Why PR is a must for brands

Have you ever heard the saying, “Advertising is what you pay for; publicity is what you pray for”?

 

As much as there is some truth to this, there is a way to contribute to the conversation through public relations (PR). For many, PR is hard to understand, and for a long time, was hard to define.

 

According to the Public Relations Institute of Australia, “Public relations is the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”

 

Even with such a definition, PR looks different for every organisation. This is due to differing stakeholders, publics and organisational objectives.

 

For example, take these two successful PR campaigns executed by our team at Sphere.

 

The first was for Veil, a cosmetic company offering products that can completely cover tattoos. To demonstrate this, we decided to cover up the most famous tattoos in the country at the time – those belonging to Collingwood football star Dane Swan. The stunt had an immediate effect, resulting in over a month’s worth of sales in just one weekend.

 

The second was for Nando’s. We created PR-able events like Nando’s Black Eyed Peas After Party, which became a massive event packed with Australia’s A-list celebrities, providing proof of the feel-good nature of the brand. In one 12-month period, we were able to generate over $10 million in PR for Nando’s.

 

These campaigns looked completely different, yet both generated an overwhelmingly positive response.

 

If you are still unsure of the value that PR can bring to an organisation, we would summarise it into the below five pillars.

 

Visibility

PR helps you get your brand story in front of your target market, increasing visibility of your products or services.

 

Relationships

It is important that two-way communication is ongoing, helping your organisation to build strong relationships with the people that matter.

 

Personalisation

Personalising your brand PR gives your organisation a voice, strengthens core messaging and amplifies brand stories.

 

Profile

Using tools such as media articles, blogs, speaking engagements, social media interactions and more, a brand can raise its profile and position itself as the expert in its industry.

 

Reputation

Preparing key spokespeople for interviews, monitoring media coverage and responding to negative comments are all PR activities that help manage and maintain a good reputation.

 

If you would like to know more, simply contact us at hello@thesphereagency.com.au. We would love to hear from you.

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