Communications, Media & Strategy Gavel

Over the years of studying brands and helping companies to build brands, I have come to understand the role Public Relations play in introducing new brands. Most brands fail to command attention and market equity because they were introduced into the market place with advertising instead of Public Relations. Do you ever imagine putting a horse before the cart? What happens? Do you just imagine building a house without first laying the foundation?  

Advertising seems to be used by most companies to introduce new brands. While a hefty advertising budget is needed to maintain a brand, advertising won’t get a new brand off the ground or out of the manufacturer’s store.

PR plays a long-term role in creating a positive perception for new brands. We now live in a more communications conscious society where people come across several commercial messages on hourly and daily. For a brand to lunch itself into limelight and create a chance in the much saturated marketplace, it must be able to generate and command favourable publicity in the media amongst other things.

Powers of PR in Building Brands

• PR creates the environment for brand activation, brand exhibition, brand education and brand after sales-services.
• PR helps to create brand understanding & education and also build customer loyalty to the brand.
• Most people hardly believe what they see in adverts, but attach more credibility to what is communicated through PR.
• PR can be effectively used to mitigate and manage brand related crisis.
• PR shapes opinion, inspire action and change perspectives about brands.
• PR in a way strategically helps the company to hold on to its brand promise, credibility and consistency.
• PR is about building perception and managing reputation. It is the bridges that connect brand with customers.it builds the relationship and sustain the perception.
• PR places more emphasis on two way communication, that is, it completes the communication cycle by ensuring feedback form customers to ascertain brand experience and value.
• PR enforces strong and constructive relationship between the company, brand and customers, suppliers and dealers and to a larger number of interested publics.
• PR includes a variety of programs to promote and protect a company brand image. It analyses market trends and predict likely consequences to brand image and equity.

PR helps standardize brand promotional activities ensuring their alignment to the company’s communication policies and reputation. You might agree with me that some brand promotional activities has brought about crisis to the brand and its manufacturer In conclusion, today’s brands are not built at the expense of the company (manufacturer’s) reputation and not introduced at the expense of Public Relations. It is worthy to note that before you use PR to introduce your brand, ensure your brand is a ground-breaking brand, novel, unique, new and has a story to tell.

N.B seun Adeogun is a brand advocate based in Lagos Nigeria