
I recently met with an executive to present our company credentials. He had a good question. He asked me, “Why should I invest Baht 20,000 into PR when I can buy a list, launch an e-mail marketing campaign and convert 5% of the list to be my customer?”
So here’s the case for PR vs Direct Marketing.
Both PR and marketing are great tools for businesses and they achieve different goals.
• A Direct Marketing program, with a call to action, helps people buy
• PR is part of Brand Marketing and it helps people choose.
Buying a list and executing a direct marketing campaign is a way to generate sales. This is provided that the list has been strategically curated for the promotion. This means, the list addresses the right target market, a compelling offer has been created and it is rolled out in the right time. Even when this is done correctly, people do not usually buy the first time they see the promotion.
The Marketing Rule of 7 states that that on average, a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take action and buy from you. These marketing messages could be coming from multiple sources i.e. newspaper, social media, word of mouth, banner advertisement, etc.
Brand marketing helps people to choose and it does it by highlighting the unique selling points and doing engagement with the target audience.
Here’s an example. Dove up their engagement with their target audience a few years ago. They rolled out a Youtube advertisement called “Real Beauty Sketches”. The campaign showed women how others perceive them. They followed it up with the “Choose Beautiful” campaign, again a reality TV situation, encouraging women to reconsider the choices and the impact it has on themselves. Though there were some criticisms on these campaigns, these engagement made the brand stand out. It spoke to the hearts and mind of many women and their perception of themselves and how for some, it should change.
Now you may be wondering why Dove took these initiatives and why does it matter. It matters because consumers want brand to care about them and speak to them on an emotional level.
As many marketers know, people buy emotionally. That being said, when a woman walks into any grocery store or hypermarket and she browses through the selection of soaps ranging from bars, gels, to herbal detox types, Dove will stand out and that’s how brand marketing helps people chose.
So in summary, many CMO will incorporate both of these into the marketing mix in order to increase the brand’s share of voice and its market share.
If we at Brand Now can be of service, please contact us at +66 2 662 5622 or email us at brandnow@brandnow.asia. Please subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BrandNowAsia