And Now For Some Unpleasant PR Medicine: Top 10 Reasons PR Fails

Almost all of our potential clients have had bad experiences with PR before.  We always ask them to tell us what went wrong in detail, as this gives us a very clear idea about their perceptions about what PR can and cannot do.  For the most part, their expectations are in line, but every once in a while we get a potential client who thinks that PR can make a "me too" business into a Goggle, or who thinks that PR can work wonders for their sales pipeline (when what they really need is another salesperson and not PR).

Margie Zable Fisher of theprsite.com deconstructed why PR doesn't work for some clients, and it was picked up in this post on Guy Kawasaki's blog.  Here it is in its entirety, with a few cultural tweaks and additions from BPR's experience for our European readership.  I suggest that every entrepreneur read this carefully before considering PR for their company - or, if they already have an agency in place, that they discuss it openly with their existing agency to make sure the relationship is built on realistic terms.  Fisher is very fair and points the finger at both the agency and the client.

1. The client doesn’t understand the PR process: PR folks need to better educate people about how publicity works. The first thing many clients ask is “Can you get me in Les Echos, or on the front page of the Wall Street Journal?” The answer might be “yes,” but the process to get to the “yes” may take months or years, and almost always entaills "seeding the field" with a series of smaller placements.
2. The scope of work is not detailed and agreed upon by both parties: here’s a typical example -- a client signs an agreement to spend 2,500 euros per month, which allows only 20 hours of work per month from the agency team.  Client expects to get three publicity placements per month; PR person expects to work 20 hours, regardless of the outcome. The inevitable disconnect leads to  customer frustration and the feeling of being “burned.”
3. The client has not been properly trained on how to communicate with the media: (note:  BPR has refused to work with clients who will not go through media training when it is needed -- why work with a client who will mishandle every opportunity we get them and them blame us?).  Proper training for interviews is crucial; otherwise, key messages can be misconstrued, and negative stories can result. Clients seldom blame themselves when this happens.
4. The client and the PR person or firm is not a good match: an example -- client hears about a      local PR agency, meets and likes the staffer they meet, and figures it’s a good match based on that, doesn't interview the staffer/agency as one would a potential hire. Or (worse): the client chooses the lowest price PR option.
5. The client has not gotten results quickly enough and ends the relationship too soon: clients should plan on conducting a campaign for a minimum of six months, and even that is aggressive. A year should really be the bare minimum to commit to PR. The media works on its own timetable, which is usually much longer than the client’s.
6. PR people don’t explain the kind of placements a client will most likely receive: Every client wants a big profile of the company on the cover of a major magazine or newspaper (and we want it for you, too!), but most stories are about a “trend,” -- that is, several companies, or some recent news with quotes from experts. Profiles are few and far between. Yet, instead of explaining this, PR people often tell potential clients what they want to hear in order to get the business.
7. Clients don’t realize that what happens after you get the coverage is sometimes more important than the actual placement:  example -- a client announces the launch of a platform, but is not ready for the traffic it produces and the system crashes, leaving many potential users/evangelists/customers bitter about their experience.  Another example:  client doesn't leverage the coverage by sharing it with employees, partners, customers, shareholders -- and forgets to post the coverage on the company Web site and blog. 
8. Clients refuse to be flexible on their story angles: some clients say “We only want profiles." When the media isn’t interested, they client refuses to consider other story angles that we know the media is interested in (because they tell us, we have relationships with them and try to help them get what they need & want).  We tell clients that they must be flexible and often prepare several angles.
9. Clients get upset when the media coverage is not 100% accurate or not the kind of coverage that they wanted:  a client says “That TV segment on me was only a minute long.” When I explained that length of time was impressive in TV Land, she refused to understand.
10. Clients won’t change their schedules for the media:  clients need to drop everything if the media calls. This may be inconvenient, but the media waits for no one. If you want to be a “media darling,” then you need to make yourself available at any time. Those who do will reap the best benefits and placements.

And the Ballou PR #11 (yes, we go to eleven):

11.  Clients do not realize that PR goes beyond media relations:  PR is about your perception -- which feeds directly into your valuation.  Perception is not formed only by the media:  it includes analyst relations, attending (not just speaking at) conferences and networking opportunities, submitting awards applications and blogging (whether writing yours, being an active participant/commentor in the community, or both).  Furthermore, most PR agencies don't tell clients this, or worse yet, don't offer these services.

Comments

[Margie Zable Fisher]

Colette,

Thanks for posting this. You got it right. Both the client and the P.R. person have a stake in making this work. And, of course, once everyone communicates, great things can happen.

Cheers!
Margie

[alan p]

Having run companies that have both used and dispensed with PR, I agree with some of what you say - but also I think PR has to "get real".

1. Companies don't spend money without getting some idea of the output results or their timescales elsewhere - why would they for PR?

2. Their people are darn busy and can't "drop everything" - companies need PR to plan their resource usage as much as anyone else.

[Zohra DALI]

Hi Colette, you are right, thanks for this. May be we could add that a reporter's business is about providing NEWS to their readers. So our job is about highlighting the value of what our client bring and help them highlight their differentiation. In that extend, we act a a strategic advisor, analyzing their business, competitors and market. No good PR without strategic advice. Cheers

[Daryl Toor]

Margie's article is right on target as is this blog!

Daryl Toor
CEO
Attention!
"Get the Word Out"
www.attentiongroup.com