Is PR preferable to Advertising when launching a product?

Six steps for launching­ a brand via PR

In the past, almost every new brand was launched with a big advertising campaign. In today's media environment, that's not a very good idea.

Advertising is expensive and not very credible, especially when used on behalf of a new brand. That's why many of the most successful new brands were launched with PR; brands like Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and of course, Mirinda (of the three orange men fame) here in Nigeria.

Launching a new brand with PR, however, raises a number of questions. If no advertising is involved, what changes, if any, need to be made in the overall launch? If no advertising agency is involved, who does the positioning strategy?

To stimulate your thinking about these and other questions, here is an outline of six steps a PR launch might take:

1   1. The Leak

A PR program usually starts with a leak to key reporters and editors. Internet sites are often favourite targets.

When Steve Jobs was alive, he had three favourite ‘leakees’: Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, David Pogue of The New York Times and Ed Baig of USA Today. The iPhone was ‘leaked’ to the media months before it was launched, and generated a host of media stories.

But why would a company do this? Wouldn't that help potential competitors develop their own new products? Sure it would; but no big brand has ever been successful in a category with no competition. For instance, the best thing that ever happened to Coca-Cola is Pepsi-Cola.

Oddly enough, Coke once sued Pepsi over its trademark. They wanted Pepsi-Cola to remove "cola" from its brand name; they wanted to own the cola category.

Not a good idea; the more competitors in a category, the larger the category. Competition creates enormous consumer interest in the category and stimulates a lot of PR.

Advertising is different. An advertising programme is launched like a D-day attack. It's usually kept a top secret until the day the first ad runs.

Take Google, for example. It held a Press Conference to launch its new smartphone, the Pixel.

The next day, The New York Times ran a third-of-a-page article on the new smartphone. In the same issue was an 8-page Google insert plus two full-page Google advertisements plus a fractional-page Google ad.

What a waste. After reading the Times article, who would bother working their way through the 8-page insert which, by the way, contained only 113 words -- so it wasn't a warehouse of information. Furthermore, the insert also promoted three other Google products: Daydream View, Google Home and Google Wifi.

It would have been better to let the PR run for a few months before launching the advertising. In turn, the ads could then focus on the success of the launch. (Nothing succeeds like success.)

     2. The Slow Build-up

A PR program slowly unfolds like a flower blooming. A company has to allot enough time for the PR to develop momentum.

That's why a PR launch often starts before the details of a new product or service are firmly fixed. Remember, you're not introducing the details of a new product. You're introducing a new idea which can be of much greater interest to the media.

Advertising is different. An advertising programme usually starts with a "big bang." Since consumers tend to ignore advertising messages, a new ad program needs to be big and bold enough to get above the "noise level."

     3. The Recruitment of Allies

Why go it alone when you can get others to help communicate your message? The slow build-up of a PR program allows enough time to recruit allies to your cause.

Furthermore, the publicity you receive will often attract volunteers. The advance publicity for the iPhone helped Apple attract many companies eager to supply apps for the phone. In the case of Food and Beverage products, advance publicity can help companies find outlets to distribute their new brands.

Advertising is different. With a big-bang launch, there usually isn't enough time to line up supporters. Also, advertising alliances usually fall apart over the question of who pays for what.

to be continued...

By Al Ries, chairman of Ries & Ries, an Atlanta-based marketing strategy firm he runs with his daughter and partner Laura.

Edited by ‘Dele Dele-Olukoju, Marketing Communication strategist and publisher of the online Marketing Communication Digest. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. @deleolukoju +234 807 481 2389.