The Client: A Very Public Relation to Overcome Market Woes
Robyn Glynne-Percy, The Drum 01.08.08
Particularly in a challenging economic environment PR is ideally placed to raise awareness of a hotel, spa, venue or event and help generate direct enquiries or drive customers to your website. And in an increasingly complex media environment PR reaches all the target media, online and offline, without additional cost.
The essence of good PR however is a combination of doing the basics well, combined with strong creativity and excellent media contacts. As a dedicated leisure and lifestyle PR agency we have implemented many creative campaigns, with proven results, that are helping our clients build their business.
PRESS OFFICE
An effective PR agency should be talking to the media on a daily basis and know your target publications (print, broadcast and online) literally inside out.
Within the two teams of PRs at Profile Plus we work across the whole range of PR – corporate, consumer and trade and develop each client’s campaign according to what they need.
CORPORATE PR
Recognising that the corporate market is both an influencer and a customer, many of our campaigns include an element of corporate PR, from explaining financial results to seeking joint venture partners or raising interest in a company pre-sale. The business press in Scotland and London are approached, often on an exclusive basis, to cover an important story.
For instance we implemented a B2B campaign to highlight Crerar Management Ltd’s operation of 26 additional hotels, including many from the Swallow portfolio. Extensive coverage appeared in over 60 trade, business and local media titles.
CONSUMER PR
The major part of our clients’ PR campaigns is often targeted at the consumer because, quite simply, our clients are looking for more people to buy their product or service. However not every hotel, spa or venue is ‘new’ (a key catchword for the media) nor are they necessarily big players in the industry, which might command media interest, so we need to be creative in our PR.
For example, at Kinnaird Estate we created the Outdoor Butler, a quirky concept that packaged together the ‘outdoor’ services at Kinnaird and provided the media with a new hook. This generated over £37,000 of coverage in national and Scottish media including the Sunday Times Travel Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian and BA Highlife.
Competitions and reader offers are also a very effective way of getting key messages across, increasing the database and driving increased sales around a specific product or service.
The local market can be very important, particularly for a hotel’s food and beverage outlets, and many of the above activities can be combined to create an effective local campaign.
TRADE PR
Coverage in the trade press is particularly useful to reach customers, potential employees and suppliers. Apex Hotels launched a new ‘board of directors’ as part of its Kids@Apex programme; strong trade PR was generated in UK-wide publications such as Meetings & Incentive Travel and Incentive Travel & Corporate Meetings which raised awareness of their meetings facilities generally to the business market.
EVENTS
The agency can oversee the organisation of an event or simply invite media contacts and secure coverage for it. The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa hosts a wonderful summer party, this year around the ‘chill out’ theme. Over 25 media attended and a photocall was set up with key personnel.
On a different scale, we organised the launch event and PRed the opening of the largest spa and leisure facilities in Highlands & Islands for Crerar Hotels on the Isle of Mull. Coverage appeared in over 30 Scottish and UK national publications, including a 6-minute feature on ITV’s five thirty show, providing a 24 times return on investment.
ISSUES & CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Think of a crisis communications plan as an insurance policy - it makes business sense to have it just in case! A ‘crisis’ can be anything from an employee injury, fire, financial difficulties to a health and safety issue. It is important that alongside the operational requirements, an outline communications plan is in place and updated regularly.
HOW WILL I KNOW IF THE PR WORKS?
We want clients to know their investment in PR is paying dividends so we set targets to achieve, review these targets and provide evaluation reports. And ultimately if it’s making a difference to the bottom line, clients know that PR is producing the results.
To find out how PR can work for your business contact:
Robyn Glynne-Percy, Managing Director
Profile Plus (UK) Ltd
www.profileplus.co.uk
T: + 44 (0) 131 554 6111
e: rgp@profileplus.co.uk
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