PR is like a Marathon
Photo credit: istockphoto.com
The New York City's Marathon makes me think of an analogy. Good Public Relations are organized and run like a marathon. PR professionals know when they need to start and how far they must go. When they run the marathon, they watch who is beside them, ahead of them, and behind them. They are also aware that there is a finish line they must cross by a certain point in time.
PR professionals cannot run well if they end up starting later than planned. In other words, decisions that should be made often are delayed. This turns a marathon into a sprint. Unless we are dealing with crisis communications (one of the most expensive forms of public relations where sprinting is a way of life), most PR teams are just not set up to sprint.
What does this mean for PR teams?
Make sure your client knows what you need done, when it needs to be done, and why. Not everyone on the agency or client side operates in real-time. Please see David Meerman Scott's book, Real-Time Marketing and PR. It is natural for most people to get to their to-do list when they can. I often see program ideas, proposals and contracts sit in the hopper for weeks.
What does this mean for the client?
Respond and react to your PR team as promptly as possible. They know how long it takes to do their job. A delayed response may turn a regular PR marathon into a sprint and the results are not always going to be the same. Give the team what they need so they have ample time to get to the finish line. Time is what PR people want most to do their job right.
So, what do you think?
Is this relevant to your work?
Sources of inspiration for this blog post:
1. You can apply to run in the 2011 New York City Marathon at noon today EDT.
2. What I'm reading these days: Real-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now