How can brands plan creative PR activities?

The survey report shows that 65% of PR professionals criticize the PR industry for its lack of creativity. What is the reason why the general impression of public relations is that it lacks creativity? Why is public relations the real creativity? Public relations creativity is not just talk. How can public relations show creativity in planning activities?

In this age of creativity, we often see many good ideas, but we often look at creativity wrongly. Most people believe that the public relations industry generally lacks creativity, and creative public relations is even more difficult to find for the general public. In fact, public relations is the real creativity.

The survey report shows that 65% of PR professionals criticize the PR industry for its lack of creativity. What is the reason why the general impression of public relations is that it lacks creativity? Why is public relations the real creativity? Public relations creativity is not just talk. How can public relations show creativity in planning activities?

l What is creativity?

Someone summed it up in one sentence: concept first, creativity second.

The purest meaning of creativity is "originality". The role and function of public relations creativity is not to implant new concepts in the minds of consumers, but to use public relations to establish a new concept in the minds of consumers, not to specifically strengthen these concepts.

Creativity can give public relations more different meanings, and give public relations more uniqueness and charm. Excellent creativity is like "inspiration", which can stimulate people's self-imagination.

The meaning of creativity is to make public relations artistic. It refers to the innovative thinking activities carried out by people under specific conditions, that is, creating new ideas. In public relations planning activities, creativity is responsible for designing the theme, idea and expression of the public relations activities, and for conceiving and artistically processing the entire activity.

Creativity is a tactical expression. The essence of creativity is thinking and definition at the strategic level. It is the tip of the iceberg that emerges above the water, and it has a deeper foundation beneath the bottomless water.

The essence of creativity is to make good use of available resources. If the conditions for realizing creativity are unrealistic, then the creativity can never be realized and can only remain at the stage of paper talk and can only be a perpetual motion machine in the mind.

Originality does not mean skill, professionalism, or intelligence. Advertising is about controlling creativity, and only public relations can produce real creativity.

If creativity is created purely for the purpose of attracting traffic, receiving praise, or impressing the world, but loses the combination with core strategic thinking, then it is not real creativity, but just a creative bubble that is just for the sake of attracting attention. When better and newer ideas come along, they will surely be "beaten to death" on the beach and disappear without a trace.

Advertising guru David Ogilvy's magic lamp theory proposes:

Creativity must obey scientific regulations and must come from scientific investigations and research, rather than personal opinions and ideals. Of course, it must abide by certain rules, rather than being unrestrained. The core issue to be solved is the scientific establishment of the content of the advertisement, rather than the expression of the advertising content.

The role of creativity is first to produce an explosive effect and attract public attention; secondly, to serve as the finishing touch. The novelty and uniqueness of the creative theme can serve as the finishing touch for a public relations event.

Creativity does not belong to the advertising department, creativity belongs to the public relations department. PR professionals must position the product or service as new.

The job of PR is to take the latest products and improve them, using a lot of creativity, and turn them into something truly new and different.

Therefore, in terms of the understanding and application of creativity itself, advertising and public relations are on the same starting line.

Creativity can enable public relations to play an unlimited role within a limited space. Under the leadership of creative ideas, both products and brands can shine. On the one hand, it can enhance the audience's awareness and recognition of the brand, thereby achieving more consumer conversions. On the other hand, it can promote the creative power of public relations, which is like killing two birds with one stone.

l What is PR creativity?

The core of public relations is to enable mutual understanding between brands and consumers and enhance brand awareness. The core of public relations is to make yourself and the public relations understand and adapt to each other.

For an institution, whether it is a business, organization or government, there are many ways to achieve public relations goals. As for the manuscripts and the activities themselves, they are one of the ways to achieve this goal, and creativity will naturally be reflected in these aspects.

The embodiment of public relations creativity must first have an overall big idea in strategy. In advertising, this is called the "big idea" and in public relations strategy, this is called the strategic theme. This theme usually exists in the form of an annual theme, project theme or event theme. This is the concept of public relations creativity.

In general, public relations creativity is first and foremost a creative test around corporate culture, brand stories, and corporate products, and it seeks to create a psychological fit between the subject and the target audience. Then comes the tactical form of creativity, which fully reflects the strategic creativity and seeks the resonance between the strategic creativity and the target population, and then specifically chooses the form of public relations creative activities.

The last step is to execute the creative idea, aiming to attract the target user group. For example, the traffic entrance of the event, the promotional slogan, the creative expression of the event itself, etc.

Activities must be purposeful. Each activity has a specific purpose. Some are to maintain relationships with the target population, and some are to directly promote sales. This may be a behavior to increase attention, or it may be a behavior for another purpose.

Only by finding effective public relations communication methods and creating unique and creative situations can we truly present the theme and plan to the public in a vivid and lively manner and design the most suitable public relations activities.

Any public relations activity is a reflection of brand strategy, a partial manifestation of form, and a realization of execution, but not every public relations idea is a reflection of creativity.

Public relations strategy is the brand’s strategic plan for the whole year, so it is said to be “public relations first”. The key to a successful public relations campaign lies in the early and late stages of the campaign, as well as the scope and durability of the influence created by the campaign.

The form of public relations activities: usually in the form of annual themes, project themes, and project themes. The main forms include press conferences, roadshows, talent shows, sports, music, entertainment, sponsorship, event marketing, new media and so on.

l Characteristics of PR creativity:

1. The unity of originality and sociality

Uniqueness refers to giving full play to imagination and creativity, liberating the mind, breaking the fixed mindset and generating unique ideas. Sociality refers to the fact that creativity must be rigorously tested against standards such as organizational needs, public interests, and social values.

2. PR ideas must be feasible

Feasibility is worth basing on reality and maintaining relative unity with objective conditions, so as to give full play to one's subjective initiative, make the best use of every objective condition and make it practical and reliable.

3. Public relations creativity is both the product of personal wisdom and the crystallization of collective wisdom.

Public relations creativity is both the product of individual wisdom and the crystallization of collective wisdom. It means that the conception of a public relations creative activity must be in line with the public's aesthetic taste and aesthetic level. Incorporate social hot spots, Internet memes, documentary records, historical stories, mythological stories, etc. into the conception.

l Creative PR Cases

Case 1: Ariel laundry detergent cleans the world's largest shirt

Ariel laundry detergent achieved an astonishing public relations effect through the challenge of "washing the world's largest shirt".

Case 2: Mengniu Astronaut Milk

When Beijing successfully bid for the Olympic Games in 2011, Mengniu was the first to step forward and donate 10 million yuan. In 2003, after strict screening, inspection and certification by China's manned space engineering department, Mengniu products were determined to meet the special standards for astronauts. There are strict screening standards for astronauts' special food, with relevant regulations as long as 8 pages. It has passed the screening of China's manned space engineering department "from market to factory, from factory to pasture", and has undergone multiple physical, chemical and microbiological tests, and it has been determined that Mengniu products meet the special standards for astronauts.

In October 2003, with the success of the Shenzhou V spacecraft, Mengniu took advantage of the opportunity of being awarded the title of "Special Milk for Astronauts" and launched a large-scale public relations campaign of "Raise your right hand and cheer for China", with the slogan of "Mengniu Milk, Makes Chinese People Strong". In November of the same year, Mengniu won the advertising bid for CCTV and once again became the focus of public attention.

Mengniu Milk has successfully made the concept that "Mengniu milk is milk specially made for astronauts" deeply rooted in people's minds. After learning about it, the masses have established a high level of cognition in their minds: "It turns out that this is milk specially made for astronauts!", and they believe in this point of view and are successfully brainwashed by this idea.

The success of Mengniu Milk lies in establishing and strengthening the connection between its brand spirit and the "manned space launch" event. Turn potential consumers into actual consumers and make existing actual consumers more loyal.

How to better use creativity to serve public relations?

1. Focus on market research and make good use of public relations;

2. Pay attention to media relations and grasp the publicity strategies at different stages;

3. Pay attention to product quality and let facts speak for themselves.

4. Deeply understand the target audience and provide a basis for creativity;

5. Grasp the information characteristics of the target audience and provide clues for creativity;

6. Study the possibility and effective ways to change the attitudes of the target audience and provide reference direction for creativity;

7. Predict possible changes in the target audience in the future to ensure the forward-looking nature of the creativity and the effectiveness of the upcoming public relations activities.

Author: qmA Deng

Source: PR Home