Many start-up companies or small businesses wanting to grow, search for affordable and effective ways to get their names out there. One of the routes they often choose is to engage a PR agency. Because building a profile is a top priority, the MD initially takes an active role in the process, and generally the PR goes well.
But it is an all too familiar scenario that after some time - usually when the company is gaining some good mileage in the press and starting to get off the ground - the MD disengages from the process and palms PR off to a much more junior employee.
While the MD feels that s/he is doing the right thing - focussing on other priorities in a developing business - the problem is that the PR that has helped grow the business starts to become increasingly less effective.
Unless there is input at a high, strategic level, PR generally becomes tactical and product-focused and therefore less impactful in building brand equity and awareness.
A recent study* indicated that PR is far more powerful than advertising in building brand value. On average, 27% of brand value is tied to how often the brand name appears in the press. In industries that involve more research before purchases are made - the computing industry, for example - PR can account for up to 47%, or nearly half, of brand value.
While many executives these days realise the importance of brand equity for business success, few acknowledge the crucial role that PR plays in the process of building brand value. Even fewer recognise that active engagement in PR at the highest level in the organisation is fundamental to its success.
If the MD is unable to manage the PR on a daily or weekly basis, it is critical that s/he has regular strategic sessions with the agency at least every three to six months. This will help the PR agency align their activities with business strategy, ensuring that PR remains effective in building brand value.
This is particularly relevant in the digital age where social media is playing an ever-increasingly important role in profile building. Often, companies outsource their social media-blogs, Facebook profiles and so on to their PR agencies to manage - but without insight into the strategic direction, business goals and values of an organisation, it becomes nearly impossible to effectively manage this important medium, and often more harm than good is done to the company's reputation.
In today's world, reputation is king. Businesses need to shift their thinking from seeing PR as an affordable way to get their names into the press, and understand that it is a strategic business tool that can play an important role in ensuring commercial success. If considered in this light, MDs would think twice about handing the management of their PR to a junior employee who is not in a position to realise its full potential.
*The Media Prominence Study was conducted by Text 100 Global Public Relations and Context Analytics in 2009.
