In tough times, PR is more important than ever
London Fashion Week: a seven day celebration that epitomises the
frivolity, excess and decadence of something that is, for mere
mortals like ourselves, an occasional luxury.
One could question the appropriateness and relevance of such an
event at a time when people are struggling to cover the
ever-increasing cost of their weekly shop, never mind the latest
Vivienne Westwood design.
Public relations, with a little help from Patsy Stone and Co in
Absolutely Fabulous, is an industry held in a similar regard.
Something that is jolly good fun but amounts to nothing more than a
mention in the paper.
To share this opinion, however, would be a fatal error. As
marketing budgets are being tightened and people are spending less,
good PR is more important than ever for businesses up and down the
country.
Nothing else is as effective as getting your message across. Taking
out an advert might convey the same message, there's no
disputing that, but it will cost you more, be ignored by the
majority of people and won't have as much impact.
This is something we explain to our clients on a monthly basis when
we present them with a breakdown of the previous four weeks'
coverage.
A cost for the equivalent space in advertising is calculated -
always far in excess of the monthly PR fee - and a figure for the
number of people who saw the coverage is provided.
This is at least three times the number of people who would have
seen an advert. After all, no one picks up the paper to re-read the
adverts do they? No one pricks up their ears when the music stops
and the commercials run on the radio. But they do listen to the
news bulletin.
This is why, when times are tough and people are more considered
with their spending, good public relations is fundamental to
weathering the storm.
Anyway, must dash. Am meeting my sister in town. There's a pair
of shoes she's after - been saving up for weeks.
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