PR and Marketing

The University of Edinburgh31 October 2012

hot tin roof.

Marketing.

What is marketing?Marketing is the chain of activities moving products from producer to customer.• Market Research• Product• Strategy• Pricing• Packaging• Distribution• Promotion• Sales

Strategy.

Where do I start?Situation Analysis: Where I am now

• Describe where your company stands at this moment in time (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)

• Describe your industry and forecast trends and change (political, economic, social and technological)

What is my marketing strategy?

Strategy.

Where do I want to get to?Every company has business objectives.

• Where do you want to be?• When do you want to get there?• How will I get there?

If the purpose of your marketing plan is to launch a new product or line of products: Objective - Achieve 10% market share in first 12 months of launch.

If the purpose of your marketing plan is to boost revenue from existing products: Objective - Increase revenue 12% from our existing line of products over the next six months.

What are my business objectives?

Tactics.

How will I get there?What tactics do I need to deliver my objectives?

Objectives establish a broad outline of how you want to achieve your strategy. Tactics are specific actions.

• Objective: Achieve 10% market share in first 12 months of launch.• Tactic: Develop a brochure to send to new prospects.

What are my tactics?

Tactics.

What do I do?What tactics do I need to deliver my objectives?

• Advertising - TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor• Sales Force - Telesales, Door to Door, Networking• Sales promotion - Competitions, Vouchers, Displays, Sampling• Direct marketing - Fliers, email, inserts• Public Relations - press releases, sponsorship, roundtables

What are my tactics?

Budget.

How much will it cost?Every tactic has a price.

• Add up the costs of each tactic• Prioritise• Revisit your strategy• Set your budget

What is my budget?

Customer.

Who am I selling to?

Research.

Market analysis

What is my market?

• Market segmentation (potential buyers, growth forecast, average transaction value of sale or average sales per year)• Company analysis• Needs and requirements• Distribution channels• Competitive forces• Communications

Product.

Positioning a product

What is my unique selling point?

• What kind of product is it?• Who is it designed for?• What is the single most important benefit it offers?• What is the most important competitor?• How is it different from that competitor?• What is the customer benefit of that difference?

Public relations.

What is PR?

What should I use PR?

“The planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain good will and understanding between an organisation and its publics.”

Institute of Public Relations (1987)

Public relations.

The Financial Times

Strategy.

What am I going to do?Business objectivesSWOT analysisCommunication Objectives

• Create awareness• Promote understanding• Overcome misunderstanding• Combat apathy• Inform

• Develop knowledge• Displace prejudice• Encourage belief• Confirm or realign a perception• Act in a particular way

What is my communication strategy?

Key messages.

What am I going to say?

What are my key messages?

• What does my product do?• Why would anyone buy it?• What are the benefits?• What problem does it solve?

Tactics.

How am I going to say it?

What media will I use?

• Articles and features• One to one briefings• Interviews• Background briefings and materials• Photography• Email• Internal communications• Brochure• Newsletter• Seminars• Sales force• Sales promotion

• Advertising• Exhibitions and conferences• Hospitality• Sponsorship• Donations• Press release• Design and branding• Membership of industry groups• Roundtables• Awards• Direct marketing• Social media

News.

What makes news?

How will I make the headlines?

• Sex• Power• Money

Story.

How to make the headlines

Is your story newsworthy?

The five main business stories:

1. Launch2. Growth3. New product4. Mergers and Acquisition5. Cuts and Closure

Develop.

Why use your story?

How will you interest the journalist?

• Angle• Hook• So what?• Boost its news value

Angle.

How to find your angle

What would you like to read?

• Follow the news in your industry• Talk to colleagues and customers• Look for milestones• Know the benefits of your product• Upcoming relevant events• Survey your customer base and build a story around the results

Hit!

How to get coverage

What is your story?

• Research your press• Know your papers

• Know your journalists

• Columns• Days• Style

• Who specialises in your area?

Press Release.

How to write it

What are you trying to say?

• Get your facts together• Use quotes• Put the best bits first• Think quality, not quantity

Media.

Where should you sell it in?

What is your audience?

• Newspapers• Trade press• Vertical press• Online

Newspapers.

What can you target?

What are you going to say?

• Dailies• Sundays• Business pages• Supplements• News pages• Platform pages• Opinion columns

Trade press.

What makes the trades?

What are the issues in your industry?

• News• Features• Letters page• Opinion• Analysis

Digital.

What is online PR?

What are people saying online?

• Traditional vs digital• Targeting and research• Online distribution• Optimisation• Social media

• Twitter• Facebook• Social bookmarking • Blogging

Marketing and PR.

Secrets to success

Let’s get started!

• Smaller companies can use press releases to generate the kind of publicity that would cost thousands of pounds to achieve with other forms of marketing.

• Media coverage helps to generate sales, improves status among existing customers, aids recruitment, attracts investment and increases online visibility.

Sarah A Lee Sarah@hottinroof.co.uk0131 225 3875@hottinroofpr