Different Approaches towards PR-Campaign - Case Study Example

INTRODUCTION This paper is about how to develop a PR (Public Relations) campaign for the chosen project i.e. that of a next generation yellow pagesthat is focused on the needs of businesses and customers within a postal area instead of an omnibus yellow pages that covers all the areas in a city. According to the requirements for this category of yellow pages, “Businesses will get exclusivity in each postcode so there will be no competition within sector in that postcode. The other advantage to this for the business is that we answer the calls – ask what the customer needs, phone the business and give them the number of the caller to phone back. This will cost the business 12.95 per week. For this they get exclusivity and a call answering service. Businesses will be attracted because: Exclusivity and call answering so they know their advertising return on investment. Customers will be attracted because: Free phone number. They can find anything from an emergency plumber, taxi service, stripper or even an escort – they’ll be everything under one roof”. This is the requirement to which this paper is devoted. This paper covers the aspects of businesses that would advertise in the “Next Gen Yellow Pages” and the kind of target audience that this business venture would service. Further, the paper is developed in such a way that the details like the client names, the campaign objectives and the ethical considerations underpinning the venture have to be taken into account. The strategy that need to be employed for such a public relations campaign the kind of advertising that needs to accompany such a venture is considered. The paper would be followed by a campaign exhibition that would cover the collateral to be used for marketing and advertising purposes. This paper would form the theoretical basis for the same. DETAILS OF CLIENT The client name is called “Next Gen Yellow Pages”. It is a business venture that has been setup to provide the customers with a phone in number for each postal code of the city wherein the customers can call the cal centre and the company would inform the number of the customer to the concerned business. This is especially useful for the customers since they have the details of the businesses in each postal code instead of the entire city and it is also useful for the businesses as they would not have to square up against all the businesses in the entire city but can concentrate on servicing customers in each postal code. This client has to reach out to the customers who want to use the Yellow Pages and the USP or the Unique Selling Proposition of the client is its emphasis on a particular postal code and the exclusivity that comes with it. Further, the client wishes to underline the cost effectiveness of the service being offered. These twin objectives of exclusivity at a great price is what the client wishes to accomplish. DETAILS OF TARGET The target audience for this PR campaign is the Small and Medium Businesses who rely on the yellow pages for generating leads for business and increasing their revenue. The target audience has been selected keeping in view the fact that big businesses rely on paid advertisements in the media and that the category of customers who would go in for a Yellow Pages are the businesses that are not big enough to pay for advertisements in the media nor small enough to confine themselves to the immediate neighbourhood. This category of SME’s need call centre services for getting the customer base and often rely on leaflets and pamphlets inserted in the local newspapers with a phone number given to call back. Since the “Next Gen Yellow Pages” concept has a provision for taking down the numbers of the customers and passing on the same to the businesses, the SME’s can get coverage as well as build on their customer bases. The cost of the service for the businesses is 12.95 pounds a week and this is definitely an attraction to go in for ads in the yellow pages as this is cost effective considering the reach of the yellow pages and the fact that the businesses have the exclusivity that comes with advertising in a particular postal code. Further, the businesses do not need to have dedicated people for answering the queries when the customers call them. Instead they can collect the numbers of the customers and call them at their convenience. The toll free number that is used by the yellow pages can be used as a call back number by the SME’s and this is cost effective as well. Hence, this saves time and effort by the SME’s to reach out to their customers. CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES The objectives of the campaign focus on the twin objectives that were outlined above i.e. that of exclusivity and cost effectiveness. The campaign would revolve around selling the “Next Gen Yellow Pages” concept of catering to the SME’s and providing a platform for showcasing these advantages. The SMART criteria for the campaign objectives would revolve around: - Specific: The specific businesses that would be targeted for the campaign to become effective. This would revolve around the kind of businesses that need to be covered and the specific goals of the campaign that would revolve around selling the USP of the product to potential customers - Measurable: Though the PR campaigns are not usually measured against concrete numbers like the number of businesses that have been converted from potential customers to customers who have signed up for the product, nonetheless, the campaign would focus on achieving “top-of-the-mind” recall for the brands that are being marketed. The results of the campaign would be measured in terms of the customer base that is aware of the product as evidenced by the responses to the surveys that would be carried out. - Achievable: The PR campaign would not be too broad or too narrow. This means that the campaign would not focus on customers who are either too big or too small. The emphasis would be on SME’s as outlined in the previous sections and this means that the target customers would be drawn from these categories of customers. - Time bound: The PR campaign would be time bound meaning that it would not be an open ended campaign and that it would follow a definite time table from start to finish with an emphasis on getting the objectives of the campaign realised within a specific time frame. CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES The campaign would revolve around using the traditional methods of advertising and marketing as well as direct calling and targeting of the customer base. The strategies that are to be put in place would emphasise the USP of the marketing campaign and would consider the series of steps that need to be taken to achieve this objective. The campaign strategies would cover the basics of the PR campaign like reaching out to the target audience and then making them aware of the product as well as strategies that would revolve around cold calling the potential customers and pitching in for the product to be bought or considered. The end point of the campaign would be the criteria of making the customers sign up for the product by booking ads in the yellow pages. CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE The campaign structure would consist of visual, audio and online material. The visual material would include the brochures and the material to be used as collateral for marketing and advertising purposes. The stages of the campaign would range from identifying the potential customers, gathering the details of the potential customers and contacting them, putting in place materials for targeting the customers identified, making them attain a top-of-the-mind recall for the customers etc. The audio component of the campaign would include the provision of jingles and ads that would be placed in the community radio stations that target specific localities. Since the project is to be initiated in the North East, the campaign would cover that area for starters and then go on and include the other areas as well. TIME MANAGEMENT The campaign would be spread over two months starting from the date of rollout of the ads and the collateral related to the marketing effort to the date on which the campaign is concluded. The time period would cover the essentials of running a campaign that would consist of a series of ads targeted at the customers as well as cold calling them and creating brand awareness. The last point is pertinent as the customers need to be made aware of the product in question and this takes some time for the message to sink in. The time frame that is being considered would also include the time necessary for the ads to be repeated over a period of time and would take the necessary effort to get the message across. Further, the process of cold calling and contacting the relevant people in the SME’s is a time consuming process. This is the additional overhead in this kind of project as the campaign for the project has to consider one round of cold calling before a full marketing rollout by the company is considered. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS As part of the ethical considerations and within the parameters of the policies laid out by the advertising council, it becomes imperative to not carry ads of particular businesses and desist from advertising products that are harmful and targeted towards the minors or children. Instances of these kinds of products include alcohol and tobacco products and those like parlour games that are targeted towards children and minors. Though there would be loss of revenue on account of these products not being advertised or solicited, it is our opinion that it is worth the cost because of ethical considerations and in line with the guidelines laid down by the advertising council. POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS The potential limitations of the campaign would consist of having no access to the desired customers and having to forego the point of contact of the customers involved. This can happen as some of the SME’s may not be having contact persons and hence the information regarding whom to contact in case of a marketing pitch might be difficult to find out. Further, the budget that is earmarked for the campaign may not take into account the limitations imposed on the campaign due to some of the unique features like having to contact the potential customers directly. The contingency planning for the campaign would take into account back up strategies in case the desired objectives are not met either due to the reach of the ads not being deep or because of the conversion ratio not being up to the mark. Hence, there need to be strategies put in place to mitigate these risks and consider the effectiveness of the same. CONCLUSION The PR campaign being considered is both traditional and unique in its approach. It is a traditional method as far as the audio and visual components of the campaign are considered. However, the unique aspect of the campaign would be the emphasis on reaching out to the potential customers using non traditional routes like cold calling and contacting them via the telephone. In these cases, it becomes imperative that the campaign team thinks creatively to conceptualise the responses needed in such a case. In conclusion, the campaign needs to be co-ordinated and controlled to reap the possible benefits such an exercise could bring to the “Next Gen Yellow Pages”. The product needs to be targeted not only as a service but as a concept on which future modifications and additions can be built upon. There needs to be flexibility and adaptability in the campaign that would ensure the success of the same. Only when the campaign results in substantial number of the SME’s being aware and ready to sign up for the product can the campaign team declare the campaign a success. Read More