Great public relations campaigns do not just happen. Successful PR campaigns are usually the result of proper planning and execution. Any PR consultant worth their salt is aware that to ultimately develop a successful PR campaign, a PR strategy must meet a number of requirements.
Here are reasons why your public relations campaign may fail and ways to ensure that they succeed:
1. Lack Of Proper Planning
A lack of adequate planning is the primary and frequently disregarded cause of PR campaign failure. Leaving your campaign to chance is a sure way to fail. Every stage of your campaign should be planned and prepared for, including the smallest details like who sits where and when tasks are due. Consider the big picture as you plan. What outcomes and impacts do you envisage? Have you made adequate preparations and made plans for alternatives should something go south?
You can ensure that your campaign succeeds by keeping an open mind. Keep in mind that planning is a tool to achieve a goal, not the goal itself. When you prepare, be adaptable and fast to change course when circumstances demand it.
2. Inadequate Research
Several PR models exist to help PR professionals develop plans from a strategic point of view, and John Marston’s four-step PR model, RACE– Research, Action, Communication and Evaluation is one that emphasizes the place of research. His model sees research as a tool used to evaluate a situation or issue that an organization is working through and identify what problem (if any) or an opportunity that public relations strategies can resolve or proffer a solution.
It is crucial for practitioners to embrace research; it will ultimately influence the tactics of a PR campaign and execution. In planning PR campaigns, research helps us set a benchmark for success, we can learn first-hand what the needs or interests of our target audience, and the appropriate messaging and brand positioning that appeal to them. For instance, the global sportswear brand, Nike, analyzes data from its apps to identify hotspots among its users, which helps plan the placement of its physical stores.
People often make the mistake of thinking that research is a process that happens primarily at the start of a campaign, but it’s not. Research is also important for evaluation. This type of research is called evaluation research. Research, at the beginning of a campaign, allows SMART goals to be set and contributes to the execution of the plan while evaluation research helps to measure the results of the campaign. In general, a good PR campaign prioritizes research; on the other hand, inadequate research results in poor strategy and execution, and a campaign that is unable to meet its objectives.
3. Little or No Budget
No matter how many great ideas or strategies a PR campaign contains, the budget is still a major determinant for success. If the budget is not sufficient, vital parts of the campaign plan may have to be shelved, and this could lead to the failure of the entire campaign. Practitioners need to ensure that their clients approve the campaign budget before rushing off to execution. Also, successful PR campaigns requires a qualified team’s long-term dedication, which will also require allocated funds. This is why most organizations opt for retains with PR organizations.
While the budget is being approved, it is always a good idea to leverage low-hanging fruits such as relationship with the media and vendors.
4. Unrealistic Expectation
A great many PR campaigns are set up for failure because of unrealistic client expectations. Most business executives view PR as part of the sales funnel and expect a jump in sales or revenue after a PR campaign. PR campaigns can impact the bottom line, but that isn’t its objective, nor should it become a yardstick for assessment.
For successful PR campaigns, clients need to be educated and made to see PR as a management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics, not as a revenue boost or a publicity parade. Next, objectives need to be clearly defined, and success metrics stated, leaving no room for unrealistic expectations. The AMEC framework is a recommended tool for evaluation. It indicates the campaign’s objectives, the input required, activities planned, outputs, out-takes, outcomes and the impact of the campaign.
Finally, if you take the time to understudy successful PR campaigns, you’d notice a trend-they tell stories. While you prepare for the best campaign of your professional life, remember that you are doing it for an audience, so put up a great show and tell a story that resonates with the audience.
Adetola Fajembola is a Communications and Public Relations practitioner with ID Africa.