How to get the best from a Public Relations Media Campaign

What do you think of when you hear the phrase Public Relations?

Press releases?
Product launches?
Sponsorship?
Hot air balloon trips around the World?

In fact, it is all the above and more. Public relations is about a business creating, maintaining and developing relationships with the public. Some use the more traditional techniques whilst Virgin and Richard Branson will use public relations stunts such as balloon trips around the world simply to generate public interest in the brand.

From the sole trader to the multinational company, sending the right message to the public is critical to how they view the business. Many people hear the words Public Relations (PR) and consider it to indicate the distribution of press releases to the media. In fact, PR is much more complex and can be a vital part of any business’s strategy, as well as its downfall if not handled correctly.

So exactly what is PR?

Public relations, according to the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) “is about reputation. The result of what you do; what you say and what others say about you.”

In short, it is the communication you have with your stakeholders. Stakeholders will include: customers, suppliers, employees, associates, the local community and the government - in other words, any entity that is directly affected by your business.

Part of a PR campaign can include amongst other things:

Ø Writing and distributing press releases to the media
Ø Organising a launch event to celebrate a new product or service
Ø Public speaking at industry related exhibitions or events
Ø Sponsorship
Ø Any activity which generates attention from the public and/or media

For the purposes of this article I will concentrate on the media relations side of PR as this is the most significant and widely used technique when communicating with stakeholders.

Set your PR objectives

When planning your public relations campaign, use your own business objectives to ascertain what you want to achieve. Are you looking for new customers, investors or to promote a new product?

Decide on a budget – you can set your budget at a cost of a few postage stamps or at thousands of pounds, depending upon the impact you are looking to achieve. If you are looking for local recognition for your business, it is possible to write the release yourself and simply send it to local press and a selection of relevant media.

If you want to carry out a full campaign, it is often cost effective to outsource to an agency or PR consultant who will subscribe to journalist databases and cuttings services so releases can be sent easily and coverage monitored. The release will also be professionally produced and the consultant will often have contacts in your target media to encourage the editorial.

The Rules!

The truth is, there are certain rules that you should abide by when writing a press release. This may sound rather arrogant on the part of the media, but with the concept of “free publicity” and the fact that the public relations industry is growing at over 20% per annum, it is easy to imagine the number of press releases that arrive on a journalist’s desk every day. A large majority of releases will be quickly directed towards the bin but if you follow some basic rules and capture the journalists’ attention, you’re half way there.

PR – THE RULES!

HEADING - Type the heading PRESS RELEASE in bold at the top of the release
DATE - Always quote the release date under the heading
TITLE - The headline should briefly encompass the release’s content – make it interesting and no more than 10 words
OPENING SENTENCE - The opening paragraph, in bold, should introduce the story. This is a crucial part of the release to ensure the reader is instantly engaged and will continue to the body of the story.
LANGUAGE - Always write in the third person and never try to sell a product/service like you would in an advertisement. Think of the release as a story you would like to read yourself.
CONTENT - Keep the main body of the release free from background information on the company – the release should focus upon a hook which is relevant to the publication and readership. As above, make sure the story is interesting, topical and relevant to the readership.
NOTES - Under the NOTES TO EDITOR section at the end of the release, details of the company, background and any other additional information should be included along with full contact details.

Editors also like to see the content follow a specific theme and these tips should help you ensure the content is of the right quality:

SIMPLICITY - Keep it simple. Don’t be too flamboyant – just state the facts.
EDITING - The key to a good press release is one that does not need editing by a journalist. Making their job easy by just copying and pasting the release into the publication will be a hit!
COPY DEADLINES - Remember time frames: some monthly magazines have a 3-month copy deadline so if you are looking to promote a new product for Christmas, you should send the release in October. For this reason, planning a sustained and ongoing PR campaign is crucial.
RELEVANCE - As well as topical issues look at conducting a survey or using statistics to generate press coverage. State this information as news, then mention how your company can help. Newsworthy stories, especially aimed at local press, can also be related to anything that brings attention to your business. For instance, you celebrate receiving your 100th unique customer by inviting all regular customers for a champagne reception. This is interesting to your local free weekly paper as it has a direct affiliation with the readership, but the story is far too localised for the Sunday Times so go with an entirely different angle to this type of media.
WRITING STYLE - Journalists write in a style called the ‘inverted pyramid’ which means that any paragraph can be taken and understood without the other text supporting it. If you can follow this system, the journalist will be more inclined to use the story as their editing work is limited.
REVELVANT CONTACT - Make sure the release is distributed to the relevant news or features editor as they are unlikely to pass it to a colleague.

Target Media List

It is very important to select your target media list carefully. Send the release to the media titles who have an interest in either your industry or the news item in the release.

There are two types of press release:

1. Consumer press releases
Aimed at the general public and will be distributed via local or national newspapers and consumer magazines. The release can be written in a less formal tone but should be newsworthy, topical or statistically led.
2. Trade press releases
Aimed at specialist trade journals, business press and trade news websites. You are likely to have more success with trade press, although the circulated readership will often be much less than consumer press. You can also add quotes from the management team.

The Value of PR

Adrian Wheeler, Chairman of the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) in London states:

“The press like new things. They like innovation and entrepreneurship. The return on investment [from PR] is like 1,000% for start-ups.”

If you are looking to promote your business to your stakeholders but cannot afford advertising, PR is often the most cost effective place to start. Your PR campaign can then be backed up by an advertising campaign once your brand has received recognition from the public.

Ultimately, a prospective customer will have more time for your business after reading an article from an editorial viewpoint, than they would from an advertisement which is selling your business from a biased viewpoint. Customers will learn to recognise your brand from a trusted source.

Don’t be afraid to be creative – look at what people like Richard Branson have achieved through PR! Also, remember the phrase that all publicity is good publicity. Although Branson’s original balloon trip was a complete failure, Virgin received unprecedented press coverage which enforced their brand recognition with the public and ultimately aided the development of the business.