PR is a lot of what appears in the news


Much of what appears in the news is PR. Frequently main businesses expend an excellent deal of money and effort to get their stories into print, and to alert the news media to what they're doing. For the astute PR person, this can offer an opportunity to hijack the publicity and piggyback a PR campaign on the strength of it.

A big American cellphone business arranged a main PR campaign to publicize its launch of what was then the world's smallest cellphone. A chain of restaurants cashed in on this by announcing a ban on all cellphones in its establishments, on the grounds that they annoy other customers.

The press picked up both stories, and asked the cellphone business to comment on the ban: stupidly, they refused to complete so, and the press therefore ran with the story of the ban without mentioning the new telephone at all.

This was a PR disaster for the cellphone company, but a triumph for the restaurateurs-the lesson being twofold: first, grabbing an chance can often pay off beyond expectations, and, second, if you have a PR campaign you have to Always be ready to talk to the press!

Most news stories come and go within a day-what is hot news these days is old hat by tomorrow. There are some exceptions, though, and these can offer excellent opportunities for businesses. General elections, the Budget announcement, and annual events like Guy Fawkes Night or Christmas can provide useful points for ongoing stories.

Or ideas, rather. One clothing business utilized a general election to publish a list of well-dressed (and badly dressed) MPs. This was a fun, human-interest story that offered a light-hearted look at what is a serious topic.

Every Budget, a firm of accountants in the West Country publishes a list of ten predictions, and pays £500 each for any that are not in the Chancellor's speech. Other businesses organise fundraising events for Kids in Need or other regular charity appeals, or piggyback on events like the London Marathon.

Regular events provide endless opportunities for PR activities: nearly any normal event can be turned towards the advantage of almost any business, having a bit of creative thought.

Legal Disclaimer

Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Articleinput.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.

Note: This article was sent to us by: Jeff Brown at 01242011

Related Articles

1. PR and SEO for brand promotion
The internet has, needless to say, wrought numerous changes in the way businesses operate. One of the main ones is in corporate communications, merely simply because people...

2. PR is conducted through TV companies and press releases
The media, and especially tv companies, are always on the lookout for great, interesting ideas for documentaries. They need shows with strong human interest, and preferably...

3. PR tactics and exercises for defining companies to the public
Knowing your opponent is one thing-defining them in the minds of your publics is an additional. Most PR exercises are about defining the organization in the minds of its pu...

4. Sponsorship as a popular PR tool and effective PR campaigns
Humor has always been a great method to get people to really feel positive concerning the organization. Many businesses create humorous advertisements, but there's no cause...

5. How PR people manage to attract the attention of teens
Holding a media event (sometimes called a press conference) is a superb thing to complete if you have something essential to announce, but many firms only do it when there ...

6. Know the journalist you work with and be controversial
Journalists are always getting poorly targeted and poorly written press releases. This is an annoying waste of time-the working equivalent of junk mail-and certainly does n...

7. PR and business promotion in a creative way
Really newsworthy stories are golden opportunities, and don't often appear in most firms. Yet many newsworthy events or actions are only reported in one or two places, simp...

8. Holidays are a great time for PR
Christmas is a superb time for PR. People are generally full of goodwill, and appreciate goodwill gestures by companies: tying into the season is a helpful tactic on a numb...

9. PR and sponsorship are needed to create a good corporate image
Sponsorship is a main plank in PR. Sponsoring events and organizations generates some good publicity, shows that the business cares, and frequently puts the business name i...