Marketing Communications

328 CHAPTER 10 PUBLIC RELATIONS

may invite journalists from the specialised press to encourage them to write a positive article

and, as a result, boost sales. All these examples illustrate that marketing PR is an activity that

is largely integrated with both corporate PR and other tools of the communications mix.

Depending on the problem and the objective, publics will have to be divided into primary

and secondary audiences. Public relations eff orts will be more intense towards primary target

groups ( Photo 10.2 ). Launching a new product, for instance, will generally imply more eff orts

towards the marketing PR target groups, the media and the general public than towards

fi nancial audiences or the government. Furthermore, an individual can belong to more than

one public at a time. As a result, consistent PR communications across audiences is vital to

avoid conveying contradictory messages to the same members of diff erent publics.

Photo 10.2 Longines talks to stakeholders

Source : Getty Images.

The sales team can be motivated to feed the PR department with interesting stories that can be a starting point for

marketing-derived and marketing-supporting PR activity. The following sales events can be considered:^18

z Prestige orders. Orders from famous companies or contracts relating to special projects that are themselves in

the news.

z Problem-solving orders. Sales of products that have provided the solution for a particularly demanding need.

z Added value contracts. The product has made the lives of customers and employees more agreeable.

z Unusual orders. Products used at famous locations or in places of interest.

z Sympathetic associations. Selling products in a situation of strong human interest appeal or related to a good

cause of general interest.

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Sales and marketing PR

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