Publicity (aka public relations) holds the confidence of most professional marketers according to this year's AFR BOSS Marketing Directions survey.
"They indicate there is room for improvement in the performance of all marketing channels and continue to show more faith in targeted activities – events, PR and direct mail – than in other big budget areas."
"Many marketers remain more confident in the ability of events, public relations and direct mail to deliver results. These are areas where some form of tangible measurement is more likely: attendance figures, media coverage, response rates."
As the Publicity Queen perhaps I have a little bias, but I'm always so pleased to read that top-level marketers of large organisations endorse public relations as one of the most powerful marketing tools available.
I've worked in senior marketing roles and in terms of brand-building publicity is second to none – and I've had this proven to me time and time again through customer and client feedback.
I think events are great but have to be very strategically managed to be of real benefit and I also feel that the positive vibes from events, no matter how good, are short-lived in comparison to the perceptions and beliefs gained through media coverage.
Publicity is just soooo powerful because of the highly trusted third-party endorsement of a media organisation – in my opinion, you just can't beat it.
And as for direct mail – I looove direct mail and think it's a fantastic tool for boosting sales (but this is a whole different blog!).
So, let's toast publicity and these very savvy marketing professionals in AFR BOSS!
Yours in publicity
Publicity Queen 