PR Is More Than Media Relations

When you sit back and look at the winners of the Silver Anvils, most have a couple of things in common.

1. They had measurable results that demonstrated that their strategies and tactics worked
2. The campaign was exceptionally thorough in its integration
3. The campaign was creative, original and innovative

And it is the last point that I want to quickly discuss. When most people think of PR, they think of sending out news releases and getting press hits. And, often, we see many entries come across that are simple media relations programs. Don't get me wrong, media relations is important, but it is not the sole arrow in the quiver.

To achieve greatness in a campaign, PR practitioners need to "own" the third bullet from above (creative, original, innovative) to break through the clutter while framing an issue as only PR can:

Be creative in your approach to solving a problem.

• When a well-known overnight delivery brand was losing market share because of the perception that they just delivered letters, the PR counselor came up with a creative solution that tied the client's delivery system with a charitable cause by delivering Christmas trees and large boxed gifts to military families whose father/mother was overseas.

Implement original content and ideas that few have done before.

• When a hair care company wanted to raise new awareness of its product line, instead of just going the news release route, they created a campaign that 1) encouraged women to love their hair through seminars, training workshops and online chat sessions, 2) raised awareness with teens about hair care and self esteem (think formative years) through a partnership with the Girl Scouts and 3) pulled back the curtain on "Hollywood hair" to show how anyone can be as glamorous as their favorite celeb.

Innovative strategies and executions go a long way in cementing a brand in the mind of a consumer.

• When a body spray company was debuting its product, they wanted to visually showcase how the brand's promise worked in real life for all to witness. In a "live your life through me" type campaign, targeted consumers got to vote on where to send one person to live the brand experience and then, thanks to a camera on the person, watch him use the body spray, become an instant celeb, party like a rock star and be the most popular guy there. Now, this body spray company uses the same before/after spray approach in a multi-million ad campaign... but the heavy lifting was done through PR!

Lesson learned: To be great, don't fall into the box that says PR is all about media relations. Be creative. Be original. And be innovative. That's what makes the best a Silver Anvil.

Know The Difference Between Strategy and Tactic

As we judge the Silver Anvils, there is often confusion in the entries - and the firms entering them - about the difference between a “strategy” and a “tactic.” For instance, we often see "Distribute XYZ number of news releases per month" as as strategy. Media relations is a tactic, not a strategy. Let's take a quick look.

STRATEGY involves the “big picture” – the overall plan, how the campaign will achieve organizational goals and objectives. It involves deciding who the important publics are and which of them will be the recipients of your messages (i.e., “target audiences”).

Strategic planning determines how the organization will be positioned; how important publics will learn about the organization and how it can help them. It will also create a reason why the audience should believe and support the organization, and it will help develop a consistent message and focus for the organization to uphold.

Each strategy must be considered on its own merits, and must be a viable option to be judged on its own strengths – one that definitely will solve the problem. Any approaches that will not solve the problem independently should be eliminated. If a combination of approaches can solve the problem, consider the combination as a strategic alternative.

TACTICS are activities specifically created and selected to reach specific and measurable objectives. Tactics are the actual ways in which the strategies are executed... such as sending out a news release... to targets that key audiences actually are exposed to. Tactics include:

• ACTION EVENTS: Non-written tactics such as special events, demonstrations, exhibits, parades, community contributions (manpower, talent, advice, money) and other non-verbal activities.
• COMMUNICATIONS TACTICS: Verbal tactics (oral and written) that use words or pictures. These include newsletters, flyers, news releases, brochures, direct mail, advertising, themes, slogans, the Web, social media and other initiatives that use words and language as their basis.