HOW TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS IN A VOLATILE ECONOMY PUBLIC RELATIONS MAY BE A COST EFFICIENT OPTION
During these ugly economic times, it may be tough to think about spending monies marketing your product. But it is even more crucial to generate increased awareness of your company or product when the country is in a recession. People are more cautious and conservative in their spending and as a result your brand needs to be positioned front of mind so that some of that discretionary income spent is in your direction.
It is important to view today's soft economy with the proper historical perspective. The continued housing crisis, turmoil in financial markets, spiking oil prices, disappearing jobs and shrinking retirement savings have all taken place in similar shape and form in the past, and the economy has managed to recover.
Philosophers, social scientists and other visionaries will remind us that when there is turmoil and devastation, there is always opportunity. Business leaders who seize upon those opportunities will survive tough times—they just have to think more efficiently about continuing to promote their products and services.
Most people are aware that advertising is expensive. It costs $217,900 to buy a full-page color ad in USA Today and $254,852 to buy a 30 second prime time TV spot on FOX TV network. These advertising page and airtime purchases do not include production costs, which could be astronomical.
The good news is that there are remarkably effective ways to get the word out about your business that do not require a six figure down payment and million dollar budgets. An experienced, reputable public relations firm can get your company, product or service coverage in USA Today, on network news, on radio and on the web through its ability to craft news and stories on your company and products, utilizing its relationships with reporters, bookers and producers.
Even more impressive when comparing the impressions generated by a paid advertisement versus a story placed in the media by a PR firm, when a news organization covers your business via a story there is third party endorsement, which lends genuine credibility and relevance to your messages. The public trusts editorial far more than it does paid advertising. You reap the benefits.
So, you might ask, how much does a public relations campaign cost? The comparison is startling – PR is by far more effective and modest. You can get one year of excellent yearlong PR campaigns, which in turn will generate hundreds of positive media stories, with less than 50% of the budget required to purchase a single national print or television ad!
At Blackman Rakowitz Public Relations, we know the bookers, reporters and the producers who are affiliated with every major media outlet in the world today. We are highly respected for our integrity. It took us over 20 years of hard work, contact building and success stories to get to this point, and nobody is better at securing stories that get their clients media attention and enhancing their bottom line than we are.
So despite the doom and gloom stories and despite the recession we find ourselves in, public relations can rescue companies from obscurity and insecure buyers with a modest fee and an ambitious and clever campaign.