RICHARD BRANSON: THE ULTIMATE CASE STUDY OF PR VERSUS ADVERTISING
We have all heard the age old arguments of PR vs Advertising, but there is one man who is behind a group that sells condoms and weddings gowns and provides services in finance and most recognisably airlines and he is the media master- the son of great PR. Do you know who it is?
Of course you do, everyone knows him. He has been on front pages of newspapers internationally, profiled in every business magazine and appeared on TV more times than you can count.
Richard Branson is an absolute advocate of PR. He has used PR to grow his profile, his business and aggressively protect and foster his brand and reputation. Branson has been seen in helicopters, hot air balloons, cages, army tanks and has pseudo-drowned Baywatch style. Why? Because he believes PR is far more valuable than advertising.
Almost unbelievably, Branson’s highest paid employee isn’t his CFO or his BDM, it is his Public Relations and Communications Director. In an article by Glenn Rifkin of Strategy and Business Magazine, Branson says his Communications Director is the most important employee he has.
“I suspect in most companies, the public relations person is down at No. 20 in the pecking order. But here, he is fighting incredibly important battles. If a negative story starts running away with itself in the press and is not dealt with fast, it can badly damage the brand, and so we put enormous weight on our PR people”, sad Branson.
Branson continues to add that his staff work enormously hard to create something they are proud of and people are foolish if they don’t let the world now about it.
Although many Australian businesses do not operate on a global scale such as Branson, the message is the same and Branson reportedly donates 25% of his time to PR efforts.
“Using yourself to get out and talk about it is a lot cheaper and more effective than a lot of advertising. In fact, if you do it correctly, it can beat advertising hands down and save tens of millions of dollars.”
Branson isn’t the first to say PR is a winner over advertising, but his global profile, front page articles, international broadcast coverage and the media’s baited breath at what the man will do next are demonstration enough. He has public interest and appeal, he is fun, informative and interesting to watch, which will get him places that advertising cannot time and time again.
.
