BUILDING YOUR BRAND WITH PUBLIC RELATIONS
With quality, service, delivery expertise, and production and installation proficiency within the ready-mix industry almost indistinguishable, brand (the identity established by a company in its marketplace) or price have become key factors in choosing one ready-mix supplier (or concrete contractor) over another.
Unless given relevant, brand-embedded, value-added reasons to do otherwise, homeowners and construction professionals will gravitate to the low-cost provider … as there is no clear reason not to.
When I worked for Alby Materials, its marketplace identity – a company deeply committed to investing in the success of its customers and the communities it served – was established by our actions and supported by our public relations (PR) savvy.
Alby University, our free, ongoing education programs for construction industry professionals; our construction industry association involvement; and our direct support of customer marketing, sales, safety, technical, and other management functions were concrete examples of the company’s commitment to customer success and created interesting stories resonating well with trade media gatekeepers and their audiences.
Everything Comes From Something – an interactive natural resource adventure customized to meet specific educational objectives of the classes visiting our Waterford operations; our annual Junior Achievement involvement; and the company’s generous and ongoing philanthropy toward area school programs were solid examples of the company’s commitment to the communities it served and created engaging human-interest stories resonating well with local media and area residents.
Robin D. Rusch, Editor-in-Chief of Brandchannel, the online exchange about branding, maintains successful branding is "an all encompassing multi-dimensional process,” and includes product, distribution, pricing, customer service, public relations, and advertising.
As a fan of integrated promotion (in marketing, the whole is always greater than the sum of individual marketing elements) … and as each of these marketing elements contributes to establishing and supporting a company's or organization’s true marketplace identity, I concur.
But PR is a key tool for establishing and sustaining a brand, as it allows a company to tell its story in perhaps the most credible way. Articles/news reports carried by the media promote third-party credibility, and, like customer, member, or constituent testimonials, are more likely to be believed than claims made in company or organizational advertisements.
PR promotes positive word-of-mouth promotion, helps encourage word-of mouse marketing, and creates and helps sustain customer, member, and constituent relationships.
A great book for learning more about how PR can support your branding efforts is The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, by Al and Laura Ries, who maintain “advertising doesn't build brands; PR does.” Click HERE to read reviews of the book.
Brands are created by the actions of companies or organizations as perceived in the marketplace. Through media exposure generated from public relations savvy, PR provides the best vehicle for Concrete Promoters to establish and support their honest identity with prospects, customers, and other stakeholders.
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