Noted author and business marketing strategist Laura Ries came to St. Louis on Oct. 20 to speak with PRSA-St. Louis about her 2002 best-selling book, “The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.” More than 215 area PR/marketing professionals attended, eager to hear more about the popular book, which has caused many to ponder the future of marketing and branding in the contemporary marketplace.

Ries’ premise is that successful brands today are built on a solid foundation of public relations first, and that paid advertising campaigns should come later because “PR is more powerful than advertising,” as Ries puts it. She noted the recent success of the BOTOX brand, which became a $500 million annual business built entirely on public relations. Other companies mentioned that have built successful brands through public relations include: Viagra, Starbucks and even Volkswagen when it was introduced in America in 1950. According to Ries, by 1959 the Volkswagen “Beetle” was the number one import in America and the company’s first advertisements didn’t run until 1960.Ries outlines several key communications principles that formed the basis for her book (below).

* PR Is More Powerful Than Advertising *
To support this principle, Reis points to the fact that you can’t fight negative PR with advertising. Some still try today by purchasing full-page newspaper ads when their company is in trouble, but “consumers don’t buy it,” Ries says.

* Advertising Has Every Advantage But One: Credibility *
Because advertising has little credibility, strong brands must begin with PR, which has a third-party endorsement effect that people respond to today. Ries used Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club as an example. One book – a John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” – went from selling just 50,000 copies a year to more than one million in a week after being endorsed by Oprah’s program.

* Advertising Agencies Focus On The Wrong Concept: Creativity *
Ries believes too many advertising campaigns spend too much money and energy on making famous ads, and not enough on building credibility for the brand. The company Pets.com, for example, spent more than $60 million to develop a creative sock puppet ad campaign that only generated $22 million in sales the first year. The company went bankrupt.

* If Advertising Is So Powerful, Why Don’t Agencies Advertise? *
In fact, Ries says most agencies focus their own efforts on gaining PR for their company’s work.

* Advertising Can Be Effective If The Message Is Right *
Ries says the role of public relations is to develop an idea in consumers’ minds about what the brand stands for. Then the advertising campaign can follow up with messages that touch the idea already firmly in place. If the message is right, the impact can be tremendous. She believes Budweiser ads, for example, should focus on the company’s “King of Beers” image, and Coke should continue to be “The Real Thing.”

* Every Marketing Campaign Needs An Enemy *
To be successful, Ries says you need to position your company against a competitor. For example, Wal-Mart is seen as having the lowest prices. Target is seen as having low prices too, but in a trendy, chic sort of way. K-Mart however, has positioned itself in what Ries calls the “mushy middle,” and isn’t really attacking a known enemy.

* You Can Advertise Anything, But Publicity Needs An Idea *
A brand’s foundation needs to be built on an established idea. Advertising alone will not normally accomplish this.

* PR Is More Consistent With The Way Brands Are Built *
Successful brands generally take off slow, like an airplane, and then steadily climb to success. PR efforts take time but tend to have lasting effects. Conversely, most brands that take off like a rocket via a creative advertising campaign will fall as quickly as they went up (Examples: Hula Hoop, Zima Malt Beverage, Smirnoff Ice).

* Many Established Brands Don’t Spend Enough On Advertising *
Some successful companies develop what Ries calls the “mine forever” mentality when it comes to market share. Most need to continue defending their brand, focusing on its core concept or idea.
_{Reporter – Paul Tandy, PRSA-St. Louis Director}

NOTE: You can find more about Laura Ries, her father Al, and their publications at their Web site – www.ries.com.