The age old debate about what prompts awareness and visibility for a brand reappeared this month on the pages of Georgia Trend. According to the article, spending on public relations has increased while advertising is down. The media research firm SNL Kagen reports that overall public relations spending in the United States will climb almost three percent this year to $210 billion following two straight years of decline (by 5.5 percent in 2008 and 15.6 percent in 2009.) Advertising, on the other hand, continues to fall in in some segments, especially in daily newspapers.
Overall, on an absolute basis, spending on advertising is larger, but the changing media landscape is prompting many organizations to reconsider the blend of advertising and public relations. Some in the local pubic relations community believe that public relations is no longer taking a backseat to advertising for a number of reasons. First, they note that connections made through the public relations channel, either through earned media, social networks, events, community relations, issue management, etc., represent a more authentic engagement with a brand or message. Also, the savvy media consumer has become smarter at dodging that paid appeal.
That said, it is critical that we in public relations acknowledge the complexities of dealing with multiple audiences and messages to stay effective and to cut through the noise. For example, one of our clients, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, sponsors an emergency preparedness campaign – Ready Georgia – where we blended traditional public relations strategies and tactics with targeted paid advertising and leveraged the exploding social media universe. The reason is that we recognize residents need to hear the message multiple times from multiple sources.
As the media landscape evolves, this discussion will continue to solicit a vigorous debate. Stay tuned… and in the meantime, tell us what you think.
As design director at Cookerly, Tim serves as the creative lead in the development of branding campaigns, print collateral and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries, including consumer, professional services, healthcare and technology.
As a senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman is a strategic communications leader specializing in media relations and reputation management. With a proven track record of securing high-profile placements in top-tier outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and USA Today, he excels at crafting compelling narratives that resonate across print, broadcast and digital platforms.
Mike Touhill is vice president at Cookerly Public Relations, where he helps lead traditional, social and digital media programs for B2B and B2C clients in packaging, telecommunications and technology, among other industries. As a communication leader, he develops and executes public relations strategy, provides proactive and reactive counsel to C-level executives and secures earned media coverage for client initiatives and product.
Andrew Agan is a vice president at Cookerly Public Relations, overseeing the agency’s internship program and leading media relations, content strategy and social media initiatives. He provides counsel and executes campaigns for clients across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, hospitality, technology, automotive and many others. Andrew excels at crafting compelling stories and building media relationships, resulting in clients being featured in notable outlets such as CNBC, Associated Press, Business Insider, Fox Business, HBO, Inc. Magazine, Sirius XM, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, among others.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.