Recession may have
struck European markets but India is still on the safer zone making the PR
industry bolstering high. Experts forecast as advertising budget is drastically
cut down the role of PR has been focused in picture than ever. There might a
bad hair day but recession has increased corporate demand of PR and now the
analysts think PR has become an “organizing principle” behind decision making.
In today’s time PR is more personalized than ever. Being a progressive and ever
evolving field, PR & Corporate Communications have done wonders in terms of
crisis management.
As a PR person and
Social Media maven I believe PR’s role has taken forefront and due to low cash
flows and diversified budgets to pain areas, the focus of companies have
shifted from spending on advertising to maintaining their public image in long
run and win the investors’ confidence. Now companies are making proactive
strategies with the help of PR and corporate communications. Addressing the
public immediately is a step forward to reduce damage to the image of the
company as rumours can be more fatal then the truth. And this is where the PR
people step in coordinating with the media and aligning a favourable coverage
which can process a better and improved image of the company.
The primary concern
for any PR agency is to maintain their standard. A good internal communications
plan can diffuse the tension, reassure doubts, or at the very least, keep
people in the loop about what’s happening.PR has
also benefited from the changing media landscape. If a company launches an
effective marketing campaign or a shrewd, targeted public relations campaign
not only will that company thrive as others wither, but they will be ahead of
the pack and powerfully positioned to grow and succeed once the economy begins
its upswing.
The key during
recession is to implement SMART marketing.
S-Strategize
M-Maintain market
spend
A-Assess and allocate
budget
R-Research your
customer thoroughly
T-Target and reach out
to them
Procter & Gamble pushed their Ivory
soap during recession through immense media presence and unique PR campaigns
Intel during 1991 economic
difficulty came up with new branding strategies and creating a wave with “Intel
Inside” campaigns which is case study of recession in management colleges.
Wal-Mart launched their “Every
Day Low Prices” campaign in 2000-2001 which is running till now with a great
success rate giving huge profits to the retail giant.
With online media
increasing its presence big time in India, companies are now seeking Social
Media as their major tool to curb and resolve budget problems during recession.
Facebook and twitter being a great interactive platform are attracting more
brands and companies to create their presence on these social networking sites.
The future of PR is still and will even grow with time and as the Social Media
is adding to PR’s advantage it will run in mainstream marketing soon.
