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Polishing your imageBy Jenny Price
But the event comes and goes with nary a mention in the newspaper or on the nightly newscast and the CEO wonders why. It's because public relations is not an isolated piece of the company to call upon when a major development is near completion, Capital Region experts say. Public relations is a key component of building a company's reputation through relationships with the public and news media that will help burnish its image when there is good news to share and weather the storm when something goes wrong. Making public relations an "afterthought" is a mistake, said Steve Busalacchi, an independent PR consultant based in Madison. "Strategic communication starts from the very beginning so you can avoid problems that might crop up later," he said. Give PR a seat at the table PR professionals, whether they work for outside agencies or in-house for a company, contend they must have access to company leadership and their opinions valued in order to do their jobs well. "We want to be at the table. We want to be in on any issue that's coming up in the company," said Paula M. Symons, manager for donor services communication at Madison-based RTI Donor Services - Allograft Resources Division, the Midwest division of a network of tissue recovery agencies. "We want to be there so we can provide our counsel. There's nothing worse than having to clean up a mess." One of the main functions of public relations is to anticipate issues or problems that may come up for a company and determine how to deal with them in a way that builds on or preserves its reputation. "Any PR practitioner needs to provide that counsel to management and that early warning system," said Paul Pitas, director of corporate communications for Dean Health System. The senior management of U.S. companies view public relations as a contributor to success on par with sales and marketing, according to an annual survey sponsored by the Council of Public Relations Firms and published by the USC Annenburg Strategic Public Relations Center. But Busalacchi said some executives view PR as a drag on the bottom line because they can't directly see how having that person on board helps make money. "How much is your good name worth? That's what public relations is about," he said. "It doesn't happen overnight; it's something you have to work at and do consistently." One of the biggest challenges for the public relations industry is measuring results. Advertising's effectiveness can be quantified by the number of people who see a commercial or how many cars pass a billboard on any given day. "When you're dealing with things like perception and reputation and goodwill and relationship building - that's a deeper thing to measure," said Barb Hernandez, public relations director and partner with The Hiebing Group, a Madison marketing and communications firm. Hernandez said she works to get clients out of "a nuts and bolts mindset and help them see that reputations matter for their business and they matter when you're telling good news and they especially matter when you're telling bad news." What kind of PR? How much companies spend on public relations depends on their size. The Council of Public Relations Firms' study found PR budgets as a percentage of gross revenues ranged from .06 percent on average for Fortune 500 companies to a little over 4 percent for firms with less than $100 million in revenues. The average in-house public relations staff size was 40 for the Fortune 500 and four for the smallest companies in the survey. Pitas said an internal public relations staff has more knowledge of the business than an agency and can manage several different projects at once while being available to company decision makers. "If you have something internal, I think you're able to move more quickly," Pitas said. Pitas said outside agencies can be useful when management is looking for a different view or objective opinion when a company "has been too close to a situation for awhile." More than 60 percent of companies in the survey hired outside public relations firms, an expenditure that accounted for about one-fourth of total PR budgets on average. Cost was the top concern in working with outside agencies, along with lack of knowledge or insight about the business. The study found companies choose to work with agencies for "additional arms and legs," to get an objective point of view, complement internal PR efforts, get unique expertise experience or because it's cheaper than adding permanent staff. Some companies can only afford to have a one-person communications staff and look to outside firms to bounce ideas off of for a product launch or company merger, Hernandez said. But the cost of hiring an agency can be out of reach for some smaller firms who also don't have their own permanent public relations staff. In those cases, Hernandez said, agencies will recommend experienced freelancers or consultants who work at a lower cost and can help a small company through a project such as a product launch or other major announcement. Other small companies can consider hiring college interns or retired public relations professionals on a volunteer basis, the local experts said. And Symons said public relations goes beyond media relations. It includes what a company does to invest in the community, such as donating to the fundraising efforts of local charities. "Companies should consider community support at all levels," she said. Is it really news? One of the most important aspects of public relations is forming relationships with reporters and editors at television and radio stations and newspapers. That's one of the reasons so many public relations professionals are former reporters or editors. "I always encourage companies to not just send a news release, but to get to know reporters at various outlets and develop relationships with at least one at each location," said Joel DeSpain, a reporter for WISC-TV in Madison. And for television, offering visuals are the key to making a story work, along with making "real" people who might be affected available for interviews, DeSpain said. It's also important to develop a mutual trust with reporters, he said. "If you are calling and have a track record of 'dishing' good stories in the past, reporters are more apt to hear you out," he said. "But if you have a history of repeatedly faxing, e-mailing, calling with stuff that really isn't news, you will probably not get a lot of media interest." Hernandez agreed it's important for companies to sort out what is news and what isn't. "Some people think everything they do is news," she said. "So many companies spend so much time trying to make news out of something that isn't news that they waste certainly the media's time and they miss the bigger picture." News conferences should be reserved for major announcements or when a company needs to communicate breaking news that could have an enormous impact on the community's safety or security, Symons said. In most cases, it's better to think in terms of events that will generate the visuals media are looking for and provide opportunities for reporters to talk with key players. Symons said another way companies can attract media coverage is to position themselves as an expert resource on a particular subject, a trend or issue connected to a major ongoing news story. In particular, radio and TV talks shows are frequently looking for guests, she said. "What do you and your company know more about than anyone else?" she said. "Offer that expertise to media outlets." Who should talk? Not all of a company's employees - in fact, very few of them - should speak to the media. Most public relations experts suggest having a point person for reporters and editors to call when seeking interviews or information. "Employees are just not the official spokespeople for the organization," Pitas said. "They may have zero knowledge of an issue or worse, partial knowledge of an issue." For the very smallest companies, Pitas said, "someone clearly has to wear two hats." "In an organization of 20 people it might be the president, it might be the human resource person, it might be the marketing person," he said. Symons said one person who should not be a media contact for a company is its attorney. "Their forte is not communication. Their forte is keeping (you) out of court," she said. Hernandez said her firm recommends that clients have one main contact for the press but also make a circle of people with specific expertise available to reporters. It's also important that a company's spokesperson be available, even after hours. "This is not an 8-to-5 or 9-to-6 kind of job," she said. "When you give somebody a cell phone number or e-mail address and don't check it for three days ... that's like saying you don't want to comment." Experts said it's also critical for those who speak on the company's behalf to have formal media training - something that can be accomplished in an afternoon. Typical training involves anticipating questions reporters may have, keeping messages consistent and how to relay critical information not related to the questions asked. "It's a really small investment," Busalacchi said. "It just sort of gives them the rules of the road." Perhaps the biggest lesson is how quickly information travels once it is in the hands of the media, Hernandez said. "When doing media training for clients one of the first things I tell them is, 'don't ever say anything you don't want to be on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.' " Jenny Price is a Madison freelance writer. jenny.price@gmail.com madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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