On the contentious PR budget and a dozen reasons to have one
In Nigeria, whether or not to set aside a specific public relations (PR) budget remains a contentious issue in most organisations.
Very often, PR managers are told that they do not need a budget because editorial space is free. This argument is especially prevalent in organisations whose leaders view public relations as publicity or a sub-function under marketing.
Where a budget exists, there’s usually the challenge of how much. Should it be a percentage of the marketing budget? Or how much is too much? As a result, the PR team ends up with an insufficient budget that stifles creativity.
Ideally, budgets should be based on the department’s objectives or tasks to be achieved. And if you’re unsure what those tasks are, here are a dozen of them.
1. Product launches — Let’s start with the very obvious. PR tactics for a product launch could range from having a news conference to setting up a standee in high traffic areas or a stunt — see my article on 8 PR lessons from Game of Thrones for examples — to attract public attention. In these instances, some production costs as well as costs for venue/ space rental or permits would be incurred.
2. Research — Research is the first step in public relations planning. It is used to understand an organisation’s publics and stakeholders. From time to time, organisations also conduct reputation studies to understand how they are viewed by their publics. Research is also used for the evaluation of public relations campaigns. In all of these instances, the PR team might need to enlist the services of a research company and that would come at a cost.
3. Media monitoring — Media monitoring is also a form of secondary research. It forms the bedrock of the advisory function of the PR practitioner. Traditionally, media monitoring involved rummaging through newspapers to cut out press clippings, looking out for news mentions on TV or listening to the radio. Today, it involves listening online too — from social networks to blogs and online news sites. To this end, organisations invest in tools such as Crimson Hexagon, Radian 6 or Agora Pulse to capture conversations about their brands in order to respond where necessary. Some others choose to retain a monitoring agency to aggregate these commentary and report back.
4. Internal communication — A popular saying in internal communication is: ‘Employees must be the first to know.’ Getting employees to be the first to know requires communication and internal marketing. This could involve hosting employee events to get their buy-in and convert them to brand ambassadors. For instance, if your organisation has recently signed on to sponsor a talent show such as “Idols” or “The Voice,” and staff are unfamiliar with the format, you might want to create a staff version before the show goes on-air. As part of its internal marketing efforts also, internal communication could also require the production of posters to be displayed in offices to inform employees of ongoing campaigns. Employee engagement also includes deploying danglers to remind staff of corporate goals and values, or hosting events such as awards or town hall meetings.
5. Events — Apart from employee events, PR also hosts stakeholder events. This could be in the form of conferences — for example an International Women’s Day conference, or industry gatherings such as a Fintech conference, exhibitions, content showcases, pre-screenings and live screenings, movie premieres, viewings or album listening parties etc. All of these at the least, would require hiring a venue and setting it up.
6. Influencer relations — Reputation management is a balance between what your say and what others say about you. As such, you might also need to hold roundtable discussions with opinion leaders and influencers from time-to-time to get them to push your agenda.
7. Storytelling — Whether it’s creating short tutorial “How to…” videos for product education or documentaries to showcase your social contributions to host communities, some money would be required. Getting your corporate stories out can also be achieved through social media, newsletters, magazines, annual reports for shareholders or just a coffee table book displayed in your reception area. The printing or production of these items also comes at a cost. Even when your newsletters or magazines are electronic, except you have an in-house graphic designer, you will need to procure the services of a creative boutique for design.
8. Corporate advertising — A lot of people are unaware that advertising is a tool for public relations. When you publish your financial reports, take out a full-page advert to encourage people to support a cause, or announce an impending system downtime due to an upgrade, that’s PR. And it’s certainly not free!
9. Social media — Setting up a Facebook page might be free but promoting the page or boosting its posts to reach a wider or more targeted audience is not free! Additionally, to keep your audiences engaged, you will need to create content — pictures, videos, images or infographics. You might need to invest in a device or software to do these.
10. Corporate philanthropy — Very often, your public relations department receives requests for donations to a charity, to support a cause, such as a walk to raise awareness about Autism, or sponsorship of a community event or project. Organisations cannot respond to all of the requests but often choose to support a few as part of their contributions to their host communities. These, more often than not, require a monetary commitment.
11. Competitions or contests — Rewards to motivate customers or employees to take part in surveys or prizes for a contest to raise funds which are donated to a local charity are examples of how you could use competitions and contests in public relations. Saying that a budget is required for these will be stating the obvious!
12. Hiring a public relations consultancy — Not all organisations work with a public relations consultancy or agency. There are arguments for and against engaging the services of a consultancy. Where they are engaged, they earn a fee for advisory services amongst other functions.
