Marketing Public Relations

Those of us who have been in the business of PR for years can get stuck in the rut of “press releasing for print pieces.”  While writing press releases to get mentions and articles in print media is still vitally important to our vocation, brain science has shown us that things that are visual, interactive, and enduring are more engaging and memorable than the printed word alone.  With this in mind, it is essential that marketers use photos, illustrations, and interactive technology as a part of their MPR programs to maximize the effectiveness of campaigns.  As pointed out in Tom Wujec’s talk at the TED conference, imagery can help clarify a point and make an idea or concept more engaging.   These are crucial factors in all aspects of marketing, but even more so in MPR, since in MPR we are giving up control of our message to media and word-of-mouth. Additionally, making these visual and interactive material available to connectors* gives them a useful tools for spreading the word and adds an extra incentive for doing so.  OfficeMax’s “Elf Yourself” campaign is a simple example of this, but one of my favorites.  Clearly, visual and interactive components are powerful and should not be ignored in MPR efforts.

Wujec also mentions “augmenting memory through visual persistence.”  For us, I suggest this means weaving the same imagery (interactive or static) through all of the elements of a marketing effort. Yes, folks, I mean branding. It sounds obvious, but in many organizations MPR operates separately from sales and marketing. This silo mentality increases the likelihood of transmitting mixed signals to customers and other stakeholders via unaligned messages.

*See “What’s a Connector?” blog post.

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