We love a good quote in our office! We’re in the PR industry, after all, where securing placement for an outstanding quote is a point of pride. In honor of our love of quotes, we thought we’d take a look back at some famous thoughts about PR.
“If I was down to the last dollar of my marketing budget, I’d spend it on PR.” – Bill Gates
That’s right, Bill Gates! PR is incredibly important to a brand’s reputation and success, and between advertising and PR, you often get deeper value from a PR investment. With advertising, it’s somewhat of a one and done situation. You buy the ad, the ad runs, it’s over. With PR, however, the efforts can continue to grow and turn into something much bigger like a news story or expert opportunity.
“Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad.” – Richard Branson
Being picked up by the media can have a snowball effect. A good PR story can lead to not only exposure and purchase, but to other media opportunities. As the story moves through media channels, impressions increase and so does brand reputation and recognition. This can also further the reputation of the company leadership, increasing the likelihood that they’ll be requested in the future for expertise or contributed content.
“If your stories are all about your products and services, that’s not storytelling. It’s a brochure. Give yourself permission to make the story bigger.” – Jay Baer
As PR professionals, we dig deeper, past the surface layer of the company and product or service they provide, and into what truly makes the company special. What’s the bigger story? What’s important or innovative about what’s going on there? We find (and pitch) the story so that our clients can make a big impression.
“There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” – attributed to Phineas T. Barnum
We like this one because it’s obviously not true anymore! Perhaps back in the 19th century this was the case, but it’s certainly not a valid strategy in today’s public relations world. If this were true, there would be no reason to have crisis communications plans. We do like this quote, though, as a reminder of how things change. Public relations has been around in a variety of forms for centuries, and while we always want to stick to best practices, it’s important to recognize that the industry is constantly shifting, and we need to be innovating and open to new ideas to stay at the top of our game.
Do you have a favorite PR quote to share? Let us know in the comments!