Betting On PR

I recently came across an article on Inc.com titled “Why I’m Betting on PR” The article was written by Caroline Limpert, who recently started her own company. What caught my eye is that her start-up does not have a massive marketing budget like most start-ups tend to; instead, she is placing the entire budget into PR.

The reasons she is “betting on PR” are very powerful. As PR students and young professionals, we know that PR is sometimes misunderstood. Below are a few key ideas that we can take away from her list to help us justify what we are doing in our organizations and give ourselves some leverage over marketing and advertising professionals.

Editorial Coverage Builds Brand - In an age of advertising clutter, consumers look toward media coverage to form opinions of what’s in. Although Limpert’s start-up may not have the budget to place ads in TechCrunch, Vogue, and Details, she does have editorial coverage in those publications- which is more valuable in today’s age.

PR Creates Awareness - Most companies ideally would want to have their publics learn about their brand through positive word-of-mouth marketing. PR creates brand awareness in a credible way similar to how word-of-mouth marketing builds awareness. However, PR can build that awareness much faster.

PR Isn’t Just Press - PR does not just include press relations anymore. The new opportunities available to us, such as social media, are very low-cost to implement in comparison to marketing and advertising opportunities.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kyra Mazurek.