Unleashing the Power of PR:A Contrarian's Guide to Marketing and Communication

Public relations is the traditional underdog of the marketing mix. It has typically lost out to the more traditional methods of mass-market advertising and promotional strategies. One of the reasons for that state of affairs is that PR has been seen as difficult to measure.

But now, public relations and corporate communications are at a crossroads. The vast array of new communication technologies has simply changed the game. The Internet, cable and satellite TV, blogs, and TiVo -- just to name a few technologies -- have cast a shadow over traditional advertising efforts. Marketers are turning away from money-losing promotions and coupon marketing, which have failed to build brand loyalty. In this tumultuous environment, new opportunities are being created.

In fact, public relations has the most to gain in this business atmosphere. It can supplant paid media in many ways and upset the traditional marketing philosophy by providing what advertisers and direct marketers are trying to achieve: customer involvement, message credibility, and brand value.

Mark Weiner has spent the last 20 years doing just that through his research-based public relations consulting firm, Delahaye, a division of Bacon’s Information and the Observer Group. Delahaye's research is used by many of the world's leading companies to set objectives, develop strategy, and evaluate the performance of their communications initiatives in affecting the attitudes, understanding, and behaviors of their target audiences.

In Unleashing the Power of PR: A Contrarian's Guide to Marketing and Communication, Weiner takes you inside the world of public relations research and shows how it can be used to strengthen any PR program of any kind.