Tag Archives: public relations

November 1, 2026 · 5:32 pm

How To Use Public Relations for Business Growth & Influence

Public relations, or PR, also referred to as “earned media” vs “paid media” with advertising, is all about managing the reputation and perception of your company in the eyes of the public, media, and other stakeholders. It’s about building credibility, trust, and positive relationships with key audiences through strategic communication and storytelling. So, how can startups and small businesses use PR effectively to achieve its goals?

The Importance of PR for Businesses

Public relations is a powerful tool that goes beyond traditional advertising and marketing. It’s about strategically managing your company’s reputation, visibility, and relationships with key stakeholders. By leveraging PR, you can:

Establish Authority and Credibility: Securing media coverage, speaking engagements, and industry recognition can position your business as an expert and thought leader in your field.
Strengthen Relationships: PR allows you to connect with your target audience, industry influencers, potential partners, and other key stakeholders, fostering valuable connections.
Amplify Your Brand: Effective PR can help you craft and communicate your brand’s narrative, increasing awareness and resonating with your audience.
Drive Business Growth: Ultimately, strategic PR can lead to increased leads, sales, and overall business growth by enhancing your company’s reputation and visibility.

Developing a Winning PR Strategy

To harness the power of PR, you’ll need to develop a comprehensive strategy. Here are the key steps:

1. Define Your PR Objectives

Start by clearly defining your PR goals, whether it’s to increase brand awareness, position your company as an industry leader, or drive more qualified leads.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Understand who your key stakeholders are, including potential customers, industry influencers, media outlets, and strategic partners.

3. Craft Your Compelling Narrative

Develop a strong, consistent brand message that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from the competition.

4. Leverage Media Relations

Build relationships with relevant journalists, bloggers, and industry publications to secure valuable media coverage and thought leadership opportunities.

5. Amplify Your Reach

Utilize a mix of tactics, such as press releases, guest articles, speaking engagements, and social media, to amplify your PR efforts and reach your target audience.

6. Measure and Refine

Continuously track the performance of your PR initiatives and make adjustments to optimize your strategy for maximum impact.

Taking Your Business to the Next Level

By leveraging the power of public relations, startups and small businesses can raise their company’s authority, build relationships with key audiences, and ultimately take their business to the next level. So, don’t underestimate the importance of PR in your overall marketing and branding strategy.

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Giftvertising — a Brilliant Trend and Unconventional Marketing Tactic

by James D. Roumeliotis

WestJet’s Christmas Miracle 2013 – Hamilton Airport, Ontario, Canada

Sadly, every day we are inundated with a slew of advertising messages almost everywhere we turn. There seems no escape.

A new study of media usage and ad exposure by Media Dynamics, Inc. reveals that a typical adult’s daily media consumption has grown from 5.2 hours in 1945 to 9.8 hours (or 590 minutes) currently.

Companies that wish to cut through the advertising clutter and stand-out are constantly utilizing unconventional and bold tactics through creative and methodical strategies. Through Giftvertising ‒ or gift giving captured on a video for advertising purposes, a brand develops memorable organized events with elements of surprise, while concurrently filming the reactions. The filmed message conveyed is one of generosity and caring to enhance customer perception.

Guerrilla marketing in video format

“Guerrilla” Marketing, a term was coined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his 1984 with his initial book entitled ‘Guerrilla Advertising’, is regarded as a bold, unconventional and low budget marketing/advertising strategy with effective results. In marketing, the element of surprise is a crucial method in breaking through a plethora of traditional advertising media. ‘Giftvertising’, an advertising trend, where marketers surprise their customers with free gifts, is akin to “Guerrilla” advertising in an online video format. Its aim is to create a highly entertaining and emotional bond with its customers and viewers. Furthermore, the scene filmed on video is anticipated to create buzz thus go viral on social media.

The advertising industry is constantly under pressure, by its demanding accounts, to create elaborate experiences for their targeted audiences. Ingenious campaigns are expected to break through the clutter, whilst differentiating a brand and improving its image which elevates its perception as trendy and customer driven. To be noticeably effective, the campaign required a public relations strategy approach, as well as be distinguished as authentic and purposeful by its viewing audience if it is to go viral.

Within the last few years, several brands experimented by launching their share of emotional based Giftvertising videos including WestJet Airlines which started it all with its “WestJet Christmas Miracle” − followed by others including TD Bank with its “Automated Thanking Machine”, Air Canada’s “Gift of Home for the Holidays” and MasterCard’s “Priceless Surprises.”

Case Study: WestJet

If there is a contemporary brand which inspired other Giftvertising campaigns which followed, it is none other than Canadian carrier WestJet Airlines Ltd. In December 2013, in time for the Christmas holiday season, it became one of the most watched viral videos over the Internet with over 40 million YouTube views (and counting). Additionally, it received numerous press mentions around the world. Consequently, other companies launched their own videos yearning similar results.

A year later in 2014, WestJet put out another remarkable Christmas video. This time it was set in the Dominican Republic. However, it did not reward its customers but instead it gave back to a small town in that country the airline flies to. Both videos average 5’30” each – an ideal amount of time to communicate the occasion without getting carried away.

Not surprisingly, both Giftvertising campaigns had a positive impact. They dramatically increased WestJet’s website visits along with bookings compared to the same month the previous years. All told, the company’s revenue soared by more than 80%.

All things considered

It takes unconventional marketing wisdom with bold tactics, along with a demonstration of genuine admiration and care for the customer, to produce emotional and memorable occasions including utter joy displayed by company employees. All this can have a profound effect on the millions of viewers. If it succeeds in its intended purpose, the publicity it generates on social media will be well worth the investment.

Giftvertising, undoubtedly, establishes a strong emotional bond between the brand and its customers just as it conveys a strong emotional impression boosting its positive image of a company one should certainly consider doing business with.

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Marketing Strategy v. Public Relations – In Tune With The Times

by James D. Roumeliotis

PR and inbound marketing aligned

THERE’S A FALLACY that most public relations firms do PR. Essentially they do publicity. How’s that possible, you ask? Well, this according to marketing gurus and what’s stated in Wikipedia (as follows): “Public relations and publicity are not synonymous but many PR campaigns include provisions for publicity. Publicity is the spreading of information to gain public awareness for a product, person, service, cause or organization, and can be seen as a result of effective PR planning.” PR, then, is the creative strategy of a story. It’s focused on its intended audience and with the full utilization of the tools at its disposal, such as press releases, speeches and public service activities amongst others, can determine what and how people talk about a company, a brand, a product.

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Tag Archives: public relations

Giftvertising — a Brilliant Trend and Unconventional Marketing Tactic

Marketing Strategy v. Public Relations – In Tune With The Times

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