To be taken seriously as a valued PR counselor within the world of integrated marketing communications, you must first develop a marketing mindset. Without it, how can you possibly understand how a marketing manager thinks or make thoughtful recommendations about what PR can bring to the mix?
Marketing's Role in PR
Whether you're dealing with a product, service, organization or person, marketing asks:
- Where are we now (analyze the situation)?
- Where do we want to go (set goals and objectives)? and
- How can we get there (develop core strategies)?
The answers to these questions, albeit basic, can be complicated, multifaceted and, perhaps, challenging to find. But they're essential to developing any integrated PR plan.
And what makes it especially tricky is today's marketplace, which is clustered, dynamic and ever-changing.
Current trends that have drastically impacted not only how business is conducted, but how it is strategically conceived - and therefore marketed - include five watershed shifts toward:
1. Globalization - the explosive growth of global trade and international competition as well as shrinking geographical and cultural distances because of narrowing information gaps;
2. The environmental imperative - the requirements and social responsibility which have evolved from every aspect of growing concerns, over issues such as the environment, about our planet;
3. Shifting power - from the manufacturer to the retailer or seller;
4. Technological advances - remarkable and lightening-fast changes in the speed of communication, in new materials and media, in biogenetic breakthroughs and in electronic marvels; and
5. Consumer sensitivity and savvy - the dawn of the "era of the customer" who continues to emerge as value-conscious and individualized.
The Evolution of the 4Ps to the 4Cs
As a result of these changes, the traditional 4Ps of marketing - product, price, place and promotion - simply aren't enough.
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The Five Watershed Shifts In Marcom
1. Globalization |
You must also incorporate the newer, more flexible 4Cs, which have grown out of the dynamics of today's vastly different marketplace and, at least for now, respond effectively to their demands. These 4Cs stand for customer, company, competition and context.
When evaluated together, these areas offer far-reaching insights into the marketing challenges faced by clients and the PR strategies that have the greatest yield.
In fact, when investigated carefully, the answers to the questions "where are we, where to we want to be and how do we get there" seem to emerge almost effortlessly. And the strategic pathways for powerful public relations programs become amazingly clear.
The Marketing Mix
Once you've assessed the marketing landscape using the 4Cs, you will also now be better equipped to understand what each marketing discipline can offer and where PR strategies can be most compelling and complementary.
After all, PR is just one part of the bigger marketing communications picture. These include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and, of course, public relations.
In examining the marketing communications mix, it's important to consider which elements will directly impact distribution and which will impact consumers. This analysis will help you determine when to use them and which channels are most appropriate.
However, it's also crucial to look at which elements will favorably influence your client's position in relationship to the 4Cs.
This push will help you to determine when to use each marketing discipline to deliver which strategic message.
It will also make you a trusted and knowledgeable member of the integrated marketing communications team who can deliver innovative solutions regardless of which discipline or which team will execute them. Above all, it will allow you to expand your professional horizons, to excel as a true marketing communications strategist and a valued PR consultant - a formidable combination in a complex business world filled with vast potential.
Barbara H Hines is executive VP of brand marketing at Porter Novelli. She can be reached at 617/587-2008.