As the authors say, “Publicity is the nail, advertising is the hammer.”
What does this mean? It means that your PR effort helps make your
message believable so that your advertising will have credibility
when it hits.
Typically, companies want to hit the market hard and make a lot of
noise. Advertising allows you to launch quickly, control the message,
and have your message in as many media as you have the money for.
However, that does not mean your message will be believed. The louder
advertisers yell, the less likely I am to believe them. How about
you?
PR takes time and does not necessarily work on your schedule. Planting
new ideas or changing minds is a slow process. When your PR program
rolls out over a longer period of time, prospects have time to adjust
their attitudes. Brands that take this approach are longer lasting,
too.
Chevrolet, for years the number-one auto brand, was still number one
in ad spending in 2001. It spent $819 million dollars—39 percent more
than Ford spent. Still, Ford outsells Chevrolet by 33%.
Since 1997, Chevrolet has outspent and undersold Ford. Chevrolet spends
$314 per vehicle, and Ford spends $170 per vehicle. Is advertising
working for Chevrolet?
Kmart, embroiled in financial difficulty for years, had revenues of
$37 billion and spent $542 million on US advertising in 2001. Wal-Mart
spent $498 million and garnered four times the revenue: $159 billion
split between its Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores.
The average Wal-Mart store does $46 million in sales each year, and
each Sam’s Club store sells an average of $56 million. Sam’s Club
does almost no advertising.
Those are old brands, you’re saying. What about some newer brands,
Harry?
OK, let’s look at Pets.com. Remember the dog sock puppet that starred
in their commercials? It won awards, but not sales. In six months
Pets.com had $22 million in revenues and spent four times that much
on advertising. Off-base advertising creativity at work.
The Body Shop was built totally by publicity. No advertising at all.
Starbucks, until recently, did virtually no advertising. It has built
a brand through good PR efforts. Starbucks annual sales are around
$1.3 billion, while advertising expenditures over 10 years have totaled
less than $10 million.
Finally, what advertising agency do you know that has built its brand
with ads?
Things that make you go “hmm….”
About the Author:
Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR, http://www.hoover-ink.com/.
He has 25 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line
messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Duke Energy,
InterCerve, Levolor, North Carolina Tourism, VELUX and Verbatim.
Read this newsletter at:
http://www.MarketingNewz.com/2003/1027.html |
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| From the Forum: | | Public Relations | What
is a small business owner to do? You have hundreds or even
thousands of competitors world-wide! How do you make yourself
known among all the hustle and bustle? ...
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By
Harry Hoover