Most PR people look for the positives, but most news is negative. At the end of 2008, the world headed into a major financial crisis (which had been preceded by a major rise in fuel expenses). Most firms tried to mitigate the negatives in the news by putting out counterstories, basically saying "The world may be going to pot, but we're nonetheless solvent." There could, however, be a much punchier approach waiting if you grab onto the negative news.
Tell individuals what you are doing to combat the problem, especially if you have thought of something wild and wacky. For example, if petrol prices have risen, you may have made the decision to issue bicycles to your employees. If there is a credit crunch, you may run a competition for the most original idea on saving money within the firm.
You might decide to make a special offer-for example, in early 2009 restaurateur Peter Ilic abandoned prices on the menus at his top London restaurant and allowed clients to pay what they believed the meal was worth. Clearly, in some instances they would pay extremely little, but in other cases people paid more than Ilic would have charged, and in any situation he got value for money from the exercise simply because of the publicity.
Frequently these stories have good visual possibilities: employees riding their bikes, the lucky winner of the competition, the restaurateur serving a customer, and so forth. Equally, such ideas are valuable in their own right-putting the staff on bicycles really does save money, and Ilic reported that his restaurant was packed solid with customers. As any restaurateur knows, the key to success is filling the place up seven evenings a week and lunchtimes too.
Popular television shows provide an nearly unlimited chance to pick up PR opportunities. The gradual takeover of tv by reality shows and "how-to" shows provides the chance for almost any business to piggyback on a popular program.
For instance, cooking shows feature recipes that rarely turn out as they ought to when one tries them at home: here is an opportunity for a restaurant chef to explain how the TV chefs organize themselves to create a dish. Likewise, an antiques dealer should be able to cash in on the popularity of Antiques Roadshow. Good television is about people and their experiences, and so is good PR. There should be plenty of opportunities for everyone.
Keep a pen and paper handy when you are watching tv. There's a strong likelihood that you will be watching programs that are relevant towards the industry you are in, so it should be fairly simple to make a note of anything that strikes you as a possible piggybacking opportunity. You need to be alert so that you grab the opportunity while it's still hot, and before anyone else gets in.
You should be in a position to make references to most things that occur on the show, but you may need to be careful about using the names of people from it. News programs also offer opportunities to comment-even if all you do is write to the local paper's letters column, it enables you to raise your profile a bit. Businesses are frequently lax about putting themselves forward in this way-but that's what PR is all about!
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