Whether it be through trial and error, surveys, studies of past campaigns or direct feedback from clients, PR agencies need to develop messages that identify who they are, what they do and why they're the perfect service for a particular client. It sounds simple, but many people don't realize how important it is to know potential clients and figure out, down to the exact words you say to them, how to make them want you.
Public relations has an advantage over advertising or other communication outlets because, "you can tell a story in more depth, and weave in a variety of messages," says Mark Curran, senior vice president and marketing director of consumer marketing at GCI Group, a New York PR firm.
Through client surveys, asking which of the 28 different areas of service are most important to them, GCI finds out exactly what people want. As a result, its messages focus on hands-on senior management/involvement and results-oriented performance pricing (established goals that if GCI exceeds, it receives a bonus, if it doesn't, it refunds five percent of its fee).
Another approach GCI takes is touting its parent company, Grey Advertising, as a selling point. Curran says that for integrated marketing programs that involve many different media outlets, such as Rogaine hair products, GCI stresses the Grey heritage and its access to Grey's vast resources.
The PR industry changes over the years, and marketing messages need to change with them. "We have fine-tuned our messages to address a changing environment, obviously no messages are static," says Marci Blaze, CEO of The Blaze Company, a PR firm in Venice, Calif. In the early 1990s, the market was low, then it got even worse, she says. Now that it's on its way up again, the message takes on an experienced tone; more of "we've seen it all." After her 20 years in the business, she's learned you have to promote her company as well as the clients she represents. But above all else, "success emerges out of a pairing of strategy, creativity and execution. No two can exist alone," she says.
Rich Jernstedt, CEO and president of Golin/Harris Communications Inc.,
Chicago, says most of their research is more informal than formal, done by phone or written surveys, or 'relationship meetings' with clients. The yearly Thomas L. Harris/Impulse study (done by a former partner of G/H), gives the firm a good idea of where it stands in the market. The survey asks users of PR agencies to rank the attributes that are important to them.
G/H also gives a 35-question "quality questionnaire" to existing clients, to help rank G/H's performance. The survey examines office-to-office performance, as well as account group-to-account group performance, so that G/H will be able to plan accordingly. Company messages are tested on clients, words are checked and changed so they portray just the right message that makes everyone feel comfortable.
Tellem Inc. is a Los Angeles a PR firm that specializes in beauty, fitness and healthcare. In the healthcare industry, Susan Tellem, president and CEO, says the company messages center around the fact that, "we've seen all the changes, are familiar with the lingo, so we make it clear that we really understand...we're so small and focused that we can deliver more for less."
One approach that seems to work for Dorothy Crenshaw, partner and president of Stanton & Company in New York, is every year she goes back to the prospects that fell through to find out what they thought of her company. Als, Crenshaw says that the key to her firm is partner involvement, and telling her clients up front exactly how involved she will be. She recommends being as specific as possible when dealing with new clients, because many of them are not familiar with PR practices. (GCI Group, 212/546-2200; The Blaze Company, 310/450-6060; Golin/Harris Communications, Inc., 312/836-7100; Tellem Inc., 213/935-1725; Stanton & Co., 212/727-3300)
Developing Agency Messages
According to a number of PR agencies, there are a number of points to keep in mind when developing a company message.
--Get client feedback
--Decide up front what the desired action of the message is
--Be honest with the client
--Know your client inside and out
--Make clear why the client needs you, and what sets you apart from everyone else
--Try unconventional thinking
--Test words and phrases out on clients for weak/strong connotations