The evolution of content has forever transformed the media landscape and with it, the public relations industry. As Ann Warren, Vice President of Public Relations for ClearEdge Marketing, shares with Michelle Krier, Senior Vice President for ClearEdge, “Content and the fact that we’re all self-publishers… has really changed a lot of our approach to public relations and opened up a whole lot more [opportunities].”
Fewer newsrooms have the financial capability to support a robust team of reporters, so there are limited resources working to produce stories, making PR professionals an invaluable resource. ClearEdge Marketing’s Allison Kaplan, Senior Public Relations Specialist, says, “We need to make sure that we always know what [reporters are] covering, we need to be on top of the latest trends, thinking about how we can help them out to make their jobs easier.”
The PESO Model
As the industry continues to undergo massive changes, PR requires a new way of thinking and fresh, diverse skill sets. Companies can no longer focus solely on earned media, which used to be the norm, if they want to be successful. Thinking about the different ways media is consumed and created and incorporating that into a holistic approach is vital.
One of the most well-known, full-circle approaches to PR is the “PESO” media model; Paid, Earned Shared, Owned. PESO was coined by Gini Dietrich, a well-known PR industry influencer and creator of the popular blog “Spin Sucks.” Allison explains what the PESO model is in more detail, what it means for business and marketers, and why many are adopting this way of thinking. This approach actually allows companies to become smarter about their overall strategy and approach PR more holistically. Budgets are changing and shifting because of the way PR can now tie into the overall business strategy. Content is produced at a much larger scale than ever before, upending traditional methods.
Ann says, “If anything, the PESO model means there are more opportunities to get your message out there. The good news is that we don’t have to rely on reporters to get the news out there. The way we’re consuming media and the way we have more control over the content we’re putting out there [is new].”
How ClearEdge Approaches PR
Collaboration is the cornerstone of a successful marketing and communications plan. ClearEdge’s PR team is focused on collaborating with writers, the social media team and those in charge of marketing to ensure complete coverage. It’s important, Ann says, to keep the lines of communication open so PR fits into the overall strategy and the content produced makes sense for all aspects of the business.
Often, the goal of any good PR strategy is to support sales, so the more teams can integrate on the front end to drive sales on the back end, the more successful marketing will be, Ann says. Allison agrees and talks about how PR can drive sales enablement and why the word “integration” is absolutely key. You won’t want to miss out on more in-depth coverage about the future of PR.
Tune in now to learn more about how ClearEdge is approaching PR for clients and what’s to come in 2019.
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