Have you ever wondered why some campaigns are successful? As much as the outside world sees PR as only attending events, having fun and socializing, the PR insiders can tell you the truth - that’s the icing on the cake, unfortunately. What we do is enter a lot of thought, strategy and tons of elbow grease into each campaign to bake that cake, which takes careful consideration, the right ingredients, specific temperature and time. We could summarize this into (KNEED) K – know your client and audience, N – what do they need, E – Exciting, E – Executable, and D – Did we achieve the results?
K – know your client and audience
The first step is to know your client and what they want to accomplish with the campaign. As PR professionals, we need to advise if this campaign aligns with company goals and if their want is doable. Basically, we need to understand what type of cake is desired and if it’s the right cake, at the right time, to deliver to the audience.
N - what is the need
What does the client need/want to be accomplished by this campaign? Is it to reveal a product launch, a plant opening or a new customer? Here you begin your brainstorming. A time frame in this step is crucial so we can keep track of moving parts and flag to the team any hiccups. I hate to tell you, but there are always hiccups, and if there aren’t any, be alert one is right around the corner. The cake can always fall!
E – Exciting
Can we make this exciting/interesting? Is this something you would like to read or attend? Does this provide you with industry knowledge or a unique perspective? There are many ways to deliver crucial information to the target audience i.e.- interviews with analysts/journalists, an in-person event, webinar, press release, media alert just to name a few. If a spokesperson will be used it is KEY we make sure our spokesperson is media trained or has allocated time for a media training session prior to the event.
E – Executable
This is where the cake goes into the oven and, personally, for me, it is my favorite stage of a campaign. Planning, timing, thinking outside the box – how can we deliver the unexpected? We must remember at this portion of the game – budget. Planning and having great ideas is wonderful, yet at times, the challenge is to execute while staying within budget and still make it POP.
D – Did we achieve the results
Did the campaign resolve the client's needs/wants? The client is happy, and this is a WIN for all. A recap of the event allows all team members to see the who, what, why and how of the campaign. This also gives the team the opportunity to provide takeaways and insights. This insight is crucial and helps us plan for future campaigns.
The KNEED guide can help you when preparing for a PR campaign. Do you KNEED help preparing your next story?