(In this two-part series, PR News will consider the challenges in promoting new products and services in today's cluttered media environment and short attention span
society. In this article, a new survey of PR professionals determines how the industry is spreading the word.)
Spreading the word about a new product is among the most invigorating experiences for a PR professional - or at least it is invigorating for those who are up to the challenge.
Putting the message out in today's communications environment requires more research, planning and outreach than ever before.
As PR broadens its reach in both a human realm (with a greater emphasis on experiential and guerrilla marketing tactics) and a technological sphere (with new media vehicles and
a seemingly endless skein of new online outlets), the targeting of new product introductions has become more complex.
A survey conducted by PR News and Medialink has found the industry accommodating these new schematics and placing greater emphasis on strategies that barely
existed a few years earlier. The survey, which polled 517 PR professionals, details both B2B and B2C campaigns.
The Price Is Right
The good news, according to the survey, comes at the financial level - the increased workload involved in new products' PR campaigns is being supported with proper monetary
buttressing. The survey found 79% of those polled saw increases in their budgets for launch products, as opposed to 20% who had to work with fewer funds.
One key area contributing to this financial support could possibly be traced to not having funds redirected to the regulatory process (and the added expenses accompanying it).
Again, 79% of those surveyed did not require regulatory approval for the new products while 21% did.
For Medialink's COO Larry Thomas, the statistics also point to the growing acknowledgement of PR's value within the product launch process - to the point that funds once
earmarked for other promotional channels are now being deposited in the PR budget.
"We're seeing more and more signs that PR is being looked up as an integral approach in getting the message out," he says. "A lot of companies are looking at PR as a natural
way to help educate rather than sell to people. We're seeing a small percentage of dollars being shifted to PR from marketing budgets."
Beat The Clock
But if money is on the side of the PR professional, time is not. Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed stated they had half-a-year or less to get the word out. The survey found
39% had a typical product rollout program lasting three-to-six months, while 38% had to work in a window of three months or less. Those enjoying the seeming luxury of six-to-12
months accounted for only 17%, while those who experienced rollouts lasting a full year or longer were a mere 6%.
For Thomas, the relatively short window for new product promotions is a reflection of today's society. "This is a sign of the pace of life," he explains. "We have an
accelerated and enhanced need to do things bigger, better, sooner and faster. This also may have been impacted positively by new media platforms that have the ability to permeate
the media and reach their audiences directly."
The new platforms, of course, are the digital media vehicles that reconfigured PR distribution strategies. The PR News/Medialink survey also questioned the favored new
tools of the digital trade. At the top of the list were multimedia press releases (27%), search engine marketing (18%), blogs (14%) and Webcasts (14%). Less popular strategies
include microsites (9%) and podcasts (6%).
But when push comes to shove (or click, if you will), having person-to-person communications rather than relying on modems is still preferred. For B2B programs, the most
popular platforms for new product announcements include the issuance of press releases and accompanying press interviews (30%), live press conferences and/or trade show events
(19%), radio and/or television interviews (12%) and PR-produced ANRs and VNRs (8%). Blogs and Web-based activities only accounted for 2%, respectively, sharing bottom feeder
status with direct mail at 1%. A potpourri of strategies was collected into an "other" category (8%) that included such tactics as analyst and media tours, open house events and
white paper presentations.
On the B2C side, the situation was fairly similar. The top choice for new product promotions was the issuance of press releases and accompanying press interviews (28%), radio
and/or television interviews (21%), live press conferences and/or trade show events (14%) and PR-produced ANRs and VNRs (13%). For the B2C products, however, blogs, Web-based
activities and direct mail barely registered - they were lumped together into a grab-bag "other" category (8%) that included such tactics as sample mailings, live concerts and
charity donations.
However, Thomas believes that over time the value of the digital delivery systems will grow while economic circumstances will force many PR programs to rethink their person-to-
person approaches.
"From a budgetary standpoint, PR professionals will be able to leverage the new tools and save a lot of money in delivering messages without the need to physically be in one
place," he says.
However, there are still those who believe in the power of person-to-person communications. Larry Borden, president of The Borden Agency in Philadelphia, is a leader in
the fields of mobile marketing and experiential promotions and he is not convinced that digital media is going to challenge (let alone surpass) in-person PR.
"You can rise above the clutter," says Borden of the person-to-person approach. "You can go where you want to go and where your demographic is hanging out. It gives you the
ability to street test and research your efforts - and get immediate feedback."
(Part 2 of this series, which will appear in our next issue, continues the discussion with PR experts who've enjoyed repeated success in the promotion of new products. These
industry leaders will share their observations of getting the word out and making sure it resonates in today's marketplace.)
Contacts: Larry Thomas, [email protected]; Larry Borden, [email protected].
PR's Role in Product Launches
1. For the current year, my PR budget for launch programs has:
- Increased: 79%
- Decreased: 20%
- No Response: 1%
2. Which was the primary audience for your most recent product or service launch?
- B2C: 52%
- B2B: 47%
- No Response: 1%
3. What is the duration of a typical rollout program for your industry?
- 3 to 6 months: 39%
- 0 to 3 months: 38%
- 6 to 12 months: 17%
- More than 1 year: 6%
4. Was your most recent product or service launch subject to regulatory approval?
- No: 79%
- Yes: 21%
5. (For B2B programs only) Indicate which of these communications tools are part of your media strategy to support new product announcements. Check as many as necessary
- Press releases or print interviews: 30%
- Live press conference or trade show event: 19%
- No Response : 18%
- Radio or television interviews: 12%
- PR-produced audio or video for broadcast media: 8%
- Direct mail: 1%
- Blogs: 2%
- Web: 2%
- Other: 8%
6. (For B2C programs only) Indicate which of these communications tools are included in your media strategy to support new product announcements. Check as many as
necessary.
- Press releases or print interviews: 28%
- Radio or television interviews: 21%
- No Response: 15%
- Live press conferences or trade show events: 14%
- PR-produced audio or video for broadcast media: 13%
- Other: 8%
7. Which of these digital media resources have you used in your new product campaigns? Check as many as necessary.
- Multimedia press releases: 27%
- Search engine marketing: 18%
- Blogs: 14%
- Audio or video Webcasts: 14%
- No Response: 12%
- Microsites: 9%
- Podcasts: 6%
Source: PR News and Medialink
517 total respondents