PR
PR has become something of a neglected channel for many brands. The rise of social media and digital marketing has in many ways distracted brands from the power that major publications and media identities continue to wield in the public consciousness. There’s also a degree of scepticism caused by poor PR execution – the classic ‘footnote’ articles. If anything the core properties of great PR – identifying stories that match editorial and news agenda’s, understanding the reader/consumer interests and desires and ultimately delivering quality and often exclusive content – are more required than ever.
A well planned and executed PR campaign can add value for any brand, the challenge is in rigorous planning and execution.
At Reebok I was fortunate to work with some fantastic PR professionals – namely Richard Glennie (now Director of Communications Northern Europe at Nike), Lyddia Roy (now owner at Roycomm) and the pro’s at M&C Saatchi Europe. Editorial coverage, particularly that which could be expanded to add value across multiple countries and outlets, was a lifeblood of the brand. Examples are countless but here’s a couple:
Thierry & Rankin
Dazed & Confused
Thierry was a perfect icon for both Sport & fashion. Here we teamed him up with Rankin for an exclusive Dazed & Confused shoot which generated iconic streetwear imagery and pre European Championship football images. The content was syndicated across local markets
IKER CASSILAS
GQ
This one featuring Steven Klein’s exclusive and at the time, very edgy imagery of Iker Casillas (the captain of real Madrid & Spain – reigning world cup winning captain at the time) allowed us to syndicate coverage via GQ’s European editions.
