Lost in the PR labyrinth
09/01/2000
BY KATHLEEN M. PETERSON, ASSISTANT EDITOR
How does a new product or technology reach its customers, gain a strong market share or become an industry standard? Obviously, it must meet current needs - it must provide functionality, reliability and cost-effectiveness. But even with all these attributes, the technology still must be delivered successfully to the marketplace through creative and strategic marketing efforts. It is the role of public relations (PR) and marketing departments to be the critical link between manufacturers or service providers and their customers - not a small burden, by any means.
As an editor, I constantly am asked subjective questions such as, "Who are the key players in wire bonding?" and "What companies are pushing the envelope in package inspection?" After answering these, and many other, questions during a recent interview with The Financial Times (London), I stopped to consider how I derived my answers. Whether you are a magazine editor or a design engineer, you inevitably must travel a long, winding road toward the information you seek. The information comes packaged in many forms and is delivered in a myriad of ways. These methods can be crucial, though they are sometimes questionable, at best.
While there are many companies that do an admirable and balanced job when communicating to the industry, there are others that are desperately lost in the PR labyrinth. There are countless companies that have developed breakthrough technologies only to be left floundering in namelessness. And there are yet others that have poured reckless funds into the PR coffers, utilizing both internal marketing departments and contracted public relations firms (the proverbial right and left hands that don't know what the other is doing). Some companies have wasted resources on corporate PR (as opposed to product PR) in an industry that doesn't react to abstract name-brand advertising. And when marketing efforts run rampant, it becomes simply noise in the ears of those who want details and specs, not just pretty pictures and generic branding. What groundbreaking companies are doing so successfully has nothing to do with t-shirts or flashy promotions. Instead, they are focusing their energies on providing useful information to the industry through campaigns that detail product capabilities; their ads and press releases tell us much more than their name. They give us resources, and that's what marketing should do.
As success in the packaging industry continues to be driven not only by time-to-market, but also by the way in which technologies reach the market, it will become increasingly more apparent to companies - big and small - that the budgets and guidance they provide for PR and marketing efforts must be measured, informed and synergistic. Success requires a delicate balance between marketing and PR; while PR surely is a good thing - a vital thing, even - it is a case in point for the existence of "too much" or "too little of a good thing."
Until next time,
Kathleen M. Peterson
Assistant Editor
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