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Ok, we
admit it. Maybe we are just a tad biased.
However, this book makes a case for the argument that
public relations professionals have held for years –
that good public relations is essential to building a
brand while advertising’s place is in a maintenance
role.
Al Ries
has built a reputation of taking on complex topics such
as positioning, branding, and marketing, offering
controversial opinions that later become industry
tenets. With his daughter, Laura, Al looks hard at
the relationships in building awareness through both
advertising and public relations.
Perhaps
the most telling argument presented is contained in his
allegory of the sun and the wind. Likening
advertising to the wind, Al talks about how the harder
you try to advertise your brand into a customer’s
mind, the more resistant he or she may become to the
concept. However, by using effective public
relations to build media awareness and publicity, thus
slowly emerging as a concept inside the customer’s
mind, a company can build brand awareness without the
resistance.
The book
makes excellent points regarding the effectiveness of
advertising, demonstrating that increased ad exposure
and expense will not necessarily increase sales.
We are all aware of the fact that an advertisement is
simply a pitch – a blatant attempt to influence
consumption. The mantra “reach and frequency”
hammers home the idea that in order to be effective, an
ad must hit as many likely customers as often as
possible to have any effect.
A good
story in a newspaper, an article in a magazine, an
interview in a television newscast - all will reach a
prospect exactly one time. However, the third
party validation the company receives will contain
enough force to build awareness and brand recognition.
A second similar publicity event will reinforce the
perception and have an even stronger influence on
consumer behavior.
The book
focuses on new brands that have been built with
virtually no advertising. Examples are given and
methods established for gaining positioning without the
heavy advertising spending once considered de rigueur.
The book also points to studies that support public
relations campaigns as effective brand building
vehicles.
The final
conclusion that advertising is best used to reinforce
existing messages while public relations is the way to
introduce new messages is not to be taken lightly.
We highly encourage our clients and all marketing
executives to read this book and digest its ideas.
Doing so may save considerable time, effort and money
when beginning the launch of a new product or service.
For more
information on the book, or to order a copy, click on
this link:
http://www.ries.com/Books/
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