Public Relations in a crisis !

I recently read an article by Dali Singh that said ‘Public Relations is a wildcat marketing strategy, which implemented correctly can yield tremendous results’. In spite of being a discipline and a practice in itself, separate from marketing the value of PR is only really realized in times of crisis.
PR is employed by organizations and individuals in order to maintain and build their public image; however PR also steps in when the same public image is in jeopardy. When Johnson & Johnson was accused of using Cyanide as in ingredient in Tylenol tablets causing a number of fatalities in USA it was an effective step by step in-house PR plan that made Tylenol bounce back as a trusted and popular medicine. Similarly in India Cadbury chocolates were found to contain insects which resulted in a huge drop in sales and loss of brand loyalty. In answer to this Cadbury came up with an effective PR campaign that involved celebrity endorsements and FDA approvals and today they are back on track.

There are a number of examples that elucidate the effectiveness of PR in a crisis situation, and honestly it is the crisis’ that have given Public Relation’s its elevated identity. For a long time PR has hidden in the shadows of marketing, a lot of the credit due to PR has been termed and passed off as ‘Effective Marketing Strategy’; this maybe because of an organization’s structural break-up or hierarchy that always clubbed PR under Marketing. In spite of playing such a monumental role a PR person still struggles to get recognition within the upper echelons of a company’s organizational structure.

Be it Alastair Campbell for Tony Blair or Max Clifford for England’s numerous celebrities, PR persons are the first people they run to when a scandal breaks out and one needs to do serious damage control within the media. They maybe called spin-doctors and maybe accused of manipulating the public via the media, but it cannot be denied that in the past they have also managed to put a ‘spin’ on numerous crisis’ and subsequently save the day.

Movie Marketing or Film PR ?

It has been established that Marketing and PR are spearheading the growth of industries the world over. In light of this it is interesting to study the increase in PR tactics employed by film producers and movie studios. Call it movie marketing or film PR there is a new trend in promotion employed by filmmakers in order to communicate with their desired audiences. Traditionally films depended on advertising to promote themselves however the audience is getting smarter and more and more discerning, and PR and Marketing have fused together to give them a more convincing voice of expression.
Coming from a country that takes their movies very seriously, I have examples of Film PR floating all around me. In the past few years there have been an increase in the number of film related events and screenings. The main aim of these events is to garner press coverage and therefore publicity for the film. Filmmakers and their PR personnel have made a conscious effort over the past few years in order to glamorize the Indian film industry (A.K.A Bollywood). PR has managed to elevate film personalities into Icons and everything they do is used as a PR tool. If you take a look at http://www.bollywoodpr.com/ you will see how seriously they take their business. Bollywood PR offers advice and solutions to people who want to explore the opportunities to work with Bollywood, their services include, Bollywood & Celebrity Promoters , Invite A Bollywood Star, The Bollywood Tour, Production of Films, Videos & Commercials, Music Video Production, In Film Advertising, Event Management, Radio Commercial Campaigns. We always know that for success of any movie, it needs good direction and good acting from the performers. Wrong! Think again. For Bollywood movies, success has just one source- successful marketing and distribution.
“It’s a new wave film marketing with Hollywood style publicity blitz on television, radio, banners, newspapers, and mobile phones. It’s all part and parcel of promoting a film - merchandise, games, cartoon strips. You have to do all this when a film is being released, and it will continue to be like this” – Actor Shah Rukh Khan in an interview with NDTV.
Another interesting current trend in PR and Marketing in Bollywood is the use of the internet in order to promote a film. Says Rajnish R., Head - Digital Marketing Revenue and Strategic Business, MSN India: "People who use the Internet are twice likely to go watch movies in multiplexes (than those who do not). Indians abroad go online to read movie reviews before they book a ticket or buy the DVD. So, the adoption of online media is attractive to new-age producers, who themselves are Net-savvy."
There is a sudden growth in the value of online advertising done for films and PR has taken a whole new attitude by targeting popular websites such as http://www.indiafm.com/ndiafm.com/, http://www.hungama.com/ and MSN India. Earlier the film marketers worried about gathering effective coverage within newspapers and magazines and now they concentrate on placed articles and good reviews on these trusted sites.
The proof of adopting this new formula of PR and promotion is in the results. “India's Bollywood film industry achieved its best year in 2006 after adjusting its formulaic approach with tighter screenplays, sequels and aggressive marketing. 48 out of nearly 200 movies - were box-office successes and recovered their investment, a record by Bollywood standards, according to Mumbai- based trade analyst Taran Adarsh.” – 3rd January, The Standard.
Using Bollywood as an example we can see how Public Relations and Marketing are used in a mutually beneficial manner, towards achieving greater sales figures, increased popularity and publicity. Call it movie marketing or Film PR they are both one and the same thing as they form a part of the films promotional plan or strategy. In Bollywood at least the boundaries between Public Relations and Marketing are diminishing and their role and worth within the industry is steadily increasing.

Is PR the same as Marketing ?

Very few people are aware of what Public Relations actually does therefore it is often confused with marketing or even Advertising. It can be argued that PR is an essential part of the marketing mix but in terms of delivering results - it hold's its own. There are however a number of reasons why PR and Marketing are so similar and the foremost reason is that they have common goals. Goals like Image building and brand recognition, promoting a product, and persuasion in order to induce belief or action. In a nutshell however, they both try to communicate the desired message.

Apart from the fact that PR uses different tactics and methods in order to achieve its goals they are essentially two separate things. Even then there is an increasing trend in the merging of ideas between the Public Relations and Marketing industry the world-over. In most organizations the PR practitioners operate under the wings of the Marketing department. When I was working as an assistant in the PR department of a large entertainment company I learnt how dependant PR is on Marketing. All PR decisions were first approved by the Marketing division before being implemented. Also, I recently worked on an analytical essay on the PR practices of The Bacardi-Martini Company and found out during the course of my research that they don't even have a PR department and that their Marketing department deals with all PR issues and they then outsource their PR whenever required.

This in no way goes on to undermine the power of PR because the proof lies in the world around us that - PR makes people sit up and take notice! However it seems that with the increase in its popularity and the dependency PR has created. Public Relations may be taking on the duties of Marketing and bringing the two closer together.