Ever since Charles Kaman founded Kaman Corp. more than five decades ago with a meager $2,000, he's relied on PR as much as he's relied on advertising to make sure that the corporation, which started as a helicopter company and is now diversified, is watched and covered closely by the trade press.
Kaman, who is in his 70s and has been the focus of dozens of articles every year, has used PR as an integral part of its image campaign. And it's part of what has turned Kaman into a sort of industry guru, and his Bloomfield, Conn., company into a limelight grabber.
Kaman looks at everything that's written about his business to gain a sense of:
- Whether the "diagnostics" of a PR program or campaign are working;
- If the gist of the trade coverage they're getting can be boiled down into the right messages or if there are "misinterpretations";
- What the competitive influences are and whether his company is being portrayed as a distinct entity versus a player in a large pool; and
- How the publicity the company generates can be compared with advertising - which receives practically a "zero" allocation on the corporate level but is the backbone of what happens at the subsidiary level.
"I've recognized through the years that a company can't exist and thrive without PR. Being in business today requires public understanding and the ability to withstand scrutiny and analysis. And it's PR, more than advertising, that accomplishes that," Kaman said. (Charles Kaman, 860/243-6302)