As we know, there is a slight difference between what can be called marketing and what is classed as Public Relations (PR). However, this isn’t to say that they don’t overlap in any way and therefore can’t influence each other. Marketing is commonly defined as how you promote and persuade people to buy your products whereas as Public Relations is more to do with the image of your business as a whole. Good communication between these two areas of your company will only lead to a more efficient and fluid business, and thus, though it is important to understand the different between the two, PR can be a very useful marketing tool in its own right.

Use Public Relations to create a solid foundation

public-relationsToday’s average consumer tends to have more of a moral compass when it comes to the companies they want to be associated with, and so your PR campaign needs to reflect this. There is increasingly more focus on a need for products to be in line with these moral expectations and for a company to have these at the forefront of their ideologies.

For example; a motoring company needs to have a focus on reducing carbon emissions, a furniture company may need to show that they are keen to only use sustainable materials and similarly a confectionary company would want to outline the fact that their products are fair trade.

Tailoring your campaign to deal with these types of issues that are relevant to your industry is key to creating a responsible image for your company and is a great way of ‘marketing’ this image.

If the image is right, everything else will follow

How often do you see these big companies with great public images bring out their new product and almost guarantee sales with very little advertising or marketing? This is because they have a proven track record of delivering quality to the consumer and so they have a dedicated ‘fan base’ just waiting for the release date.

Perhaps the most famous example of this is Apple. They have built up such a large following through consistently supplying quality products which are always reinforcing their iconic public image. This means that anything that carries the name Apple or their instantly recognizable logo will automatically be associated with quality and evoke a ‘must have’ response.

This can just as easily be replicated on a smaller scale. Getting people to relate to your public image from the start will result in them having to be persuaded to buy your products less and less with every new release. To the point where having a great image is effectively the only marketing tool that you need.

About the Author:

Chris Mayhew

This article is written by Chris Mayhew on behalf of Eclat. They are a technology PR agency with plenty of industry knowledge, offering their services to any businesses that wish to out source their PR.

Quacktastic Reviews:

3 Comments

  1. Aayna on December 31, 2012 at 4:57 am

    Hi Chris,
    A very apt post. PR is a great tool to establish a distinct place for a product in the eyes of the customers. The delighted customers are much easier to serve and PR profoundly works in this direction. The big companies always encash their strong PR whenever they launch a new product. This was definitely a nice reading. Thanks for the share.

  2. Fatima on January 1, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    Public relations is one of the most effective elements of successful marketing. I like the example of Apple and they actualluy play it fairly well. Great share.

  3. Purnima on January 19, 2013 at 8:53 am

    Facilitative share Chris.
    I agree that public relations is growing in importance as a marketing tool . I have recently dived in the small business world and hence such share acts as a guide card for me. When your company name becomes a synonym for quality and reliance half the competition battle is won .

Leave a Comment