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A
recent
survey conducted by PR Week shows that while every other
kind of agency - including advertising, direct
marketing, and marketing consultancies - had declined in
how often marketers were coming to them for
nontraditional advice, the number turning to PR agencies
doubled from 12% to 24%. That wasn’t the only good news.
Three
hundred and twenty six marketing execs took the survey,
and the results skewed toward PR agencies as the
external partners and consultants of choice. One example
cited regarded the concept of brand identity. Once the
province of advertising, the survey showed that
marketers believe that PR is more effective at building
awareness, message development and brand reputation –
all of which contribute largely to the brand identity.
Perhaps more
telling is that marketing execs are turning to PR first.
Of the respondents, 70% of those who used external
partners turned to a PR firm more than any other agency.
Next came ad agencies at 55%; then direct marketing
agencies at 26%.
Companies
are realizing that PR firms can be flexible and
innovative – an important point when considering
alternatives to traditional advertising. Marketers are
looking for non-traditional approaches to reaching their
target markets, and the nimble and flexible nature of
the PR discipline is being recognized as the right
resource.
The
overwhelming favorite for crisis control is PR.
Seventy-two percent of marketers cited PR as the key to
overcoming a crisis. Once again, the ability to act
quickly and be flexible contributes to an agency’s
effectiveness at handling a crisis.
Finally,
fragmentation of the media is contributing to an
increasing role of PR in the marketing mix. It is more
important than ever for businesses to use all of the
available channels to communicate to their audiences,
and advertising and direct marketing are still finding
their way in the world of new media, blogs and
podcasting, while PR and communications firms have been
following these trends for years.
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