From a strategic point of view, the most important element of any PR campaign is having a story. That is why the front-end work is so critical. Many companies believe strongly in what they do, but are unable to view their messaging with the right degree of detachment. Part of what PR firms offer client companies is a reality check to point out the holes and the inconsistencies within a client's story. The best PR people help client companies enhance their reputation and make their message resonate with the media through this kind of constructive critique.
Some PR people do not take on clients whose organization or products give them ethical qualms; others hold to the view that, as with attorneys, every company is entitled to its day in court-in this case, in the court of public opinion. My firm is small enough to have the luxury of selectivity in the companies we represent. For me, not having ethical qualms simply means we can do a better job; we aren't ambivalent about our advocacy.
Client companies can make difficult demands. One client gave us the mandate to get on the front page of The Wall Street Journal within six weeks of being hired. If we didn't, the company was going to buy the back page of The Journal. The going rate for a full-page ad at the time was $80,000. Of course, they'd pay us a small fraction of that figure for editorial mention on page one, so it was clearly a terrific deal for them, but it was also a terrific challenge for us. When we picked ourselves up off the floor from laughing, we decided to go for it. The key was putting together a team. We had to create everything about the company from scratch, since nothing existed- it hadn't launched yet. We had to simultaneously define the company, create materials, determine the proper person at the target publication we had been handed, and solicit other parties beyond the client (because no Wall Street Journal reporter would put a story on the front page based on one start-up company). The CEO and I wrote the launch news release in the wee hours, the very morning we had to ship that release off to the Journal reporter. It worked. The Wall Street Journal reporter herself did a TV interview about the company's story, almost becoming a spokesperson for our client in the process. It was the launch the company was looking for. At the time, there were about twenty people working at the company; a year later, there were 400. The key is having a story-and finding the right person in the right place to give it the right type of attention.
Tactically, the most important part of a PR campaign is direct high-level media relations. PR firms look for as large a media target as our news hook can sustain. Sometimes, to buttress that news hook, PR firms conduct consumer research, often working with an outside research firm that can create and disseminate attitudinal surveys. Having information about how consumers feel on a given topic at a particular point in time invariably has news value. PR firms package that information accordingly, to broaden the story beyond the client. To round out most campaigns, PR firms also do media training for their clients, making sure the client CEO is ready to talk to a journalist or go in front of the camera.
PR firms use a variety of communications tools, including e-mail pitch letters, news releases delivered via commercial wire services that focus on search engine optimization, and Internet blog (and even YouTube) posting, among other tactics. While journalists are busy beyond belief, there is no substitute for simple (and persuasive) conversation. New technology is wonderful, but the telephone remains the most powerful tool in the PR professional's arsenal. And, precisely because reporters and analysts have so many demands on their time, the wise use (but not overuse) of multiple approaches is the best means of cutting through the noise.
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