Kim Smith – Account Executive, éclat Marketing

Looking ahead and planning for the future can be a tricky task, particularly in today’s economic climate, and with the recent budget announcement that doesn’t really provide much help for businesses, companies don’t want to make long-term PR investments if they cannot guarantee that they will reap the rewards. Instead, they work on a project basis around a specific event or when a new product is being launched. It is amazing to think about how much time and energy can go into a project, all for a quick burst of coverage and awareness before the company fades into the background again, not to be heard of until the next big event and/or product launch.

Surely we are all missing the point? Instead of thinking short-term maybe we should be looking at the bigger picture. Everyone knows the old fable of the Tortoise and the Hare and the message “Slow and steady wins the race” and there is no reason why this cannot be applied to building a brand image.

So, say a business embarks on a project to unveil Product X. Naturally, the process would start with an analyst tour ahead of putting the spokespeople in front of the press. This gives the business the opportunity to refine their messaging ahead of the big launch. Then comes the media tour, a flurry of press interviews all crammed into a couple of days. Ok, so you’ve had all the meetings, and you’ve seen the coverage roll in, perhaps you have also seen the placement of an opinion article appear – now what? Nothing of course. That’s the problem with a project, you see a rapid increase of interest in your company and then that’s it because you don’t invest the time and money into capitalising on the opportunity and extending your reach.

A company that invests in on-going PR has the benefit of not only generating a buzz before the analyst and media tour, placing the said opinion article but then continuing the outreach on a long term basis and developing those budding relationships with the journalists. By following up with the contacts with news releases such as new wins, survey results etc, it helps ensure that you remain at the forefront of their mind. The benefit being that they are willing to listen to what you have to say and on the spur of the minute, breaking news opportunities you could be the first one that they call for comment. Maintaining your visibility is vital in successfully sharing your message. By having a PR team managing the press room, you have a wealth of expertise at your fingertips and your team can monitor for upcoming features and ensure that you are getting your message not only into the trade press, but also the vertical press: a media which can often be neglected in the blur of a project contract, but that is still vitally important as it spreads your message to a wider, but still targeted, audience. More than this is the ability to then move forwards and produce customer case stories and enter the company for industry awards, adding further credence to your brand and products.

Many companies are now seeing the benefit of an ongoing PR presence, and whilst it may seem like a hefty investment to start with, the benefits the business can achieve far outweigh the costs.