Branding and PR are key ingredients to the success of any business. Therefore, from the word go it’s important a company has established its brand identity, message and image it wants to put out there. Similarly, in order to maximise your brand, a PR strategy is a vital tool for helping organisations grow an industry presence, communicate their message and further their reach.
In essence, to get the most out of your business you need the two to work in tandem as they influence each other. With this in mind, here are three key ways a PR strategy can help build and maximise your brand.
Look at Coca Cola for example – it’s one brand that we all value and recognise across the globe. With stats showing 98% of the world’s population recognise the brand name, while it certainly is impressive – this didn’t happen overnight. Sometimes unknown to the naked eye, it takes a PR and marketing strategy that is consistently and succinctly driving home a company’s message, its brand image, latest news and communicating this with a targeted audience. In this instance, Coca Cola is all about enjoying a light carbonated drink – so the PR strategy is all about making sure audiences and consumers associate good and positive feelings with the brand. A case in point, the company’s latest motto is “Taste the feeling” which is linked to all the new flavours the business has recently launched.
With a PR and marketing strategy reinforcing desired messages and imagery that audiences will associate with a brand, this type of consistency is crucial for organisations that want a clear identity and firm foot in the market.
While developing a brand is mostly centred on creating an identity and message to put out there – without a sound PR strategy in place, ensuring your voice is seen and heard and your brand is communicated effectively – you could risk what you have created falling into background noise. A key point here is, if a journalist or reporter can’t work out what your brand is about or who your target audience is, this can act as a shield towards press opportunities. Similarly, if the media is having a hard time understanding what your business is about – so could your audience. The math is simple. The more an organisation can communicate, the more people can understand what the business is about, what it does and the more likely you are to generate wider interest and get opportunities to talk in the press.
Implementing a good public relations strategy will help leverage any messages you want to get out there. However, it is worth keeping in mind that PR efforts to maximise brand awareness won’t be as effective if the messaging at the start is unclear.
It can be a tough market out there and, especially for those just starting out with no established reputation, it can be even tougher to gain the immediate trust and loyalty from your target audience. We know all too well that people choose the businesses they value and trust, where they know what to expect and understand a company’s ethos. However, gaining this type of credibility from an audience in a crowded market doesn’t always come easy. And this is where a good PR strategy comes in hand. Having the right plan in place, will help businesses to create, develop and sustain relationships with their target audiences and the media and build constant recognition. For example, seeing a company comment on a positive story or being mentioned in a credible publication can help maximise not only the brand name but this will also encourage positive associations. While many organisations understand that exposure is important, it’s key to have the right exposure in the media that creates the brand image you want.
One thing that is for certain – having a good public relations strategy in place can ensure that what your business says and does is communicated effectively, works towards building a loyal and trusting audience and generates positive press to truly maximise your brand.
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Author: Zahra Abedi