No matter your brand or industry, acquiring the support of an international PR agency will take it up a notch. For many businesses, PR may appear as a foreign term or something which they view as unnecessary. However, this is far from the case. At VerriBerri, we are an award winning marketing and PR agency, working to heighten the awareness and visibility of brands. As a result of the previous 24 months, many businesses have been struggling to stay on top of their game. With the average consumer spending considerably lower than pre-pandemic, the need to differentiate from competitors is higher than ever. One way of doing this successfully is PR.
What actually is PR?
PR, or Public Relations, surrounds the process of communicating your brand to your respective target audience. Typically, this is undertaken by utilising media outlets, but new techniques have arisen within the last decade. A customers perception of your brand is the defining factor in its success. There are no two ways about this. Should a potential customer positively associate your brand, they are likely to develop interest in it if making a purchase. Negative perceptions on the other hand can severely damage your long term success. Take SeaWorld for example. They were criticised for their mistreatment of their animals, attaching a negative tag to their brand name. This occurred a decade ago, and to this day, they are still associated with tags such as ‘abusive’ and ‘cruel’. In the grand scheme of things, SeaWorld’s attendance fell, public interest fell, and revenue plummeted.
Whilst this is an extreme example, the premise remains the same. For your business to have the best chance of success, positive PR is essential. For many businesses however, the sufficient time or resources may not be available to invest into PR. Despite being presented with ample opportunities for positive exposure, you may not have the sufficient capabilities to exploit it. Should this be the case, an international PR agency may be the answer. Whilst you focus on the day-to-day running of your business, we can take care of the back end, helping you to maximise your awareness and the interest in your brand.
Types of PR
PR can come in many shapes and sizes. Whilst it may be tempting to randomly pick one option and stick with it, this can actually damage your brand. Some techniques will benefit your business, and some won’t. No two businesses are the same, so the chosen PR opportunity must be specific to you and your brand. Some of the main ones we offer include:
- Influencer Marketing
- Media Relations
- Press Releases
- Crisis Management
- Physical and Digital appearances
When working with an international PR agency such as VerriBerri, we take the time to get to know your brand. Selecting the most effective PR technique can prove vital in the success or failure of your business. Considering this, lets discuss some of the main ones.
Media Relations
Media relations is the most traditional and commonly utilised PR technique. As mentioned earlier, this often takes the form of journalism to positively portray your brand. By portraying your brand in newspapers, magazines or trade press, you can easily reach your target audience. As is the case with the majority of PR, selecting the right medium here is essential. Should your target audience be millennials for example, advertising in newspapers is not likely to be effective. Even if you know which medium would be best, getting your brand featured in it is another story.
At VerriBerri, PR and media relations are some of our specialities. Over the course of our 12 year tenure, we have consolidated an extensive portfolio of media connections. Again, some of these will be more effective than others. By partnering with us, we can connect you with the most effective media outlet for your brand. Ideally, this should attract the attention of your target audience and incentivise investigation into your brand. For many smaller businesses, the sufficient connections or capabilities for this may not currently exist. The time and resources taken to establish them organically may not prove worthwhile. That’s why an agency such as ours could prove so effective. By possessing all the required connections, it lifts a massive weight off your shoulders. This will allow you to concentrate on the daily running of your brand whilst we work to enhance its image.
Influencer Marketing
Contrasting to Media Relations, influencer marketing is an up-and-coming PR trend that has proved extremely effective at generating awareness. Where media relations utilises press and journalists, influencer marketing utilises influencers, hence its name. Influencers are individuals with a large social media following who have substantial ‘influence’ amongst their audience. The high loyalty and engagement of their followers provide an effective medium for businesses to promote their own products.
Through strategies such as gifting and ambassadorships, influencers positively promote your brand’s products to their audience. Due to their influence, this can substantially increase interest in your brand and traffic to your website. We don’t have to explain the benefits of this. Reiterating the original point, this is an incredibly industry dependent technique, so will work better for some than others. B2B industries tend to avoid this technique, whilst B2C tend to thrive when using it. Therefore, before embarking down this route, it is recommended to seek advice from professionals as to what would work for you.
Contact Us
No matter where your business exists, be it Europe, Asia or the US, PR is fundamental to its success. However, it is important to adapt and tailor your PR to the market or country you are selling to. There have been many cases of brands adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, which ends up actually being detrimental to their image. Our international PR agency has the sufficient capabilities to offer award winning PR, whatever, or wherever your business may be. To find out more about the services we offer, or to get in touch with the team, click here.