23. Using PR Effectively Where does PR fit? Communities Staff Talent Pool Potential Customers Customers Competitors Investors Partners Bids/Tenders Media Online Who makes decisions on their relationship with you?
24. Using PR Effectively Where does PR fit? Communities Staff Talent Pool Potential Customers Customers Competitors Investors Partners Bids/Tenders Media Marketing Communications Strategy Media Relations Exhibitions Advertising Collaterals Newsletters Receptions Networking Online Online Research Direct Marketing Sponsorship
25. Using PR Effectively Where does it fit? Communities Staff Talent Pool Potential Customers Customers Competitors Investors Partners Bids/Tenders Media What can you offer me Who are you Why listen to you Why choose you Marketing Communications Strategy PR
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30. Understand the landscape Stakeholder Audit Your stakeholders Shareholders/City Management Staff Directors Customers: lapsed Customers: One-off Customers: Long-term relationships Customers: targeted Customers: tomorrow’s markets Media Industry influencers/commentators Government Competitors Supply Chain
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32. Understand the landscape Stakeholder Audit Should drive Communications Strategy Consistent messages will shift perceptions Use results as a tool to shape future strategy
33. What are your customers’ issues? Stakeholder Audit Issues Matrix
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38. Using PR Effectively Research: at the heart of issues based PR campaigns RESEARCH UNDERSTANDING ISSUES BASED PR CAMPAIGNS
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Editor's Notes
Here to talk about PR Most of you will have an understanding of PR I’d like to give my thoughts on how I see PR as part of a marketing communications strategy – how it has fared in these testing times, how it fits in your planning and how issues can be used to drive successful campaigns Apologies about the presentation – should have spent more time on it yesterday, but distracted by the flow of conversation from the Social Marketing Trainin Day yesterday which appeared to be a real success. So I’d also like to share my thoughts on Social Media within business PR
A little introduction Seen a great deal of change – worked through many change agendas in construction, including Movement for Innovation, Construction Best Practice Programme, Rethinking Construction and Constructing Excellence What I have learnt is that nothing stays the same and you always need to be looking over the brow of the hill to see whats coming and then react to it before anyone else can And despite what happens, there is always opportunity in any situation
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Operating throughout the property cycle:
The Construction Industry. Strong, powerful, unpretentious, gritty, hard-working, determined, changing over time and enduring. Sometimes bloody minded, taken a few blows over the years but never giving up. Always enduring. Always learning and always hungry for more success. A bit like rocky. Made a few comebacks and been on the seat of his pants a few times. Taken a few blows over the years.
The Construction Industry. Strong, powerful, unpretentious, gritty, hard-working, determined, changing over time and enduring. Sometimes bloody minded, taken a few blows over the years but never giving up. Always enduring. Always learning and always hungry for more success. A bit like rocky. Made a few comebacks and been on the seat of his pants a few times. Taken a few blows over the years.
But make no bones about it We are in a fight with an angry bear this time This time the industry is taking a pummelling However, against all the odds, like always, there may be tears…..and for the industry there is always hope……… The good news is that the macro-economic indicators show the bottom of the curve The bad news is that the landscape has changed forever and it will be a long time until it gets to where it was
Its not a pretty outlook going forward The fight is by no means over….. Lots of hungry mouths out there Highly competitive
So how has this all affected attitudes to marketing, of which PR is an important component Here are some selected highlights of a recent survey…. Total of 1,198 completed interviews Focused on UK Focused on Marketing practitioners
This first chart outlines that marketeers actually are more optimistic about things now than they have been for the last year or so 51% believe that things are going to get better in the economy!! If nothing, marketeers are ever the optimists…..
When asked about the split of spend Some 11% is spent on PR activities Closely followed by CRM and advertising
All very interesting, but how do they see things changing going forward In the future sales year, respondents saw online activities as having the biggest budget growth PR was expected to have a very modest growth, but advertising was seen to be the biggest victim of budget cuts with a 3% drop in spend
But the killer slide What activity is seen to give the best and the worst ROI We know that squeezed budgets mean a greater focus on ROI. As an agency I have never known such a squeeze on demonstrating ROI and transparency on costs. Believe me, every agency I know has though it prudent to reduce day rates significantly CRM is seen to offer the greatest ROI With 11% of marketeers thinking that PR offers the best ROI. Interestingly when asked what provides the worst ROI, advertising tops the poll, with 22% stating that is if the poorest performer So,
So for construction – what does this all mean Squeeze on budgets Greater focus on ROI Advertising has been hit hard
A real example, close to home. Ask anyone in publishing……times are tough Make no mistake, the world of publishing has changed significantly Because advertising budgets are tightening to a minimum – revenues are down Some titles are gone Staff are under enormous pressure Others are suffering and looking to maximise revenue wherever they can
So back to the ROI chart Advertising spend is falling PR is seen to offer more return on investment in times when budgets are tight and every penny is looking to be squeezed out So Pr would appear to be a key tool in any future marketing mix It may appear pretty gloomy out there, but now is the ideal time to start rethinking your PR We are approaching the bottom of the curve and things will start to build….slowly PR can be highly effective if understood But that is the problem You can use PR if you know what it is….. Which is great as long as you know what it is……
So, if PR is going to take more of the marketing purse It is important to know what it is and what it isnt So a few minutes on a few basics Believe me, even we have these debates at Camargue!!
What it isnt…… Time and time again Asked to respond to Told the MD doesn’t do PR – its not about media profile or flag waving an achievement – all part of PR – need similie here Enlightened companies have PR at the heart of a marketing strategy
not all of these titles always relate accurately to public relations, but all of them cover at least part of what public relations is.
The official CIPR version Makes sense Says it all No sign of the words press release or media relations And that is the biggest problem for PR – a joined at the hip association with media relations True – media relations is an important channel for delivery of a PR strategy, but PR has a far wider function than raising or managing media profile
To help paint a picture Pr is about anything and everything where someone can make a judgement on your business – its values, people, ability, capability
PR in the right hands can set a company apart for the right reasons It can define a personality and build a reputation It can also protect against the slings and arrows of the world that will inevitably come your way Reputations are hard won and need protecting and building It is an active process that needs managing
So where does it fit within a marketing strategy First lets look at the audiences or stakeholders who might form an opinion on your values and your reputation You will want to talk to: Customers to keep them Potential customers to win new business Bid/Tender procurement – to get shortlisted at PPQ Staff to keep, them, motivate them and get them to be ambassadors for its values The talent pool to grow as a business Competitors to demonstrate progress Partners to potentially work collaboratively Investors Media – to spread the word and build opinion The communities in which you operate – whether as an employer or as a contractor
There are a range of tactics to reach your publics Media relations – traditionally linked at the hip with the trade of PR and it does form a key part of the marketing commuications armoury. There are many tactics that can be used in developing a relationship with the media. Its not about feeding press releases on so what stories, its about building dialogue and understanding what the press want. Exhibitions As marketing professionals, you know the tools of your trade….. So where is the PR? Its not a tactic
PR should sit at the centre PR is about getting the message right - It is not about the medium What each public or stakeholder needs to know about you in order to achieve the behaviour you need to achieve your business goals Customers need to know why they should stay with you Potential customers need to know why they choose buy from you Staff need to kow why they should stay with you Talent need to know why they should desire to work for you Competitors need to know why they should respect you Partners need to know why they should want to work collaboratively with you and do business together
PR is about what your publics think about you All three are linked but separate So that’s it Its that simple Not really These are difficult and challenging times Change has happened very quickly and the fight has been savage
But there has been a storm and the landscape has changed The world is a different place Companies are gone Relationships are broken Values are changed It is vital to recognise the impact of the tornado in your PR strategy The tornado is still here and it is no good just watching it die out There has never been a better time to take advantage of the opportunity and rethink through your PR so it is more effective in this new landscape What you present, what you offer, what your customers want in the future and what they think you can do for them
… .From a PR perspective, the challenge is clear These are not new challenges, but the impact of the tornado makes it important to revisit your PR messages and ensure they meet your customers needs
Where are the priorities What are the issues they face How do your messages relate to these new needs So how do you know what issues will resonate with customers and other audiences How can you better understand the issues they face to help shape your future marketing communications Ask them! Go and find out!!! This is a question you should be asking now! One technique which can be used is a Stakeholder Perception Audit
– to understand what you think of you, what your customers think of you and what your customers want from you today and tomorrow Identify who has a view on how your business is perceived and who has the ability to influence the amount of future work you win Internally it is important to understand current perceptions Externally, it is vital to understand the real issues affecting their business and an appraisal of how you shape up to meet their fast changing needs
For me, regardless of whether you go down a stakeholder audit or not, a key PR Tool is an Issue Matrix This applies the knowledge gained and draws out the key issues and themes which will be attractive to your stakeholders going forward What are the issues they face? What keeps them awake at night? What do they want from suppliers? The Issues Matrix is a document which sets our the key issues that your customers face Against these issues, you would map your corporate position and what evidence your business has to support that position. It could be seen almost as a ‘Manifesto’ for you business. Setting out the key issues that customers face and your position on those issues. Now I’ll take you through a client case study where six months ago they asked us to help them answer the question: “How are we going to keep our customers and win more work in the future”
To paint a picture We have been working with a major FTSE 100 contractor for the last six months The reason – to ensure they maintain their pipeline
We undertook a major customer perception study To understand the needs and requirements of their major customers now and in the future Whats good, what needs to change What are the key buying decisions Why choose? What’s important What needs to improve Whats good and makes them different.
The process….
The results are now shaping how they define their offer It will form the backbone of how they present their values – internally and externally
Researching the issues is so important With that intelligence and knowledge you can start to develop ISSUES BESED PR campaigns which create real impact and leadership Issues based PR takes your thought leadership to a new level Here are two research driven case studies that have real issues at the centre and have been packaged into dynamic campaigns that use a number of channels
Firstly construction consultant John Rowan & Partners About 100 staff Worked with them for a number of years pushing issues led messages Very people focused. We concluded that one of the key issues for them and their customers was a lack of new graduate talent coming through due to the lack of opportunities…….its a tough market etc
This issue was also getting airtime in the media The issue of graduates not being able to find placements in construction businesses. An article was published in Building last year looking at the skills crisis in relation to graduates 40,000 graduates fail to find jobs 170,000 redundancies made 37% consider work in another sector Annual recruitment requirement is 37,000 a year 3,770 professional graduates per year Less graduates enrolling on construction courses Upturn – short of trained staff Sector left short of resource to meet demand
This acted as a stimulus to focus our thinking into how we could address this industry issue We worked with JRP to develop a campaign that would create engagement and ask for real actions for the benefit of the industry, We wanted to position JRP as a thought leader on the importance of new talent in construction We wanted to position JRP as having a contribution to create a solution to the issue
We researched the issue Found that Govt had responded to the issue across all the sectors and set up the Graduate talent pool A website that posts internship – a paid or non-paid time limited placement – usually for around three months To give them the experience in a work environment and to help build relationships and knowledge. However, it was clear that construction wasn’t using the Graduate Talent pool as only two firms signed up The big issue is that if graduates don’t get access to experience, they are likely to move away to other professional industries – which will lead to a massive skills shortage
So we developed a concept called The Pledge – an industry initiative to make internships available in construction The Pledge is a call to construction businesses to sign up to a commitment to take on an Intern We worked out that if every company provide the equivalent of 2% of their headcount in internships, the industry would avoid a skills gap in 2013
To Our campaign is asking for construction businesses to understand the issue, understand the benefits to their business and advertise any internships on the graduate talent pool website. The campaign has its own website with its own URL It is important that a campaign like this has the right level of association JRP benefit as the architect of the solution
Media relations is a strong focus Launched last week – Building magazine is backing the campaign Plus Direct Advocacy – to seek the backing of the RICS and RIBA and other industry groups
The team is using social media to spread the message For issues based campaigns it is a low cost and powerful way of communications The Pledge has its own Facebook page and LinkdIn and Twitter dialogue The objective is to create debate and conversation The Pledge has only launched last week and already has a number of businesses signed up and committing to take an intern
The Construction Commitments were launched just over a year ago in Westminster to an invited audience of contractors and construction clients.
Media relations was again a key component of the marketing communications roll-out An integrated campaign, with all elements pushing the same focused messages
From a marketing perspective, the challenge is clear These are not new challenges, but the pace of change in corporate customer’s landscapes is unprecedented And that means impact for the entire supply chain