Two days ago many people forwarded me an interesting article from Monday's Wall Street Journal entitled Hard-Hit Try Public Relations Push. The well-written piece told the story about various strategies and tactics that several public school districts around the United States are taking to increase enrollment. I was a bit disturbed by the piece though. Not because of the way the article was written, the author or the sources, but because of the amount of money these districts are spending on traditional advertising that most people no longer trust as a way to deliver a message of authenticity.
The story struck a cord on many levels. First of all because much of the work that my organization does in the K-12 education sector. Secondly because the title included the words public relations, while in fact most of the story focused on marketing techniques mostly annual advertising campaigns. The last time I looked there was a difference between public relations and advertising. Finally because I saw no mention of the words mission, core values and stakeholder engagement, and very little mention of social media in the piece.
A sustainable brand is focused on developing a strategy that is based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement. A sustainable brand is not based on an expensive advertising campaign, a new logo or a trendy tag line. I do agree with the public relations strategy. Like social media it is because it is an inexpensive alternative to advertising, and often more effective to measure. My experience tells me that when school think in terms of mission, core values and engaging their stakeholders in the brand development process the brand becomes sustainable. And when they deliver their brand message through social media the brand becomes more relevant to the right audience, it is a great return on investment and is easier to measure.
Does your brand strategy still rely on Old World tactics like television and radio advertising or does your strategy include a 21st Century approach that is relevant to your target audience? Are you effective in recruiting and retaining your brand champions?
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