Three benefits of public relations for your company

A careful public relations strategy can effectively pay off for brand growth

All companies want to make a positive impact on their target audiences: shareholders, customers, investors and the media; in order to build close, lasting relationships that allow them to be seen as references in the sector in which they operate. Achieving this can be a big challenge, but if we work under a good public relations strategy, through a communications agency, and with the advice of professionals, the path will undoubtedly be easier; and the impact, extremely beneficial.

In 2018, we received an interesting challenge that consisted of carrying out the PR strategy for the visit of Pope Francis to Peru to Madre de Dios. The request was for the president of the Native Federation of the Madre de Dios River and Tributaries (FENAMAD) to be able to hand the pope “the most expensive gift in the world”, a sculpture adorned with symbols of the actions that plunder the Peruvian jungle and affect many of its inhabitants: illegal logging, human trafficking, contaminated water, among others. Knowing that the pope’s agenda and the personalities invited to accompany him at the main event had been closed for a year, we had to make sure the president of FENAMAD could be present and hand over this gift. 

The request became much more challenging when we were called in one week before the event. Without much contact with the local authorities, we focused our strategy on the message: “We want to reach Pope Francis to give him the most expensive gift in the world”. The intrigue strategy generated such expectation in national and local media that they themselves asked the archbishopric for our spokesperson to be invited and given a space to hand over the present. The result was more than 30 seconds of exposure on national television, the longest time a guest had contact with the pope, and more than 2.5 million people watching that moment live.  

This success story is a clear example of how public relations can achieve visibility and prominence, which gives a brand tangible advantages:

1. Increases credibility. Constant exposure in highly relevant media, alliances with stakeholders, and working with influencers or opinion leaders are some actions that will make the company’s credibility grow significantly, since the communication does not come directly from it, but organically through third parties who give their opinion or tell their experience with the business, product or service, making the experience more credible. 
2. Improves positioning. The constant dissemination of valuable content about the company across various media platforms, with wide national and international reach, will help the brand be perceived as a valuable company and a reference in its field. In addition, it could improve its SEO positioning, placing the brand closer and closer to the first pages of the search engine. 
3. Builds lasting relationships. Public relations will make you connect better with your customers, through storytelling, allowing them to engage organically with the product or service. In a short period, this could generate meaningful relationships and increase trust in the brand. In addition, it builds a positive image before the media, employees, investors and partners. 

The brand’s constant exposure across different communication channels makes it more and more visible to the stakeholder group. If it is done in a planned, strategic way and with the support of the right team, it could be very beneficial for the company because it will increase its reputation, credibility, positioning; and as a consequence, its sales.