"PR Works According to Mark Weiner"

A recent article by Mark Weiner, Senior VP and Global Director of Research at Ketchum, titled PR outshines advertising in return on investment published in O’Dwyer’s PR Report discusses PR myths. His conclusion, as all PR professionals agree is that PR works.

According to Weiner, “Analyses such as marketing-mix and communication-optimization models, have shown in every case that PR delivers among the very best values at par with and frequently much better than advertising, price promotions, trade marketing and all the rest. When mass-marketing advertising yields roughly $1.20 on the dollar and trade marketing yields $2.00 on the dollar, PR generates on average about $6.00 on every dollar invested and as much as $45.00 on the dollar!”

It is safe to say that PR is an effective choice. PR delivers worth, engagement and integrity where others practices fail.

Weiner goes on to talk about the “PR Measurement Conundrum.” .This really is an accurate term as measuring PR success is a constant hurdle for practitioners. He mentions that in the last 20 years emerging realities have reshaped the world of public relations and that these realities are constantly challenging us. We continue to see
- transformations in the media business;
- the declining impact of traditional mass-marketing;
- changing media consumption habits;
- higher levels of access, abundance and speed of information;
- decreasing brand loyalty;
- increasing distrust of large organizations; and
- the increasing desire for greater accountability.

Weiner’s conclusion is optimistic. He suggests utilizing these challenges as opportunities which PR is uniquely qualified to overcome.