People may deny it all the time, but we all know the 90s were the best. Almost every human being has heard “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys or has seen Forrest Gump. Among these discoveries emerged four lessons used by almost every PR firm today.
Humanize.
When people think of Wendy’s, they picture the redhead from the commercials. When people think of Pixar, they picture Woody and Nemo. Every brand that consumers remember has a face or some resemblance registered with them. Today, everything is cluttered and similar, that it’s hard to get a brand to stand out amongst others. Finding that link between the target audience and the brand, that personalized connection is what creates brand loyalty and recognition.
Transparency is key.
A few years ago, JetBlue had a crisis with customer service: hungry passengers, dirty restrooms, and unresponsive flight attendants. Like any crisis, the social media world went on blast. Twitter was overflowing with criticism; however, JetBlue handled the situation the right way. The CEO at the time, David Neeleman, quickly sent out an apology, took blame, and addressed the implementation of the new customer training that would be taking place within the next couple of days. Following that announcement, media completely changed JetBlue’s outlook, asking for interviews, stories, and articles. The crisis helped promote the brand rather than hurt it all because JetBlue was transparent and quick in handling the situation, which is what every PR professional should strive for.
Public opinion is very important.
Do you remember in elementary school, when your mom would send you off to school and would say make lots of friends? Well, public relations scream those exact words. The media can either make you or break you, as cliché as that sounds. As a member of the PR world, it is our job to make sure our client gets good coverage and has a good image. The best way to get to that goal is by having friends in the media. Connections, nowadays, are the best way of getting work done and there is nothing better than a free, third party, endorsement!
Join the transition.
Everyone saw the 2014 Oscars and the famous Ellen DeGeneres selfie that took the Twitter world by storm within the first 10 minutes it was uploaded. It doesn’t stop there. Facebook went live a few minutes after Twitter, Instagram following the trend. The picture was on almost every social network. Did you notice the phone? The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 was everywhere. Samsung, a sponsor of the Oscars, trained Ellen how to use the device before they aired. Samsung negotiated with ABC to have the phone somehow integrated into the show. The selfie, which was totally unplanned, was probably the most impactful and strategic move Samsung could have asked for. If 14 million people were not aware of the Note 3, now they are. Social media has become one of the main sources of communication. The more we implement it into strategies, the more coverage we can expect.
