The 7 Elements of “Good” PR
Over this past weekend, dozens of people forwarded the NYTimes article on “PR in Silicon Valley” (and Arrington’s snarly response) to me in emails freighted with opinons and questions.
“Is this good PR? … Is this what you do? … Do you agree with Hammerling or Arrington? … This is bullshit! … This is awesome! … Would you have ignored the tech bloggers like the PR pro in this example? … Do you know Larry Ellison, too?”
First off, you should know that a deep and thoughtful response to this latest flap can be found on Brian Solis’s blog. My own take is simplistic by comparison.
What is good PR?
- Good PR is telling the client what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear. Good PR recognizes that the best “PR strategy” needs to be followed-up with the client’s good products/services or else it’s all a vain and wasted effort that harms everyone’s reputation.
- Good PR is not just about the over-glorified launch. Good PR helps build and sustain a groundswell of brand support — incrementally changing consumer behaviors via a steady stream of relevant and candid communication to both “media” and “consumers.”
- Good PR celebrates the client’s customers in an inclusive, non-exploitive way. And, good PR welcomes the input of “neutrals” and especially “critics,” and adapts strategy accordingly.
- Good PR is proactive in idea generation and responsive in a crisis. Good PR finds the balance.
- Good PR is measurable. (And yet also hard to measure, since most clients want to measure different things.)
- Good PR leverages pre-existing relationships with influential people — relationships built on trust and credibility earned over years of service.
- Good PR doesn’t need to know Larry Ellison or Kevin Rose or anyone in particular in the media, either. Even though such relationships can come in handy, good PR almost always “gets ink” because a good story has been well-told to the right people.
These “7 Elements of Good PR” may seem simplistic and high-falutin’, yet they sum up 17 years’ worth of hard lessons in this industry. PR is hard work, strategic work, underpromoted and infinitely interesting work — hard to describe or appreciate until you’re in the trenches.
If you’ve been in these trenches — think carefully — what am I missing?
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Amen. Especially the last bit about a good story being told to the right people. I would add that good PR isn’t afraid to play the role of devil’s advocate inside the organization and ask tough questions about relevance of the story and a respect for an audience – companies often think about people who might “benefit” from what they have to offer without thinking about whether or not those people would be interested in that benefit. All the things that make a good story include an audience that’s interested in hearing it in the first place.
I have had my nose to the grindstone so I don’t have a lot of background on the drama referenced above, but know that posts like this are why yours remains one of the stony faces carved into my personal, albeit imaginary, Mt. Rushmore.
I practically blushed from this one. Thank you!
Well done.
-I’d add that good PR necessitates telling the truth – or the truth you want your publics to know.
-It’s also to effect a specific business outcome.
-It’s strategic – I’ve seen too many people get really excited about the tactic and lose sight of the rationale.
-I’d also say good PR plays well with others: it’s integrated with other marketing strategy.
Todd,
Great post and retort – however number 4 is slightly off the mark IMHO.
Good PR should be proactive all the time – It becoming reactive in a time of crisis is what gives the profession the title of “spin”.
A lecturer put it this way – think of it as a tap – the water should always be running and not just turned on when needed.
Fair enough, Nehad – certainly I did not mean to imply that the PR spigot was ever “off,” only that we could – let’s say, “change the temperature or water pressure” as quickly as necessary, in crisis situations.
Great post. Agree with it all but #7 is the money point. A good story will always be a good story and there will always be people in the media smart enough to recognize it. The challenge is working with the client to elicit that good story and/or having the backbone to tell them that what *they think* is a good story isn’t. Kudos! You never disappoint. Best/Geri R
Good PR is not always about “getting ink. ” Its about protecting your clients’ reputation, which sometimes means avoiding ink.
All good points, consistent with the fact that good PR is more about what an organization does than what it says.