Politis Pointer #5: PR & the Bottom Line
Categories: Politis Pointers, Public Relations, Writing.
Although not labeled originally on DavidPolitis.com as a Politis Pointer on January 22, 2007, the post below definitely fits the bill.
So . . . with some modifications, here are some thoughts on the relationship between public relations and an organization’s bottom line.
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When I began my first professional job in public relations in January 1984 at Tycer-Fultz-Bellack in Palo Alto, California (then the largest high-tech ad/pr agency west of the Mississippi River), we had to write or type our news releases by hand and then give them to a secretary who would get them “word processed” for us.
If we needed to get a news release or a pitch letter to an editor fast, we used a courier to have it hand-delivered (assuming, that is, that the journalist lived in the same metropolitan area). Typically, however, fast delivery meant using the U.S. Postal Service.
There were no fax machines, no personal computers, no desktop publishing, no FedEx, no cell phones, no email, no Internet (at least not that the general public knew about), and certainly no World Wide Web.
Broadband connectivity? What was that.
BlackBerries? Don’t you find them growing on vines out in the country?
Apples? Yeah, they grew on trees. One supposedly fell off a tree and bonked whats-his-name on the head.
And Web 2.0? Is that the name of the sequel to “Charlotte’s Web?”
A lot has come and gone in the 22+ years (now 24+ years) since I started working in the field of PR, but one thing has not changed.
If you absolutely, positively have to make an impact in Public Relations, particularly if you’re talking to management, you had better figure out how you (and your PR campaign/strategy/tactics) can positively impact the bottom line. Otherwise, you might as well go off and flip burgers for a living.
Simply put, it doesn’t matter
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how many people you reach or
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products you introduce or
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product evaluators who write favorable reviews or
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great speeches you write or stories you place,
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etc., etc., etc.
If you can’t frame the discussion within the context of bottom line impact
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the leads generated,
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revenue growth contribution,
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return on investment,
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market share increase (or what-have-you),
you will not succeed in the long run.
TIP:
Your PR plans (and their projected results) have to be concrete and the results should be measurable.
If not, you will always find yourself in an uphill fight with the bean counters in the room who demand quantitative results.
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