By JENNIFER CLARKE
- “If I was down to the last dollar of my marketing budget, I’d spend it on PR!” – Bill Gates
So, you have seen the light. You know that PR is kind of a big deal. Business magnate and co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates is alleged to have said this influential quote about spending his last dollar on PR during his time at the software giant. Now 63, Gates is one of the richest men in the world – his net worth is $100 billion according to Forbes – so arguably what he says means something.
- “I suspect in most companies; the public relations person is down at No. 20 in the pecking order. But here, they are fighting incredibly important battles. If a negative story starts running away with itself in the press and is not dealt with fast, it can badly damage the brand, and so we put enormous weight on our PR people.” – Richard Branson
Virgin take care of their brands and the beating heart of that team can be found at Virgin Management HQ in Paddington where they focus all their efforts on ‘being unique’ and being the envy of their competitors. This Superbrand has bolstered its success by consistently winning awards as an employer, as an airline and as a brand leader.
Richard Branson is not just the founder of Virgin; he is the face of it and PR is big on his agenda according to this quote on azquotes.com. Along with reactive PR, he still prizes the opportunistic PR stunts that brought him notoriety in the 80s and 90s, such as when his chief accountant told him they were losing around $3million a year in stolen salt and pepper pots on Virgin Atlantic. Branson advised they write “Pinched from Virgin Atlantic” on the popular little items and got them some of the best advertising they had ever experienced – at everyone’s dinner table!
- “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde
One of the most popular poets and playwrights of his generation, Oscar Wilde, wrote these famous words in his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was published in 1890 and it has not been forgotten. Even the most established of brands feel the fear of being forgotten. Observing how a large brand grows and develops in the marketplace will usually give you a clue as to current trends such as Coca Cola buying energy drinks brand Monster or most recently its almost $4billion purchase of Costa Coffee from Whitbread, highlighting the continued growth of the global coffee revolution.
- “Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.” – John D Rockefeller
Widely considered to be one of the wealthiest Americans of all time, John D Rockefeller, the oil industry business magnate was the second of six children born into a working-class family in Richford, New York. Firstly, training as a bookkeeper, he became involved in several businesses by age 20, and particularly focused on oil refining. When Rockefeller died in 1937, his assets were equivalent to 1.5 per cent of America’s total economic output. To control this percentage today, would require a net worth of around $340 billion dollars, more than four times the net worth of the current world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Making sure everyone knew of his business successes was a top priority on Rockefeller’s list according to his quote listed in The Forbes Book of Business Quotations.
- “PR needs to be creative. PR needs to be new and different. PR needs to be original. The best way to establish a brand is to create a new category, and creating a new category requires creative thinking of the highest order.” – Al & Laura Ries
This Dad and daughter team have advised top corporations such as Disney, Ford, Samsung and Unilever, over the last 30 years on how to position their brands within the mind of the consumer. Al, has written 11 books and sold over three million copies worldwide, reviving the concept of marketing positioning and pushing the idea that product evolution can create endless possibilities for new brands.
If you feel it is time to switch up your PR, speak to the team at SCS Marketing & PR for more information on 01252 621293 or email info@scsmarketingandpr.co.uk
