Public relations planning in the marketing mix

The ‘ideal’ brief would include a written document providing marketing data and research information on the brand, the product or service, its marketing activity, clear public relations objectives and target audiences, with some budget parameters. This should be backed up with one or a series of discussions with the relevant marketing and related personnel, e.g. corporate communications management, researchers, new product development staff, technicians etc, so that any useful additional information may be obtained.

It may be helpful to ask the following questions in order to gain a greater understanding of a brief.

• What are your organization’s overall corporate objectives?

• What are your organization’s specific marketing objectives, and could you provide a copy of your marketing plan?

• Are you able to provide any additional market research in terms of product delivery, customer (trade or consumer) awareness and/or acceptance, target audience demographics or psychographics?

• Could you provide company and /or product literature?

• Could you provide details regarding any other marketing communications initiatives you have in place, e.g. advertising, promotion, merchandising, direct marketing, sponsorship etc.?

• What do you see as your organization’s or product’s current image? Desired image?

• Who are your current/future customers (primary/secondary/ tertiary)?

• What do your customers think of your organization/product?

• Who are the major influencers on choice of your organization’s products?

• Do the media treat you fairly? Do you receive positive, neutral or negative coverage? How much coverage do you receive?

• How would you wish to measure the success of a public relations campaign?

• Are there any other relevant personnel in your organization with whom to speak?

Independent of the briefing process, other useful information may be obtained such as copies of past media coverage, information and literature on the products or service’s competition, and market research reports. Additionally, it may be helpful to speak with random consumers fitting the target audience profile or journalists within the target media.

Marketing integration

1. Public relations in the marketing mix can complement other marketing disciplines being used; it can be used in isolation as the only marketing tool; or it can target a discrete audience quite separately ‘below the line’. It therefore is vital to understand the concept of integration with other marketing disciplines such as advertising and sales promotion, or running parallel campaigns separately which do not conflict with the ‘above the line’ (paid for media advertising) activity.

2. For instance, public relations can be employed to promote an advertising campaign by launching it through editorial coverage. In order to do so, however, the campaign must have some element of newsworthiness, e.g. celebrity endorsement or an element of controversy. Public relations can also be used to extend an advertising campaign by taking a celebrity appearing in the advertisement and using him or her as a product model or spokesperson in editorial terms.

3. However integrated, the sum should be greater than its parts, producing a more powerful message through a grater volume and/or share of voice. The final effect should be seamless.

4. Hill & Knowlton’s work for snackfood manufacturer Walkers covered all of these elements when it launched an advertising campaign featuring former England footballer Gary Lineker. The news hook developed by the consultancy was so strong with superhero Lineker that editorial coverage was achieved for the launch of the first commercial on 15 television programmes, including the broadcast of the commercial during editorial airtime on the Big Breakfast on Channel 4 and a Fantasy Football re-enactment of the commercial on BBC2, plus several newspaper stories reaching a total audience of 52,411,556 (combined circulation and viewership of coverage). Editorial coverage of the advertising was extended through a national press photocall, and personal appearances and interviews with the media by Lineker.

5. Controversy over the advertising kicked in when the ITC nearly banned the first commercial for featuring Gary Lineker eating a small boy’s crisps. An issues management programme was put swiftly into action which included an exclusive front-page story in The Sun attacking the ‘daft’ complainants and working with ITN to rerun the ad interview Walkers’s vice president of marketing in News at Ten’s light-hearted end piece. Not only was the issue diffused and the threat of a ban lifted, but additional positive coverage of the advertising campaign was generated, and a platform was created to successfully launch the second, third and fourth commercials in the series.

6. The impact was measurable. Millward Brown, an independent market research agency, conducted a telephone poll immediately following the coverage of the ITC issue. Over 700 people were contacted by telephone and the results were very much in favour of the ad. The majority of those contacted (69 per cent) were aware of the publicity, and although 66 per cent felt that the coverage was negative, it had not changed their opinion of Walkers. Some (5 per cent) even felt more inclined to buy Walkers crisps as a result of the media coverage which just proves that sometimes – not always – all publicity is good publicity.

7. There are cases where marketing disciplines should run parallel with each other. For instance, above-the-line advertising may be used to promote a product to a wider population, while public relations is sought to communicate product features and benefits to discreet niche audiences. Public relations can be used very effectively to target specific audience sectors cost-efficiently and without alienating the larger overall audience.

8. For example, some products may be advertised to both men and women, e.g. a food or drink product with health benefits. It may be possible and indeed desirable to promote these same products separately to niche audiences by distinguishing specific product benefits. For example, the slimming potential of a product probably would interest slimmers who could be reached by health or slimming magazines and some general women’s titles, whereas the fitness potential of a product would interest keep-fit enthusiasts who could be reached via fitness/sports magazines and some men’s titles. By using public relations to target specific publications, an organization may be able to provide an additional promotional boost of its product to niche audiences without alienating its wider overall target audience.