Thursday 15 November 2007

Everyone wants Planners!

Everyone wants Planners!! Although this may not be exactly the case, there is certainly a rising clamor from an ever broadening vista of agencies from a range of different sectors for Planners. PR is certainly one of these and I have recently heard a few persuasive arguments that it could be a very interesting proposition for ambitious and innovative Planners. There is an argument that PR is positioned in an area of knowledge and experience when it comes to understanding and influencing the modern day consumer - empowered, opinioned and fickle.

It appears that the PR agencies’ methods of understanding and influencing the consumer are very different from many traditional agencies. PR agencies tend to substitute the more traditional methods of segmenting, watching and telling with listening to, learning and reacting. It is well documented and oft repeated that today’s consumers are constantly bombarded from all sides with brand messages day-in day-out so today’s challenge is to make your brand stand out, to be different and relevant. For PR it’s the how, where, when and through which channel which takes prevalence over the brand/story/message you are trying to communicate, and this seems utterly relevant for today’s consumer. This is not to mention the control they are able to exert over the media (the power of the written word still remains, even in today’s cynical world). For example, an ‘expert analyst’ of the FMCG sector stating that a certain company/brand has shown strong sales figures and brand loyalty in the past year surely holds far more power than the MD, or the Advertising campaign of said company claiming the same thing.

Does this mean that PR is at the cutting edge of marketing communications – and the cutting edge that all Planners should aspire to be at… or have I just been beguiled?!

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