Page 104 - DLIS102_LIBRARY_AND_ITS_USERS

Unit 14: Public Relation and Marketing

many media outlets as independent-party sources that are unbiased in their coverage, meaning that Notes
the decision to include the name of the company and the views expressed about the company is not
based on payment (i.e., advertisement) but on the media outlet’s judgment of what is important. For
example, a positive story about a new product in the business section of a local newspaper may
have greater impact on readers than a full-page advertisement for the product since readers perceive
the news media as presenting an impartial perspective of the product.
Second, a well-structured PR campaign can result in the target market being exposed to more detailed
information than they receive with other forms of promotion. That is, media sources often provide
more space and time for explanation of a product.
Third, depending on the media outlet, a story mentioning a company may be picked up by a large
number of additional media, thus, spreading a single story to many locations.
Finally, in many cases public relations objectives can be achieved at very low cost when compared
to other promotional efforts. This is not to suggest public relations is not costly, it may be, especially
when a marketer hires PR professionals to handle the work. But when compared to the direct cost
of other promotions, in particular advertising, the return on promotional expense can be quite high.

14.3.2 Disadvantages of Public Relations

While public relations hold many advantages for marketers, there are also concerns when using
this promotional technique. First, while public relations uses many of the same channels as
advertising, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and Internet, it differs significantly from
advertising in that marketers do not have direct control over whether a message is delivered and
where it is placed for delivery. For instance, a marketer may spend many hours talking with a
magazine writer, who is preparing an industry story, only to find that their company is never
mentioned in the article.
Second, while other promotional messages are carefully crafted and distributed as written through
a pre-determined placement in a media vehicle, public relations generally conveys information to a
member of the news media (e.g., reporter) who then recrafts the information as part of a news story
or feature. Thus, the final message may not be precisely what the marketer planned.
Third, while a PR campaign has the potential to yield a high return on promotional expense, it also
has the potential to produce the opposite if the news media feels there is little value in running a
story pitched (i.e., suggested via communication with the news outlet) by the marketer.
Fourth, with PR there is always a chance that a well devised news event or release will get “bumped”
from planned media coverage because of a more critical breaking news story, such as wars, severe
weather or serious crime.
Finally, in some areas of the world the impact of traditional news outlets is fading forcing public
relations professionals to scramble to find new ways to reach their target markets.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
3. Negative public relations, also called:
(a) DPR (b) DRP
(c) PDR (d) None of these.
4. Promotional option of public relations depends on:
(a) Product (b) Promotion
(c) Media (d) None of these.

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