Over the past few months, we have received inquiries — from members and others — relating to the value of hiring a public relations firm at a time when client organizations are cutting back on spending.

Those conversations were the inspiration behind this column.

What follows is part one of a two-part column. This is not meant to be the last word on the benefits of working with a public relations firm, but rather a thought starter that can be shared with people who might need support in selling in the services of an outside public relations firm (e.g. clients, procurement, prospects, etc.).
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At the beginning of the year, Advertising Age(1) predicted that public relations would be among the bright spots in 2009.  B2B Magazine similarly claimed that business-to-business marketers were increasingly turning to public relations even as overall budgets are being reduced.

So, why would these two venerable trade publications tout the relative strength of public relations versus the other marketing disciplines they cover?  While its star has been ascending for some time, this moment in time has created perhaps public relations' greatest opportunity to shine. "For business, public relations is an increasingly vital marketing tool—especially as traditional forms of advertising struggle to catch consumers' attention." The Economist (2)

That observation from The Economist was supported in part by a landmark study conducted by marketing giant Procter & Gamble in 2005.  When P&G employed a marketing mix model for six brands over a one to three year period, it found:

• PR drives sales, often on a par with advertising;
• PR delivers stellar ROI (275%), much greater than advertising;
• PR Provides a halo effect over other marketing tactics.

P&G is not the only company singing the praises of public relations. In a 2006 survey of marketers conducted by The Association of National Advertisers (ANA), public relations ranked number one in terms of its overall value to the enterprise.

In today's communications environment, defined by a shrinking ‘traditional' media and a proliferation of digital platforms and social media (interchangeable terms these days), characteristics that have always been a part of the DNA of public relations firms — speed, reach, market intelligence, stakeholder engagement and storytelling (meaning a vivid explanation of a point of view) — are essential for businesses that want to succeed. 

If you need to convince your company that a public relation firm is in the organization's best interest, this article provides a rationale:

"9 Reasons to Hire a Public Relations Firm"

1. Ever Ready
The reputational stakes have never been higher for businesses the world over.  As if battling an historic recession wasn't enough, companies today must perform in a virtual fishbowl at a time when the actions of corporations are being intensely scrutinized.

Monitoring the conversations taking place about one's company, and being prepared to act on negative or potentially damaging news is a daunting responsibility in its own right, even more so when added to the myriad other responsibilities of today's corporate communicator.

Public relations firms commonly serve as an extension of their clients' staff and are ever ready to provide services that achieve agreed-upon goals. Firms provide a critical perspective for their clients, keeping them abreast of all manner of news and chatter, advising them on the best ways to respond, or in some cases to simply listen.

The new tools/platforms, specifically the power of search engines, have also upped the ante when it comes to reputation. Consider the public relations implications of this quote, taken from a 2007 Wiredmagazine article, "Google is not a search engine, but a reputation management system."  Others have posited that we are indeed moving from the Information Age to the Reputation Age.  A 2007 article in Business Week showed how public relations could effectively measure and protect reputation.

2. Objective Expertise
Public relations firms serve as integral and trusted partners by providing critical outside perspective to businesses around the globe, and around the clock. Today's sophisticated public relations firms offer a wide variety of specialized expertise – market intelligence that can be difficult to bring in house.  In fact, on a recent Council of Public Relations Firms/Kelton survey, a firm's specialization or unique expertise was the number one answer given by clients to the question that asked for the most effective argument or selling point for hiring a PR Firm. (see Quick Hit)

Objectivity is an important part of providing smart public relations counsel. Businesses profit from having not only the expert advice of its public relations firm to call upon, but also their unvarnished and experienced outsiders' perspective. 

From marketing communications to crisis managers and corporate reputation experts who know how to mitigate risk, today's public relations firms provide strategic counsel all types of organizations across the full spectrum of communications programs.

3.  Digital Know-How
One of the reasons that public relations has been validated so emphatically by the business community is the rapidly evolving nature of communications itself. 

In a word: Digital. 

The "What" (information) may essentially be the same, but the "How" keeps changing. Companies today need a combination of communications counselor, navigator and interpreter to do it right.

Today's public relations firms have the expertise and experience to help clients maximize social media platforms such as blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and many more social media networks.

4.  Stakeholder Engagement and Influence: Who you know is important, but so too is the diplomacy of interaction. Public relations firms excel in researching, identifying and communicating with the online and offline ‘influencers' who are important to a business's success.  Hiring an outside public firm can dramatically improve a company's ability to engage its key stakeholders, such as: employees, media, online influencers, community leaders, shareholders and public officials. In the same Council survey referenced on #2, having access to a public relations firm's network of influencers was the second most common answer being a firm's specialty/expertise.

To be continued in the April 8 issue of Firm Voice