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Who
Stepped Up
Public Relations vs. Marketing: The Green Bay Packers - Brett Favre debacle showed us two things: waffling about retirement can cause bad blood, and marketing is not public relations.
For the legions of business people who could never quite put their finger on the difference between marketing and public relations, you can thank Brett Farve for the clear distinction.
If marketing were public relations, the Packers' would have simply turned to their top-notch marketing team and said "fix this." Instead, they wisely hired public relations professional Ari Fleischer to get them through the media firestorm and to help them quickly regain the confidence and trust they lost with their fans. Fleischer, a former White House spokesman, now runs Ari Fleischer Sports Communications.
Each day I execute marketing and public relations tactics for clients, and there is a major difference between the two.
The Packers hired a PR professional because their marketing team, while expert at creating, packaging, pricing, promoting and selling their product, could not:
- Create and execute a short-range and long-range public relations strategy that addresses the unforeseen bumps, or mountain, in the road.
- Arrange and manage a high-level press briefing with the world watching. (Trust me, this has been attempted, and it isn't pretty.)
- Craft messages throughout each stage of the crisis that put the Packers' best foot forward. If the media chooses to look for the other foot, that's their business. Give them your best foot. That's human nature, not spin.
- Prep General Manager Ted Thompson and Coach Mike McCarthy on questions to expect and how to answer them; on how to answer follow-up questions; on how to handle absurd questions while the world is watching; on how to handle hypothetical questions; and on how to bridge back to main points in order to keep a tight, consistent message.
- Conduct media training for key players the media want access to. When done correctly, the team leaders speak as one and quickly gain back fan confidence and respect which was lost at the beginning of the debacle. Leaders need to lead when the chips are down. The PR pro sets the stage for that to happen. Letting everyone "say their piece" off the cuff makes for great media entertainment at your expense.
- Help management understand the long-range upside to staying engaged with and open to the media, even when they feel the media is causing the problem. Ninety-nine percent of the time, if the media is at your doorstep, you've given them a reason. Knowing how to work with them decides how much pain you'll have to endure and how long you'll have to endure it.
- Help reporters shape their stories, sometimes turning off unwanted stories by helping them see issues they were previously unaware of.
- Walk into a very intimidating editorial board and win or break even.
- Reach out to influential bloggers who may be willing to listen to the Packers' side of the story, and make well-prepped management and stars available for interviews.
- Develop and maintain a blog or website that provides up-to-date information on the situation, and quickly dispels rumor with fact.
- Identify and reach out to groups that support the Packers' decision and make sure their voice is heard through the Packers' communications mechanisms, as well as the media.
Marketing is researching, creating, packaging, pricing, promoting and selling a product or service.
Public relations is the mechanism effective organizations use to adjust to current events and reach and persuade their critical audiences, and shore up their supporters. When important people and groups lack understanding of an organization due to ignorance, prejudice, or third-party distortions, they need to be reached through appropriate channels with accurate and compelling information that connects with them.
Are you using a marketing person for a public relations problem when you should be hiring an Ari Fleischer?
About Rourk Public Relations
The Rourk Public Relations agency is expert at PR, media relations, branding, marketing, advertising, web marketing, and website design. It provides public relations help to clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and throughout Virginia.
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