Someone asked me last week to define public relations and its value proposition in the current economy.  This was in the context of the myriad choices available to prospective clients who no longer can invest in all or even many of the communication options available to them. 

We know about the comparisons to advertising.  We also know that social media has introduced a whole new element into the conversation.  And, at least some of us suspect that the traditional notion of proactive media relations, at least on the local and general market level, may not have the force or relevance it once did. 

But STRATEGIC communication … the development of messages, the identification of audiences and the channels of delivery … remain key cornerstones to any even potentially successful communication effort.  This is my definition and this is the scope of services we offer clients BEFORE we ever talk about the tactics. 

Way too many organizations still engage in communication on a tactical or reactive basis.  They respond to a sales pitch from a media outlet (advertising), or they respond to a negative situation that suddenly confronts them in the news. They haven’t set a platform or expectation among their constituents in advance, by pushing out information favorable to their business, brand or institution. They haven’t decided on a strategic basis for what they want to say, to whom they want to say it, and by what means they want to communicate.  In essence, they’re trying to drain the swamp while the alligators are either circling or snapping at their heels. 

These days there are no “magic bullets” or miracle cures for coming from behind or fixing something that’s broken.  The belief that anyone can make bad stuff good or turn a negative into a positive is wishful at best and self deceiving at worst. 

As business and organization leaders tear December from the calendar and look 2010 in the eye, they’d be well advised to consider getting out in front of things from a communication standpoint so that they won’t have to solve problems AFTER they crop up.  It’s called strategic communication planning, and it’s a really smart thing to do when resources are tight and competition is fierce.

Tags: Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, Strategic Communication, value proposition

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 8:44 am and is filed under Strategic Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.