The P in PR stands for Public
Published on 31 May 2006 at 10:10 pm |
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Filed under Business and Corporation Related, Main Stream Media, Branding and Values, Public Relations and Marketing.
Everyone knows that the P in PR stands for public, but for many busy companies, PR consists of press releases and nothing more.
But editors don’t buy your products. And while there is no finer, classier, more charming, or better-looking class of humans than the folks who edit magazines, ultimately you must reach your buyers, not just editors.
Press releases have their place. But according to one study, a typical editor at an electronics-industry magazine receives 43,297,336,817 press releases each and every day. (We’re not sure who did this study; it may be the same people who predicted the growth of video conferencing. Our editor friends do tell us they get quite a number of press releases.)
Who is _your_ public? You need a specific answer to this; you may even need more than one. But whether there is one narrowly-defined group or lots of groups, you should develop a specific idea of who this person is and why he might be interested in your message.
This rule applies all the more to broadly-targeted products. Take lightbulbs. Everyone uses lightbulbs, and needs them. But a press release that begins:
"New York - Dim Glow (DMGL, NYSE, a worldwide maker of lamps, bulbs, and illumination devices) today announced its new line of BRI-TER ™ edison-base incandescent lamps. These new lights, targeted at home and office applications, are compatible with AC and DC power sources and offered in a range of wattages in both 120V and 240V version….."
Yawn. Sure, they’re nice lights, and we all need lights, but the text doesn’t really grab, does it?
But let’s define the public a little more clearly. One class of buyer is the thrifty homemaker. She works hard to maintain a nice home for her family, but has to be careful with her budget. She’s interested in things she can do to make her modest home a little more distinctive, and she fancies that she has a bit of style, even on a limited budget. She’s concerned about the environment, and recycles when she can. We’ll call her Alice.
"New York - Dim Glow (DMGL, NYSE, a worldwide maker of lamps, bulbs, and illumination devices) today announced a new line of lamps specfically designed to improve the feel and mood of indoor illumination, while offering costs savings in operation. Called BRI-TER, the lamps offer a warm overall glow, but with a hint more blue to give home interiors just a bit of snap. A new filament process allows 12% brighter operation on the same amount of current.
"They’re not for everyone or every use" says Horkle Finkbutter, VP of Incandescense at Dim Glow. "We wanted to develop a bulb that would make living nicer - a warmer glow, but efficient. A brighter glow, but without glare. These lights are for people who want a little more from a light. Use them in living rooms, bedrooms, dens. Closets or garages? Why bother? These lights are for living."
In addition to saving electricity, Dim Glow announced a free recycling program. Every retailer will accept Dim Glow lamps - all types - in return, and they’ll be sent back to the factory. Dim Glow says that over 95% of the bulb can be reprocessed and used to make new bulbs."
See? Figure out who _your_ public is, and talk to them. They’ll listen. The editorial community won’t mind, either, as long as you remember to work in the essential elements of any announcement. Editors don’t want to write boring junk any more than readers want to read it.
So break out of the formulaic mold of most press releases! Write like you care! Keep it short, put in the important stuff, and leave the boring stuff for the data sheet.
Copyright 2005 Oliver Heaviside
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