What is the Recipe for Successful PR?

When I tell people I work in PR, I get a number of common responses. Sometimes, it’s ‘so, you’re a spin doctor’, sometimes ‘and is it really all celebrities and Champagne?’ Often it’s just a nod and a smile because the person I’m speaking to has heard of PR but doesn’t really know what it is, or what it’s for. It’s the professional equivalent of quinoa.

The truth is, even the best guess of someone who has neither worked in PR nor worked with a PR professional is usually wide of the mark. In its simplest form, PR is building and protecting reputations: an inexact science that is notoriously difficult to measure.

And, just like quinoa, PR can be bland and perfunctory, with press releases liberally issued to any publication regardless of their value to the client’s reputation or their editorial policy.  Delivered well, however, it can be strategic, targeted and informed; maximising stakeholder engagement and building equity in the client’s brand.

As a construction PR agency, Clare PR has invested time in developing an in-depth understanding of the sectors we serve, with a bank of knowledge within the team that adds up to more than 50 years’ experience. That knowledge is vital to our ability to align PR tactics with a strategic approach to reputation management that is both commercially-focused and deliverable. We tailor messages for each client, each publication and each online channel and substantiate those messages with an evidenced approach to demonstrating their veracity.

There is nothing wrong with the basic raw ingredients of PR, like contract win press releases and new appointment announcements - they are the bread and butter of any campaign. But, in the same way that a good meal is something you’ll remember and talk about for days and months afterwards, a good PR campaign, loaded with the right ingredients, presented with flair and tailored with expertise, will stay in the consciousness of stakeholders and genuinely influence their perceptions.