If I knew all the words

I’ve never really understood how people have a hard time deciphering what Public Relations Professionals do, What we do is in our title. We build relationships with the public in simple terms. It’s not just PR professional marketing and branding seem to interchange with both PR and Advertising. These cartoons below help to describe what Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing and Branding actually are.

A lot of the time PR people use branding behind their methods, and call on advertisers to relay that brand message. Marketers are used in every aspect of PR, AD and Branding. They all may stand alone, but when used together they can expand the message being relayed to the audience.

Throughout college I couldn’t stand having to buy course books and packets- lets be honest I probably only read about 25% of them. This number may sound shocking for most, but it wasn’t until I got into my PR major courses that I actually started reading the books assigned- I mean this was my future.

The first course book that I fell in love with was “Made to Stick: Why some Ideas survive and others Die” by Chip and Dan Heath. This is the first course book I picked up and skimmed the first chapter and found myself actually reading and enjoying the message it was sending. I think that’s when you know you’re in the correct major. I actually found myself pitching this book to my friends starting their own business as a book they should all read!

This book starts out telling you about the authors friend of a friend, this man named Dan who was on a business trip in Atlantic City. Dan was waiting for his flight home, and he grabbed a drink at a local bar. Before he was about to leave a beautiful woman came up and offered to buy him a drink. That was the last part of his night he remembers. He woke up the next morning in a hotel room in the bathtub lying in a tub of ice. Next to him on a table is a note and a cell phone that says “don’t move CALL 9-1-1″ his kidney had been stolen. Typical Urban legend, Nip/Tuck did it two seasons ago.
Anyway, the point is- this message sticks. It’s something you can remember and tell it almost verbatim because its interesting to you.
The book goes on to compare it to a financial strategy of a non-profit organization. How is someone supposed to remember some mummble jummble of a financial statement and make that stick in your mind and even slightly repeat it. I just read it and have no idea what it said.

The Heath brothers do an extraordinary job of hooking the reader in this New York Times Bestseller. Pick it up. Buy it. It will Stick with you.

Visit the website at www.madetostick.com

Tonight as I was browsing through my google reader I came across this interesting post from Advertising for Peanuts about using advertisements as a cover up.

This post discusses the value of the customer experience. Yes, an advertisement may get you to the restaurant, car dealership or department store, but if you have a bad experience, So Long Lasting Customer Relationships.

If you know me personally, you probably know this, if not, here is a lesson in Staci Stringer: I am a STRONG Starbucks supporter. Probably because I worked there (Check out my Portfolio, it has a presentation I did last term on Starbucks corporate social responsibility). Anyway, my point is Starbucks focuses on their customers experience and less on advertising.

Until just recently, Starbucks didn’t advertise at all. It was ALL word of mouth and their ability to make lasting relationships in their communities.

Advertising for Peanuts made four Key points:

1. Don’t use advertising as a cover-up.
2. Stop all your advertising until you fix the customer experience.
3. Think of your customer experience (shopping, test driving, browsing your website, etc.) as the most important and expensive advertising you have available.
4. Think of the dollars spent on advertising to attract new or repeat customers as coming out of the same budget as dollars spent on the customer experience.

These are BASICS of advertising and public relations. Word of mouth is the best form of persuasion. Customers believe in humans, not products. So this becomes a matter of good customer service over good advertising.

Clean up your act before you advertise. Hone in on your customer service skills before anything else.