reported by The New York Times last week included a projected 9.2 percent compound annual growth rate from 2008 through 2013 for “word-of-mouth marketing and public relations.” During the same week, I also noticed a good number of tweets deriding PR in some way or other.

This rise in the importance of PR is consistent with my recent experience with clients, especially as many of them discover the power of product publicity at times of declining marketing communication budgets. At the same time, I believe that clients and practitioners alike can benefit from a better understanding of PR—resetting expectations on the client’s side, and honing execution skills at the practitioner’s end. Like some of my fellow tweeters, I have been surprised by a general lack of common sense, as when clients expect coverage even though there is no real news, or when PR people take their target audience for granted, forgetting how much competition there is for editorial attention.

To my mind, PR is about shaping perception through clear and consistent communications grounded in facts. It takes time. It takes discipline. And it takes follow-through. (Dear Client: Please don’t leave on vacation right after media briefings where promises for follow-up information have been made.) PR is also about building credibility with journalists and establishing a relationship with them. (Dear PR Practitioner: Please do customize your pitch, which means knowing and respecting your audience.) By the way, we used to blame PR faux pas on junior staff, but increasingly I am finding that even senior people fall into the trap of sloppy writing and ignoring basic etiquette such as responding promptly to queries.

As PR becomes a larger piece of our marketing communications mix, it behooves all of us to improve our understanding of the underlying strategies and tactics. Suggestions for some good readings, anyone?

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