What a cheese
Column: Advertisers are discovering PR agencies—usually without a clue as to how successful media relations really work.
Column Advertisers discover PR agencies - usually without any idea of how successful press relations really work. Business is tough. That's why advertisers and PR people are thinking ahead and looking for interesting cooperation opportunities. Why not work together, some think, and team up with PR agencies. The idea seems simple: a new product is launched, the campaign is created. A "little PR" should steer the ship into the right waters. The customer reacts enthusiastically. The advertiser has one more stone in the client's coffin. Soon things get underway. They meet once or twice more to coordinate the campaign with the media work. After that, everyone does their job. However, expectations are never discussed. Because for the advertising agency, one thing is clear: the whole media world is just waiting for the launch of this "incredibly innovative" product.
The PR man warns: "The media are oversaturated. Journalists know very well how to distinguish between a real story and the marketing of an advertising campaign."
The advertisers wave it off. Just don't get too pessimistic.
Advertiser: "This thing will be a big hit. The world has never seen anything like it."
PR person: "What is it actually about?"
Advertiser: "A new type of cheese. New texture in the spread. Super!"
PR person: "I see, but that doesn't blow my mind. What else is special?"
Advertiser: "Hey. A brilliant product. The world will go wild for this cheese. I can already see the sales figures. In the millions."
PR person: "Ok. Can this cheese dance? Does it have a fast digestion supplement? Does it contain an anti-fattening protein or anything else special?"
Advertiser: "Hey girl. Stay cool, you'll see, we're planning a total guerrilla attack. First we'll send a Pic-Nic blanket to the editorial offices. That will arouse curiosity. That will be the full advertising hammer!"
PR woman, is still skeptical: "It's also possible that the blanket will be thrown away immediately or that Fifi will be used as a blanket in the car in future. But then the message hasn't gotten through yet."
Werber: "Three days later, he receives a lovely basket with the cheese, a knife and crispbread. It hits like a bomb."
PR woman: "The editors will be delighted. The cheese is devoured in no time. The dry crackers choked down. Another free mini lunch. But something like that doesn't end up in the newspaper for a long time."
Advertiser: "Hey girl, just believe in the guerrilla strategy. Write the press release. The content has to come across as juicy as possible. You know what I mean, don't you?"
PR woman: "Logo, all right. Short, crisp and easier to digest than the cheese itself. Let's go for it."
Three weeks later. The advertiser is slightly ill-tempered. Sends mail after mail. "What about the media clippings? Have you asked the editors? When will the article about this insane cheese be published?"
That's exactly the problem: for the journalists, it's all a mad cheese, far too staged, far too little on the bacon, er cheese. The advertiser is disappointed. The cheese producer no longer understands the world. He seriously thought that the media world had been waiting for this product, so he cleared page one in the paper and made the product photo as large as possible.
Unfortunately, many advertisers have no idea how successful press relations really work. They are used to their campaigns actually appearing. Their customers believe that it is the same with editorial content. This is exactly where the mistake lies.
The PR man warns: "The media are oversaturated. Journalists know very well how to distinguish between a real story and the marketing of an advertising campaign."
The advertisers wave it off. Just don't get too pessimistic.
Advertiser: "This thing will be a big hit. The world has never seen anything like it."
PR person: "What is it actually about?"
Advertiser: "A new type of cheese. New texture in the spread. Super!"
PR person: "I see, but that doesn't blow my mind. What else is special?"
Advertiser: "Hey. A brilliant product. The world will go wild for this cheese. I can already see the sales figures. In the millions."
PR person: "Ok. Can this cheese dance? Does it have a fast digestion supplement? Does it contain an anti-fattening protein or anything else special?"
Advertiser: "Hey girl. Stay cool, you'll see, we're planning a total guerrilla attack. First we'll send a Pic-Nic blanket to the editorial offices. That will arouse curiosity. That will be the full advertising hammer!"
PR woman, is still skeptical: "It's also possible that the blanket will be thrown away immediately or that Fifi will be used as a blanket in the car in future. But then the message hasn't gotten through yet."
Werber: "Three days later, he receives a lovely basket with the cheese, a knife and crispbread. It hits like a bomb."
PR woman: "The editors will be delighted. The cheese is devoured in no time. The dry crackers choked down. Another free mini lunch. But something like that doesn't end up in the newspaper for a long time."
Advertiser: "Hey girl, just believe in the guerrilla strategy. Write the press release. The content has to come across as juicy as possible. You know what I mean, don't you?"
PR woman: "Logo, all right. Short, crisp and easier to digest than the cheese itself. Let's go for it."
Three weeks later. The advertiser is slightly ill-tempered. Sends mail after mail. "What about the media clippings? Have you asked the editors? When will the article about this insane cheese be published?"
That's exactly the problem: for the journalists, it's all a mad cheese, far too staged, far too little on the bacon, er cheese. The advertiser is disappointed. The cheese producer no longer understands the world. He seriously thought that the media world had been waiting for this product, so he cleared page one in the paper and made the product photo as large as possible.
Unfortunately, many advertisers have no idea how successful press relations really work. They are used to their campaigns actually appearing. Their customers believe that it is the same with editorial content. This is exactly where the mistake lies.
Karin Müller, a former journalist, now runs her own communications company in Zurich.
