PCG Blog

PR has suddenly gained a lot of attention in the post-COVID world. Public Relations is about communication — the most effective and highly valuable form of marketing.

Many companies of various sizes are creating PR campaigns. But the question we get asked most often is ‘how do we budget for a PR campaign’.

Effective PR requires time. It is a slow process and often the results are intangible until a certain point. Unlike digital marketing, you are unable to analyse how many clicks to your website an article generated, or where your audience specifically heard about you. That’s the nice part of it — your audience remembers you.

So how do you assign a budget for it? How do you set a timeline?

A PR strategy is driven by a clear understanding of where you want to go. So let’s explore the questions first:

1. Market Research: It is important to understand where you currently are to know where you want to go. A market research report will definitely help you analyse the background and gain deeper insights as to what has to be done. You can invest in a specific report for you or buy an existing report about the industry.
2. The Objective: Now that you know where you stand, what do you want to do? Setting an objective can help you figure out the rest of the journey, and analyse what aspects you need to cover in your marketing campaign.
3. Define The Timeline: Now that you have a goal, how long would it take to realistically get there. Remember that quality PR takes time. It is earned media, and there are various stakeholders involved. If you want to be remembered for something good, it does take time.
4. Define The Geographies: Where are you based currently and where do you want to go? Even if you are considering a single country, there are many regions in it — which means, multiple audience sets with sharply different approaches. Your campaign has to take all these into consideration. Define where you want to start and how you want to scale.
5. What About Those ‘Unknowns’? Opportunities crop up overnight. It could be an overnight policy change, like the demonetisation. Or the sudden demand for web-conferencing apps. To capture an opportunity, you need additional resources. Don’t be stuck in a great place with no funds.

Once you’ve defined these, think about who you are talking to. Your target audience is smart. They don’t want to be sold a product. They want to know who you are.

Lastly, how are you going to use this mileage? Remember that PR is about creating awareness about you, not selling the product. Have a plan to engage the customers who visit you because they are curious about you. Create conversations with them.

Now, assign the budget to the campaign and ensure you sustain your initial campaign for at least 6 months if not more. Give a chance for your campaign to work, for people to strongly remember who you are.