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PR V Marketing: Same Goals, Different Tactics

01/24/2012 By Jayme Soulati

(This post is going to have too many first-person references for my liking, but it’s a relevant discussion and one I can’t make well in the third person; my apologies in advance!)

When I discuss differences between public relations and marketing, I cause trouble. People have a difficult time understanding what all the fuss is; I’m not here to exacerbate that, I’m trying to clarify. The best way I can do that is via my experience.

I have worked in PR 27 years as an agency brat (18 years spent in Chicago) my entire career.  After a stretch, PR began to evolve; practitioners knew that marketing was where the profession was integrating. I made it my goal to become more marketing-esque, and when a recruiter from a large PR firm told me my resume looked more marketing oriented, I was happy (she wasn’t).

In a recent conversation I had with Scott Quillin of New England Multimedia, he made a spot-on statement. I have to share: In order to understand the differences between marketing and PR, you have to have solid experience in both. Indeed.

I work as chief marketing officer for one client and as a brand marketing manager for two others. The core of what I deliver each day, however, is derived from public relations — my profession.

I caused a bit of trouble recently over at Shakirah Dawud’s house in a guest post in which I suggested marketing writers and PR writers offered two different styles of writing. That article was re-posted twice on Ragan.com, and the comments were intense.

A commenter at Shakirah’s said, “Personally, I think we should stop talking about marketing vs. PR in regards to…pretty much anything.”

I respectfully disagree. I do so because my feet are firmly planted in both disciplines working every day in both. And, I asked my new client several days ago, “Which hat do you want me to wear for you, PR or marketing?”

Because the deliverables are different; the thinking is different but the outcome is the same. Regardless of whether you work in PR or work in integrated marketing, the end game is ROI, measurable results, business goals, sales, leads, and more.

My approach to get there is what may be a tad different, depending on which side of the aisle I’m walking (the right, the left, or in the middle). Do these examples below help or hinder an explanation?

A software developer wants to push its software to accounting firms.

As a PR person, I would:

  • Hit the product team to find new features about the software that differentiate it from the rest of the industry
  • Hit the industry to find data and research to support my new product
  • Interview the chief spokesperson for a really good quote
  • Draft a news release/story
  • Identify some outlets that may cover my story
  • Pitch my news with industry trends.
  • Distribute an online press release to further news distribution.

As a marketer, I would:

  • Invite a client to join a panel on a webinar
  • Invite attendees to this free event by an email marketing campaign, newsletter, or a LinkedIn group announcement;
  • Interview a consultant or other client to draft a white paper for download and lead gen on a website
  • Prepare spokespeople for the upcoming tradeshow event to meet customers during a breakfast.
  • Polish the product literature and deliver it in time for booth training at the tradeshow where we will hawk our software to prospects.

While these lists may not sound so terribly different, in the corporate sector, each is the purview of a separate department. I do both and I tip my hat in either direction because my core training drives my deliverables.

Have I caused more confusion or per chance was this helpful?

 

Filed Under: Marketing, Public Relations Tagged With: Integrated Marketing, Tactics

PepsiCo And Its Earth Day Trifecta

04/22/2010 By Jayme Soulati

Had another post all ready to go, and then I opened today’s Wall Street Journal which changed everything.

PepsiCo (and Waste Management) announced yesterday a recycling program called Dream Machine with kiosks that reward users. I didn’t know this until just now. Back track to earlier this morning when I was scanning the morning paper:

Full-Page Advertisement

PepsiCo announced a new recycling program today that I first learned about in a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal in section one.

  • The ad appealed to me because our family voraciously recycles down to a worry about #4 plastics and how we can properly dispose of them.
  • I wondered how I could participate, get a dream machine for me, and whether I had to drink Pepsi to be on board (no pop consumed in my home).
  • The ad piqued my interest on the first viewing; great stats for ROI.

Social Media

The link in the ad referred me to the Dream Machine Facebook page. I tore the page to reference the url later. (I just visited the page and became a fan; 355 members to date — not too many, but enough, considering the program launched April 21. The page is incredibly well done with multi-media.)

Media Relations

Jump to Wall Street Journal in  “Corporate News.” Here’s the light bulb…PepsiCo in Recycling Push, a corner, above the fold story about the Fortune 50 company (along with NYSE: WM), announcing its new Dream Machine program.

  • “Up to 3,000 kiosks are to be put in high-traffic places this year, with incentives for consumers,” says the story call out.
  • “Every time you recycle with a PepsiCo dream machine, we’ll make a donation to help disabled veterans start their own businesses,” says the full-page advertisement.

Why is this significant? Take a look at timing with Earth Day. Look at the integrated marketing strategy with the blending of advertising, public relations, media relations, social media and thought leadership, among many others I’ve not discovered.

I applaud the marketing, advertising, public relations teams (corporate and agency) for their integrated and highly strategic work to launch what impresses me as a campaign exactly right for the time. Review its audiences (disabled vets, eco-conscious consumers, future consumers, Facebookers, corporate partners, stakeholders, and so many more). There’s something in this campaign that resonates with a plethora of audiences.

Nicely done, PepsiCo; nicely done.

Filed Under: Media Relations, Social Media Strategy Tagged With: advertising, environment, Integrated Marketing, PepsiCo, Public Relations, Recycling, Social Media, Waste Management

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