Marketing_Management_14th_Edition-min

MANAGING MASS COMMUNICATIONS | CHAPTER 18 527
Consumers seem to appreciate that. In one survey, four of five respondents
found participating in a live event was more engaging than all
other forms of communication. The vast majority also felt experiential
marketing gave them more information than other forms of communication
and would make them more likely to tell others about participating
in the event and to be receptive to other marketing for the brand. 85
Companies can even create a strong image by inviting prospects
and customers to visit their headquarters and factories. Ben &
Jerry’s, Boeing, Crayola, and Hershey’s all sponsor excellent company
tours that draw millions of visitors a year. Companies such as
Hallmark, Kohler, and Beiersdorf (makers of NIVEA) have built
corporate museums at or near their headquarters that display their
history and the drama of producing and marketing their products.
Public Relations
Not only must the company relate constructively to customers, suppliers,
and dealers, it must also relate to a large number of interested
publics. A public is any group that has an actual or potential interest
in or impact on a company’s ability to achieve its objectives. Public
relations (PR) includes a variety of programs to promote or protect
a company’s image or individual products.
The wise company takes concrete steps to manage successful relationships
with its key publics. Most companies have a public relations
department that monitors the attitudes of the organization’s publics and
distributes information and communications to build goodwill. The
best PR departments counsel top management to adopt positive programs
and eliminate questionable practices so negative publicity doesn’t
arise in the first place. They perform the following five functions:
1. Press relations—Presenting news and information about the organization in the most positive
light
2. Product publicity—Sponsoring efforts to publicize specific products
3. Corporate communications—Promoting understanding of the organization through internal
and external communications
4. Lobbying—Dealing with legislators and government officials to promote or defeat legislation
and regulation
5. Counseling—Advising management about public issues, and company positions and image
during good times and bad
Crayola brings colorful fun to its
company tours and visits.
Marketing Public Relations
Many companies are turning to marketing public relations (MPR) to support corporate or product
promotion and image making. MPR, like financial PR and community PR, serves a special constituency,
the marketing department.
The old name for MPR was publicity, the task of securing editorial space—as opposed to paid
space—in print and broadcast media to promote or “hype” a product, service, idea, place, person, or
organization. MPR goes beyond simple publicity and plays an important role in the following tasks:
• Launching new products. The amazing commercial success of toys such as LeapFrog, Beanie
Babies, and even the latest kids’ craze, Silly Bandz, owes a great deal to strong publicity.
• Repositioning a mature product. In a classic PR case study, New York City had extremely bad
press in the 1970s until the “I Love New York” campaign.
• Building interest in a product category. Companies and trade associations have used MPR to
rebuild interest in declining commodities such as eggs, milk, beef, and potatoes and to expand
consumption of such products as tea, pork, and orange juice.
• Influencing specific target groups. McDonald’s sponsors special neighborhood events in
Latino and African American communities to build goodwill.