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WHY A DOWNTURN IS THE IDEAL TIME TO INVEST IN PR

Written by: Richard Swancott

Article Overview: PR guru Richard Swancott explains how public relations will give you the best possible return on your marketing spend - especially when times are tight.

WHY A DOWNTURN IS THE IDEAL TIME TO INVEST IN PR

Many businesses are tempted to reduce - or even eliminate - their marketing budget in a recession. THIS IS NOT AN OPTION! :)

Business is much harder to come by, as we all know! But it'll be a million times harder if no-one's got a clue who you are!

This presents a quandary. How do you carry on marketing your company, without spending a fortune? And how do you guarantee you'll get a return on your investment?

PR is the answer!

Any PR agency worth their salt - make sure you check their credentials first - will get coverage for you in multiple outlets, spreading your investment and maximising your audience.

Compare this with advertising, which would only get you into one title, concentrating your investment and limiting your audience. Or networking, which is limited to the people in the room at the time.

PR also guarantees you a return, because the primary objective is quality coverage - in other words page lead stories with eye-catching photos.

This carries lots of weight, as the audience will perceive it as independent because the story was endorsed by an editor, or a producer. And at the same time it guarantees you complete control over the message.

Compare this to advertising, where the message is distrusted, misunderstood, or in some cases just ignored. Or mailshots, which typically just find their way into our recycling boxes or deleted items folder.

Assuming you get the coverage you need from your agent, not only will you be spreading your investment - because you'll be getting into lots of different titles, each with their own audience - but that investment will be much smaller than paying for adverts of the same size.

Think what the typical newspaper advert would cost. That would only get you into one newspaper! And it would probably just be a small ad hidden away in the corner of the page.

Imagine if you could get into loads of different titles for the same kind of outlay!

So yes, PR is definitely the answer to your worries in a recession. Just make sure you get the right PR agent on your case...

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Article Tags: advert, adverts, audience, boxes, clue, complete control, credentials, fortune, lead stories, marketing budget, million times, objective, outlay, pr agency, quality coverage, quandary, recession, recycling, small ad, worries



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