Public relations (PR) involves managing the communications and relationships of a business to achieve various objectives by generating attention from the media. According to our marketing course textbook, one of these objectives is to build and maintain a positive image of the firm. However, a blog post ‘Brand reputation and why all PR is actually good PR (unless you’re already famous)’ on the ‘Influential Marketing Blog’ (link below) got me thinking about the potential effect of public relations.
Creating brand awareness is an important objective. In the introductory stage of the product life cycle, consumers need to know about the new product, referred to in the mentioned blog post as ‘the challenge of obscurity’. In the maturity/decline stages, consumers often need to be reminded of the product. Especially for companies with a strong vision and core values, maintaining a good reputation is essential.
If any PR really was good PR, wouldn’t marketers have a simpler job? If any kind of attention a company is attracting will be beneficial then companies wouldn’t invest so much time and money in coming up with the right promotion and activities for the company to be associated with.
In 2012, during Hurricane Sandy, the clothes retailer American Apparel sent out emails offering a 20 percent off sale if customers typed “SANDYSALE” in the online checkout “in case you’re bored during the storm.” This sparked a lot of controversy especially on Twitter, with mainly very negative responses. Attempting to promote their products during a tragic natural disaster was extremely inconsiderate and a clear example of when PR can harm the way consumers feel about a company.
Therefore, I think it is important to focus on what consumers are actually saying about a brand rather than simply ensuring it is being talked about.