Ever since The Boston News-Letter printed the first newspaper advertisement on May 8, 1704, businesses have been looking for better ways to get their messages out to potential customers. As the mass media has expanded to include all sorts of print and broadcast outlets, the concept of the publicity campaign has evolved to provide ways for companies to reach the public more effectively than ads or commercials can. At the same time, businesses are learning about more sophisticated tools that enable them to measure the results of these campaigns and compare them to the objectives they have set.
It didn’t take long for consumers to recognize that media ads were only as reliable as the companies that paid for them, and any negative feeling about a product would hurt a brand’s credibility with its audience. Once a company’s reputation is tarnished, it is difficult to regain consumer trust – and a lack of confidence in a product or brand can lead to a disaster in the marketplace.
Structuring A Measurable, Objectives-Based Publicity Campaign: NewsXPartners Discusses Deliverables is an original (NXPExchange) article.
A survey conducted recently by Ford Motor Company shows that customers continue to grow even more skeptical of the brands they see advertised, with two-thirds of the respondents agreeing with the statement that once a brand loses their trust, there is no getting it back. That same study showed that the vast majority of consumers – 93 percent – say they prefer brands that are recommended by their friends and family. Achieving that kind of word-of-mouth endorsement is a key goal of a good publicity campaign.
Before it can have the good reputation it needs, a business must first develop name recognition for itself and its products. That’s where a professional PR/marketing company that understands the media in all its forms is invaluable. Favorable name recognition is directly associated with the credibility of a brand and the elimination of roadblocks to consumers’ purchasing decisions. In a highly competitive market with many suppliers, the brand with the greatest name recognition is usually the winner when a sale is made.
Because so many businesses recognize the value of a well-planned publicity campaign, the future looks bright for companies that specialize in public relations and marketing. The International Market Analysis Research and Consulting Group estimates that the global public relations tools market grew to $10.4 billion in 2022, and it expects the PR market to reach $20 billion by 2028. That represents an annual growth rate of 11 percent.
IMARC Group says public relations tools include the establishment, identification, and maintenance of mutually beneficial relationships between various organizations and the general public. Besides assisting in publicity campaigns, these tools also aid in running analytics to assess the impact of the content posted by the organization.
Public relations tools make it easier for companies to stay in touch with important news related to their demographic. Media coverage can be arranged in one call with fewer costs, which in turn reduces the financial burden on companies. Additionally, public relations tools create online surveys and determine the opinions of targeted audiences, which helps create a better brand.
The current PR market is driven by the growing use of publicity campaigns conducted through numerous media platforms to reach regular and potential consumers. This can be attributed to continual advancements in data drilling and information-gathering platforms in large and small organizations. In addition, the rising popularity of social media engagement and digital marketing is helping businesses track consumer preferences.
The PR market is also being driven by the demand for comprehension of current trends, which allows businesses to predict consumer behavior based on analytics and aggregation. The growing need for an integrated publicity campaign strategy is also creating a positive outlook for the market. Other factors in market growth include rapid digitization, continual technological advancements, increasing penetration of high-speed internet, the use of cloud computing, and extensive research and development activities conducted by key players.
A key component of a well-planned publicity campaign is the ability to provide credible, fair, and accurate news copy to reputable media outlets. Viewers and readers are increasingly skeptical of material they find from traditional print and broadcast outlets, and they are especially wary of claims they find on the internet. The old model of three news networks and a handful of truly national newspapers and magazines has been replaced by a seemingly endless stream of words and images whose origins are murky at best.
Businesses that once built bridges of trust with legacy news media now compete with upstart companies that may or may not adhere to honesty and fairness in their dealings with the public. The products the older firms make and sell are just as good as ever, but getting that message to potential customers is becoming ever more complex.
Business news writers find themselves in a similar situation on the other side of the journalism industry. Daily newspapers are folding left and right, leaving many American cities without a reputable source of information about the products and services available to local customers. The writers who worked for these publications often find themselves with specialized skills that are not in demand in the marketplace of ideas.
Into that gap steps organizations such as NewsXPartners, composed of professional writers, reporters, and journalists who share industry information and access to publishing outlets and editors domestically and internationally. NXP has developed a robust proprietary technology and identification system to facilitate efficient article submission to the editorial staff at digital and print media outlets throughout North America. The goal of all this technology is to help writers work with businesses to develop the kind of publicity campaign that will enhance the brand’s positive name recognition.
Many businesses are anxious to find ways to reach their increasingly scattered base of potential customers so they can continue to develop their markets. Working with writers who provide material for many media outlets helps them achieve that goal, and it also makes the process much more efficient.
The most significant benefit of a strong publicity campaign is increased sales, and therefore a more robust bottom line for businesses. It has been demonstrated that people assume a better-known name, especially one shown in a favorable light or context, is the mark of a better-quality product or service.
Another abiding principle of the PR/marketing business is that name recognition must be established before brand recognition can take place. Logos, jingles, slogans, trademarks, and social media campaigns are often the first steps taken to show potential customers that a product exists. Once that name recognition is established, well-crafted media placement can help develop positive brand recognition that leads to more sales and more revenue.
Many successful companies have learned that favorable name recognition can be achieved through publicity campaigns that feature third-party-generated, highly engaging, and
search-engine-optimized sponsored content. The trick, if there is one, is to maintain credibility as an endorsed sponsor without being advertorial. Viewers and readers tend to place more trust in actual news reports than they do in any sort of paid endorsements. Intelligent planning for a publicity campaign enables a brand to achieve name recognition as an endorsed party rather than as a self-promoting enterprise.
Positive name recognition can be an elusive goal for any company, and winning the public’s trust has always involved hard work, quality products, and honest media relations. The good news is that businesses don’t have to carry this burden alone. PR and marketing experts who understand how to produce usable news copy that will be printed, posted, or broadcast by reputable media outlets can be valuable allies in achieving this goal.
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The NXP Writers Syndicate (https://nxpexchange.com) is a fraternal and business society of professional writers, reporters, and journalists who share industry information and access to publishing outlets and editors domestically and internationally.
