Public relations promotion cases for some large companies such as Microsoft and IBM

In 1996, IBM invited Kasparov to play a chess match against the Deep Blue computer. It used extensive public relations techniques to increase its momentum and made IBM appear in all news reports. Judging from the effect of the event, money cannot buy the benefits IBM gained from this public relations.

When "Windows 95" was launched, Microsoft formed a large marketing communications team to support the launch activities. It bought the rights to the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" as the theme song for its products. The opinions of technology professionals and the media can influence sales. To make them more aware of the product, Microsoft held a grand press conference on the day the product was launched, attended by millions of people around the world.

Create topics

Create topics and attract the public and the media to participate in discussions. This is a convenient way to spread the brand and establish emotional connections with consumers.

Yangshengtang has done quite well in this regard. Nongfu Spring is a well-known drinking water brand produced by Yangshengtang. Through a series of comparative tests on pure water and natural water, the brand came to the conclusion that "pure water is useless" and informed the media of this conclusion. At the same time, it solemnly announced: For human health, Nongfu Spring no longer produces pure water, only natural water. This move makes Nongfu Spring stand out in the Chinese water market where pure water originally had an absolute advantage. In addition, Dole, a female health care product brand owned by Yangshengtang, conducted a national solicitation on the topics of "When is a woman most beautiful?" and "Who do you meet when you are most beautiful?", which in turn caused full media hype. It is an ordinary public relations topic. It quickly became a popular topic among the public and quickly increased the brand's influence.

The successful implementation of topical public relations requires a full understanding of popular culture and the operating mechanism of media news. If used well, it can effectively achieve the marketing effect of "spending more with less".

Integrate social resources

By integrating high-profile social resources, brands can reach a growing audience. Culture, sports and music have universal appeal and are the preferred targets for PR resources, with followers increasing year by year.

L'Oréal has always followed the concept of "L'Oréal's beauty comes from the beauty of culture" in China, and has tried hard to build a bridge of cultural exchange between China and France, sponsoring the "From Beijing to Versailles" Sino-French Art Exchange Expo, Pingyao International photography exhibition and many other activities. These activities give L'Oréal an excellent opportunity to integrate into local culture, and are also a way for it to keep the brand active and vital.

In 2003, IBM sponsored the Chinese mountaineering team to climb Mount Everest, providing the team members with 30 T40 laptops, which have very strong resistance to cold and altitude. When the mountaineering team members wrote about their personal experiences after returning from mountaineering, they wrote that they took their T40 laptops to an altitude of 8,700 meters and woke up at an altitude of 8,700 meters every day. Everything was frozen, but the IBM computer could be recovered in two minutes. can be started. CCTV's daily broadcasts start information dissemination through IBM computers. IBM spent a small amount of money to sponsor computers for the mountaineering team, but when the mountaineering team returned, they told readers these stories, which were actually their truest feelings, and this was also a very effective means of communication.

Taiwan Evergreen Group spends NT$60 million every year to operate an orchestra with the purpose of "promoting Taiwan's music culture" and "cultivating young Taiwanese musicians." Although the orchestra performs at a loss every time, media observation points out: "The orchestra is actually a very good social tool for Evergreen to build its corporate image." The Evergreen Symphony Orchestra uses music to expand the territory of the Evergreen brand.

Sponsoring public welfare activities

In the West, sponsoring public welfare activities has become a very effective public relations tool. Many consumers claim that they will buy from brands that support public welfare causes they care about. Which brand of product.

In the UK, a 1997 study conducted by the "International Research Institute" for the "Community Business" organization showed that 86% of consumers have a better impression of companies that conduct public welfare undertakings to make the world a better place.

More companies choose valuable public welfare undertakings, and use unique implementation strategies to integrate non-profit charitable institutions in society with business, which is conducive to the pure self-interest. Business behavior gradually changed into civilized charity.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles were once the "official cars" of the notorious criminal organization and motorcycle gang "Hells Angels", so they gave people a very negative brand impression. The public believed that this brand was permeated with Undercurrents of violence, danger, drugs. Harley-Davidson has achieved a positive image by supporting charitable activities to treat the paralyzing disease of muscle wasting caused by malnutrition. The presence of a paralyzed man in a wheelchair at a rally organized by Harley-Davidson Motorcycles was a powerful reminder of how free cyclists are on the road, highlighting the need for further medical research and inspiring fundraising efforts.

Linking to public events

Linking to public events is a public relations technique. If used properly, even a simple emergency can successfully attract a large number of public attention. Practice shows that it is much better to associate with a ready-made event than to create an event specially for the purpose of promoting products.

In 2003, China carried out its first manned spacecraft launch project. The milk manufacturing company Mengniu Company realized that a successful launch would greatly stimulate the national pride and self-confidence of the Chinese people, so it decided to use the occasion of the Shenzhou 5 flight to launch a "Milk for Astronauts" public relations campaign. This initiative has brought huge benefits to the company. One year after the implementation of this activity, Mengniu's market sales more than doubled, and its market sales ranked third and ranked first.

During the SARS epidemic in 2003, Buick invited famous European piano masters to hold a performance with the theme of "Classic Love in May Sunshine", using music to soothe the Chinese people at that time who hoped to overcome the difficulties in the country or personal life as soon as possible. emotional needs.

For most Chinese consumers, noble sentiments and true emotions such as patriotism will never go out of style.

Taking advantage of competitors’ public relations crises

Most brands always promote when there is news. They want to show off new features or promote extended products. In fact, when competitors make mistakes in public relations, companies should also take the initiative in brand marketing.

In 1994, Intel made public relations errors when dealing with computing flaws in the first-generation Pentium microprocessor. When university professor Thomas Nicely couldn't get compensation, he turned to the Internet to expand the matter. At that time, Intel CEO Grove ignored the needs of ordinary consumers to buy products for better quality and newer products, saying "No Chip is ever perfect" (No chip is ever perfect). chips are always perfect), causing greater turmoil and recycling losses.

At this time, Motorola took advantage of the momentum and advertised its semiconductor products. The focus of the promotion was "lifetime warranty", deliberately emphasizing that they were trustworthy and worthy of consumers paying more. Motorola chose to run this ad at a time when Intel was receiving widespread negative reviews, and thus gained the prestige they sought.

Basic principles of public relations in building brands

Public relations will use third-party endorsement to gradually build a brand. Through a series of carefully planned public relations plans, the main features of the brand can be evolved from those originally designed to those that consumers prefer. Successful brands know how to create the most effective connection between their brand and their PR campaigns.

Relevance

This is the first principle of brand public relations.

Public relations often face the problem of establishing a close connection between activities and brands; if the brand's presence in public relations activities is regarded as "tasteless", the company's money will be wasted, and there will be negative consequences. The company's image in the public mind is negatively affected.

Smart companies strive to make the two more closely and logically connected. For a brand, the choice of public relations vehicle can create a strong, unique association with the brand.

Philip Morris's "Marlboro" brand has always been an active sponsor of various international sports events, including car racing, motorcycle racing, skiing, horse racing and cycling, because these activities are very challenging. Strong activities are activities that can reflect the true nature of heroes, and are activities with men as the main body. This is internally consistent with the image of cowboys and real men of the "Marlboro" brand. This kind of sponsorship not only reflects Marlboro's care for society and sports, but also highlights and strengthens the personality and image of the "Marlboro" brand.

In China, Rejoice launched the "Rejoice Confidence Academy" public relations activity that went beyond the scope of products, inviting "Crazy English" founder Li Yang and others as lecturers to cultivate self-confidence and learn to express self-confidence through creation for young people. This opportunity fully highlights the "confidence" brand concept that Rejoice has always advocated; P&G's high-end skin care brand SK-II enjoys the reputation of "skin care expert" and has always been favored by stars in the film, television and entertainment industries. In view of this characteristic, P&G We jointly hold professional skin care lectures with the Beijing Film Academy to provide professional consulting services for personal skin to those "future stars" in the film and television industry, and skillfully establish connections with consumers.

Choose an event that fits your brand image. If it also requires a lot of explanation as to why your company is participating in the event, it may not be a good fit for your brand. Sports brands often use events to spread their knowledge. Fashion and cosmetics brands expand their markets through fashion conferences and celebrities. Fuji and Kodak use photography art exhibitions or competitions to enhance their brand influence, in which they establish The associations are self-explanatory.

Act at the right time

In brand public relations, especially consumer product public relations, timing is very important.

The canned corn brand "Hulk" chooses the right time and launches various public relations activities at the right time, so it can continuously inject new ideas into marketing and attract the attention of the media and consumers.

For example, when schools are on summer vacation, when parents and children spend the most time together, the brand designed the "Hulk Parent-Child Interactive Corn Dinner", inviting child stars and their mothers to cook together, in a relaxed and warm atmosphere. In the atmosphere, we can make delicious dishes suitable for parents and children to make together. The scorching hot August is the peak season for cold drink consumption. The company specially added corn to the ingredients of summer cold drinks, and even cooperated with famous restaurants to organize "Qinliang Corn Week" to jump on the train of summer cold drinks.

The current society requires different "focus" compositions. Not every approach meets the needs of different ethnic groups. Public relations should switch to diversified news angles according to different consumer objects and different times. , allowing the brand to carry out continuous marketing operations and maintain a strong position in the market.

Harmony and Coordination: Moisturizing Things Silently

Although you should be eye-catching in public relations activities, do not reveal too obvious commercial purposes. Public relations activities should choose a coordinated participation method. If you are pretentious in participating in activities and overemphasize your brand or company so that the sponsored social activity itself loses its due meaning, you may arouse public resentment and become a target of the press. Not only will your brand not be enhanced by sponsorship, Image may also be counterproductive. Therefore, public relations activities should have a sincere attitude. While ensuring that the activities involved can play their due role, they should also show the role of the brand and the company in it, thereby improving the image of the brand and company.

For example, "Kodak" once invested more than 2 million yuan to renovate and design the three major scenic spots in Zhangjiajie, China. 300 facilities such as signs and guide signs were renovated. These facilities are all made of natural raw materials and integrated with the natural ecological environment, reflecting Kodak's environmental awareness. The Kodak logo on each street sign is also consistent with the color of the street sign, which does not appear obtrusive or dazzling, and lacks the taste of commercial promotion. In terms of developing scenic area resources, Kodak has also made a lot of detailed planning.

Through Kodak's design and transformation, each major scenic spot has a photography attraction stone recommended by Kodak, which not only highlights the unique beauty of Zhangjiajie, but also stimulates tourists' desire to take pictures and stimulates tourists' consumption in photography. It can be seen that in the process of doing public welfare activities, Kodak pays attention to discovering market opportunities from the subtleties, so that consumers can improve their awareness and understanding of its brand in admiration, and the brand's status in the minds of consumers has been improved. improved.

In addition, for example, Martell combines classical music with public relations and promotions, and adopts a non-commercial cultural environment to highlight elegance and nobility. Lord Louis highlights its excellent corporate image by displaying ancient palace-style buildings and organizing various cocktail parties and large-scale cultural activities. These are all appropriate performances.

Integrate advertising and promotion

Of course, the effectiveness of public relations needs to be grafted with advertising and promotion to maximize it. Integrating various marketing tools around the same theme is a smart way to build your brand.

For example, Mengniu, which planned the "Milk for Astronauts" public relations campaign, launched its production around this campaign on CCTV within 3 hours after the safe return of China's manned spacecraft Shenzhou 5. The advertisements changed the outdoor advertisements on outdoor bus shelters in more than 30 cities overnight. Within a few days, Mengniu products in various stores were printed with the words "Milk specially designed for Chinese astronauts". The integrated application of multiple means quickly improves the public relations effect and ensures the maximum brand influence.

In addition, turning advertising behavior into news has become an increasingly common integration method.

Pepsi is very good at turning advertising campaigns into legitimate news. Since 1984, they have been conducting business activities around Michael Jackson. When building momentum for blue cans, Pepsi-Cola rented a Concorde airliner to be sprayed blue and spent US$5 million to have Soviet astronauts film promotional ads holding large blue Pepsi-Cola bottles while orbiting the space station. This kind of advertisement has strong newsiness, and the media has to pay attention to it.

Toyota, a world-renowned automobile company, once teamed up with a well-known director to build momentum for an advertising film. Toyota has continuously released a trailer for a commercial on TV within half a year: the famous director Zhang Yimou will shoot a 5-minute commercial for Toyota's newly launched Vios. This trailer is the same as the film's promotional video, telling the audience in a serious manner: director Zhang Yimou and Daniel Wu will star in the movie, and it will be released next spring. It also has the subtitle "Who will star with Daniel Wu, click online to choose the heroine." This approach is similar to Zhang Yimou's search for heroines online before filming the movie "Happy Days", which has a huge communication effect.

This integrated method of creating news effects for advertisements can not only attract consumers to have greater interest in the advertisement in advance, but also enhance the credibility of the advertisement.

Nowadays, treating a new advertising campaign as news has become standard behavior for many companies.

Control information sources

Information release is an important part of successful public relations. No matter how good a public relations activity is, if this link is not executed properly and information is distorted, it will often lead to adverse effects.

Mature brands are very cautious in this regard.

In this regard, Microsoft is a successful example. Although it is plagued by antitrust lawsuits, Microsoft's long-term public relations performance has been well received. They have always strived for positive coverage from well-known technology reporters and editors, and were willing to pay a considerable price. Microsoft would send an entire PR team to a reporter, confirming the text of their report, nitpicking at every opportunity to make sure every idea was not misunderstood, and even flying a team of Microsoft engineers to the reporter's office with a Document stating Microsoft's position.

In order to ensure the healthy dissemination of information, some companies often make very thorough and detailed arrangements. For example, IBM holds a relatively large press conference at the beginning of each year to communicate its market business strategy in China for the entire year with nearly a hundred media outlets. After the press conference at the headquarters, departments of various product lines and service lines also communicated with their relevant media.

When the epoch-making revolutionary slogan "E-commerce on Demand" was put forward in 2003, IBM immediately sent a more than 30-page "New Milestone" white paper to all parts of the world, and public relations departments in various places seized all the time. Communicate with the media and convey the message of "e-commerce on demand" to all media and analysts as soon as possible.

For enterprises, controlling information sources not only ensures their quality, but also ensures that the brand name can be mentioned as much as possible throughout the public relations activities.

Selection and grasp of strategies

Public relations personnel want to grasp every major sensational event and launch publicity campaigns in a timely manner. This idea and approach is understandable. No one wants to see their competitors' promotional activities being vigorous and impressive, while their own brand suffers from a deserted market with no one paying attention.

Good public relations can slip through the threshold of people's stereotypes under the cloak of practicality. It will not indicate "I am not a paid advertisement to sell you a product." This makes it easier for its information to be widely disseminated through the media, so public relations propaganda must not only carry out hyperlinks but also pay attention to strategy, which is the basic prerequisite for successful victory. If the strategy is used well, it will play a very positive role in establishing a brand image and gaining greater visibility.

Combining corporate public relations themes with a healthy social environment, this strategy can make the brand a source of information that the media pays attention to.

Anita Roddick, a well-known figure in the beauty industry, made The Body Shop a well-known brand with almost no advertising, which lies in the successful brand public relations strategy.

The Body Shop opposes the use of animals for experiments, helps developing countries develop their economies through the "Trade, Not Aid" program, contributes to protecting tropical rainforests, actively supports the women's movement, and has become a leader in waste recycling. a role model; the company also participates in campaigns to save whale populations, promotes the protection of other endangered species, and supports the development of alternative energy sources. The company also filled the store with posters and colorful brochures (printed on recycled paper) among the merchandise and trial samples, which provided information about the products, the causes the company supports and how consumers can get involved and engage in charity activities. Information on public welfare organizations and so on.

By conveying its views on the environment, local people and animal testing, The Body Shop was able to attract newspapers, magazines, radio and television, and the brand grew bigger and bigger.

Plan activities that provide new experiences for customers.

When consumers use products, allowing them to participate in more experiences will greatly promote brand creation.

Adidas pioneers the Urban Culture Movement, which includes mass participation events across Europe such as Street Football Challenges, Street Football Festivals and Athletics Clinics. These popular events include not only athletic competitions, but also fashion shows, music performances (including hip-hop bands) and other forms of entertainment. As a result of its urban cultural activities, Adidas reversed the decline in sales that had begun in the early 1980s without any media advertising, and in the face of competition from heavy advertising campaigns by Nike and Reebok, the market The share keeps increasing.

Cadbury invested 5.8 million pounds to build the "Cadbury World" theme park, which provides visitors with many opportunities to taste Cadbury's wide range of chocolate products, but more importantly, Cadbury World Vividly linking the taste experience to the history of the brand.

Both create new experiences for consumers. If they hadn't decided to make these connections in the first place, people wouldn't have had this experience. Consumers feel that these brands are giving back to society and see this return as a fair exchange for their loyalty to the brand.

Convert routine corporate promotion activities into newsworthy public relations events.

If pure corporate promotion activities cannot be planned from the perspective of the media, it will be difficult for relevant public relations manuscripts to be published in the media. When designing public relations activities, you must first think about what can attract the attention of reporters.

Journalists focus on content that is of public interest, because only topics of public interest need to be published. Planning public relations activities from the public's perspective can produce news effects.

L'Oreal is very smart in this regard. Since 1997, the L'Oréal Group has been the official co-organizer of all Cannes International Film Festivals. So L'Oréal Group used its public relations capabilities to allow one of its image spokespersons, Gong Li, to be a judge at the Cannes Film Festival, launching a Chinese actor to the international stage for the first time. Gong Li's appointment as a film festival judge is undoubtedly big news, and her performance during the film festival is bound to attract full media attention. The exposure rate of the image spokesperson is high, and the influence of the brand will naturally increase accordingly.

In addition, both multinational companies and unknown small businesses will benefit from choosing those "causes" that are valuable, weighty, and more suitable for the products and companies being promoted as the carrier of public relations.

Beauty chain company NB Natural Beauty co-organizes the "Passionate Entrepreneurship" program with the TV station. The winning entrepreneurial candidates who participate in this program will receive a 100,000 yuan entrepreneurial award fund. Natural Beauty provided a fund of 5.2 million yuan for the event within one year and provided employment training courses with a total value of 5.2 million yuan to more than 1,000 viewers. A large number of people who are concerned about entrepreneurship will consider the chain franchise system. This public relations activity is undoubtedly very consistent with the promotion of the natural beauty chain system. (This article is excerpted from Zhang Bingwu’s monograph "The Future of Brand Marketing")