Marketing & PR – How important is it today?
I have been involved in sales and marketing for 40 years, learning ‘on the job’ and from experience, rather than from a text book. It was not until a few years ago that I obtained my Institute of Marketing qualification and found it ‘interesting’ to be the “senior” student on the course – even old enough to be the father of the course tutor! However, the way to market a product, service or brand remains the same – the terminology has changed since I started back in the early 1970s!
When I eventually reached the heady heights of Sales & Marketing Manager for a leading Japanese brand, I said to my staff “If you have nothing good to say, don’t say nothing at all”. It is the same with the project, currently - we (in particular our Project Manager, Nikki) are busy beavering away ‘behind the scenes’ getting all the necessary information, quotes and plans ready before we ‘go public’, so to speak.
Despite what may be reported in the local press , we have not finalised plans for any element of our project (be it the Cenotaph, Astley Hall, etc.) – nor are we ‘leaking’ details or “stories” for some quick and easy publicity. When we are ready, we will consult with all interested parties and the good people of Chorley (as we did with the Pals Memorial, back in 2009). We obviously have to consult with Chorley Council and I have been encouraged with the level of co-operation we are receiving from the Town Hall and down at Astley Hall.
On the project marketing and publicity front, we are set for a busy May. We will be at the ‘Picnic in the Park’ in Astley Park on Sunday, 15th May – it is in conjunction with the 90th anniversary celebrations of the Royal British Legion, nationally. Less than a week later, on Friday 20th May, we are having a fundraising event at the Cunliffe Hall in Chorley by way of a dinner and talk – more details soon. Finally in May, we will be at the Cuerden Valley Fair at Cuerden Valley Park near Bamber Bridge on Saturday, 21st May. Our aim is to publicise our project and “engage” with people - that’s the modern idiom for talking to people….. but sometimes it’s more important to listen!
Back to marketing, etc. Every business or organisation has “customers” - they may have different names (members, audience, shoppers, visitors, taxpayers, voters) but they are still people who are important to those bodies – without them you don’t have a business (or a project). Marketing and PR is how to interact with your customers, old or new. You have to work on your image and message – PR is not just about press releases and having your picture in the paper.
Repeating things over and over again is fine but after a while people treat it as “background noise” or dismiss it altogether. Fortunately, the message of remembrance is still valid today….. “Lest we forget”. Whilst our project uses the phrase “We will remember them, will you?”, it is not about us constantly banging on with the same ‘old’ message but aimed at getting everyone, young and old, to think and then act. I am biased, but effective and well delivered marketing and PR is how to achieve that aim.
The ‘old’ phrase “You can’t sell if you don’t tell” is as valid today as it was when I started in marketing (only the terminology is different).
