Marketing 2.0 is Actually PR 101
The Basic Tenets of PR-think
Relevant Now More Than Ever
Think of these words for a minute: true, open, genuine, authentic, honest, reciprocal - these terms comprise the lexicon of today's effective brand communications model. In their insightful column, "The New Quid Pro Quo" published in ADWEEK, guest writers Ben Richards and Faris Yakob of the Naked Communications agency recite the demise of the old "ambush" style of intrusive communication. In its place they state, "(the) consumer demands something of value in return for consuming a brand's communications." Making marketing valuable to consumers, they say, is the essence of the new Marketing 2.0 model.
Value in this context might be best defined as the coalescing of brand strategy and relevance to the consumer's lifestyle interests and passions. For the most part these discussions around the tenets and principles of Marketing 2.0 are, in reality, a conversation about the fundamental underpinnings of PR strategy. Skeptical? We'll allow that for much too long the marketing world has focused entirely on PR tools and tactics - news stories, events and such - or worse - on Hollywood's silly dramatization of the perky party planner -- which has absolutely nothing to do with this discipline. If we go to the root of what public relations is, there are some interesting corollaries with concepts that form the basis of effective brand communication today.
Public Relations, the communications field, has always been about truthful and authentic forms of outreach (not spin - which is a corruption of this precept). PR is aimed at creating the foundations of trust between stakeholder audiences and a business. It is driven through active demonstration and proof of worth, genuine interest and investment in customers and other constituents. It is also about building reputations by taking credible action. Further, promoting and creating the basis for conversation and two-way interaction with audiences has long been at the core of PR strategy. The PR trained brain sees the marketing communications landscape through this lens. And indeed, these things now comprise the fundamentals of constructing successful brand relationships.
It is our intuitive grasp and visceral understanding of this more human, honest and interactive form of relationship communication that makes us ideal front-line players in the launch of new businesses, products and brands. Even the principle channel of communications outreach, through "earned" editorial media, demands a presentation of authentic, honest evidence concerning what makes a product or brand unique and why a story idea offers value to a media outlet's audience. It is a sense of reciprocity and unselfishness that stands on the floor of PR-driven communications that meets the consumer's desire for engagement on their own terms. Editorial media presents the case for product trial in a vehicle consumer's will accept as believable. Brand sponsored experiences and events create the bridge between brand and consumer interests. Dialogue, feedback and conversation are woven naturally into the fabric of the PR based model.
It stands to reason then that as the capability of professionals in the PR business - with respect to understanding brand and business strategy - rises, this arm of the marketing communications arsenal should become the tip of the spear in brand romance building. This is no longer about press releases and media tours (tactics) - rather it is now about our ability to cast brand communications in honest and authentic forms of outreach (strategy) that the consumer will "opt-in" to receive.
Robert Wheatley is CEO of Wheatley & Timmons, Inc., a Chicago based agency that specializes in brand strategy development and public relations for consumer businesses. You can follow their agency blog at brandtrailblazers.com.
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