Sales, publicity and a bunch of compliant sheep

IF ANYONE has read Edie, the story of Edie Sedgwick (one of Andy Warhol's artistic hangers-on and substantial user of illegal substances to the extent that it makes Pete Doherty look a little tame) they will know that fame relies heavily on a heady mix of self-promotion, influential friends and a generous helping of money.

Edie's self-proclamations, social mixing - mainly through contacts of the infamous "Surgery" - and eventual acting debut in what can only be described as performance art for amateurs, was memorable for one thing. Her inadvertent elevation through unknowing self publicity as one of Andy's druggies was both the elixir of her success and the fuel for her downfall. It's a sad story that almost inevitably ended with an overdose but she achieved more than her fair share of five minutes of fame.

For some people self-publicity comes naturally. While the likes of Edie Sedgwick and now Pete Doherty revel or perhaps self-destruct through their actions, it is the media that provides the platform for what is essentially a reality TV soap opera.

Achieving media coverage is an art form. For celebrities it is often a by-product of their behaviour, good or bad. For businesses it is not so easy. The media is a cunning animal that knows its place in the scheme of things. It knows it can help sales through publication but it can also be subjective in its treatment of companies, mocking them or even worse, ignoring them completely. Big brands are interesting. They have something to say. Smaller brands fill in the gaps, if any are left to fill. It is a natural hierarchy that is a little indicative of press release journalism.

Some companies do break through this veneer and establish themselves on a level that seems to far outweigh their own standing within the business community. Skype is a good example of this but is this because of word-of-mouth marketing or the fact that its PR agency inundated the press with release after release? It is probably down to an interesting product that in essence stuck two fingers up to the likes of BT and Microsoft. In short, it was a story.

PR undoubtedly has a role to play but only if there is a story to tell. Good PR can often forge stories out of thin air. Lateral thinking is much underrated but few PRs and publicity people truly understand journalism. There are degree courses in PR, believe it or not. What do they teach? Not want journalists want, that's for sure. Few understand the meaning of the word "story" yet businesses consistently fork out lengthy contracts to agencies to manage the media.

Effective PR can lead to good coverage in respected publications. This in turn can raise profile and help boost sales. It is a proven process. The key word here though is "effective". The media is there to report on what it sees and hears to the benefit of its readers and viewers. It is not there to shamelessly promote press releases that it encounters on business and PR wires.

Stories are what make the media tick. PRs that have the ability to recognise a story, maybe even help forge one and feed journalists with relevant and interesting material, are worth their weight in gold. Unfortunately, such agencies are few and far between.

For businesses that have no PR machine, the potential for sales is dramatically reduced. Although measuring a direct link between PR and sales is tricky, there is an undoubted correlation between raising a brand profile and increasing sales potential. This takes time to achieve, a fact that may frighten off some companies for fear of tying themselves into expensive contracts.

The answer of course is to demand an element of risk/reward from PRs. If they don't hit the targets they forfeit 20 per cent of their fees? PR agencies may shudder at the thought of this but it's a growing practice in the management consultancy community. Businesses, tired of exorbitant consultancy fees are shifting towards a culture where they want consultancies to share the financial risks of projects for example. Why shouldn't this be applied to PR agencies? It would certainly sort the wheat from the chaff.

Ultimately PR can work but companies need to approach their PR activities with a bit more intelligence. Whether it's good or bad news - the adage that there is no such thing as bad news is of course wrong - and PR has an important role in managing that information. The quality of that role comes down to experience and understanding journalism. Anything less is a conveyer belt of woolly corporate drivel distributed on newswires, where agency after agency seems to follow the same pattern, like a bunch of sheep. µ