The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR

305 Pages·2002·1.09 MB·English

by  Al Ries

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T H E F A L L O F
A d v e r t i s i n g
✹
and
T H E R I S E O F
P R
AL RIES and
LAURA RIES
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Dedicated to
CONRAD RIES BROWN,
our son and grandson, who arrived the day
after we completed the manuscript
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✹
Contents
Introduction ix
PART ONE
The Fall of Advertising
1. Advertising and Car Salesmen 3
2. Advertising and Art 15
3. Advertising and Creativity 23
4. Advertising and Awards 33
5. Advertising and Awareness 43
6. Advertising and Sales 49
7. Advertising and the Dotcoms 61
8. Advertising and Credibility 73
9. The Search for Alternatives 81
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{VI • CONTENTS}
PART TWO
The Rise of PR
10. The Power of a Third Party 89
11. Building a New Brand with PR 97
12. Rebuilding an Old Brand with PR 119
13. Establishing Your Credentials 127
14. Rolling Out Your Brand 133
15. Building an Educational Brand 143
16. Building a Geographic Brand 149
17. Building a Booze Brand 157
18. The Missing Ingredient 163
19. Dealing with Line Extensions 171
20. Dealing with Names 183
PART THREE
A New Role for Advertising
21. Maintaining the Brand 197
22. Keeping On Course 211
23. Firing On All Cylinders 223
PART FOUR
The Differences Between Advertising and PR
1. Advertising Is the Wind. PR Is the Sun 239
2. Advertising Is Spatial. PR Is Linear 241
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3. Advertising Uses the Big Bang. PR Uses the Slow Buildup 243
4. Advertising Is Visual. PR Is Verbal 245
5. Advertising Reaches Everybody. PR Reaches Somebody 247
6. Advertising Is Self-Directed. PR Is Other-Directed 249
7. Advertising Dies. PR Lives 251
8. Advertising Is Expensive. PR Is Inexpensive 253
9. Advertising Favors Line Extensions. PR Favors 255
New Brands
10. Advertising Likes Old Names. PR Likes New Names 257
11. Advertising Is Funny. PR Is Serious 259
12. Advertising Is Uncreative. PR Is Creative 261
13. Advertising Is Incredible. PR Is Credible 263
14. Advertising Is Brand Maintenance. PR Is Brand Building 265
PART FIVE
Postscripts
P.S. for Management 269
P.S. for Advertising 273
P.S. for PR 277
About the Author
Also by Al and Laura Ries
Credits
Copyright
Cover
About the Publisher
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This is the first in a series of three articles introducing the
positioning concept to readers of Advertising Age. It appeared in the
April 24, 1972, issue of the magazine.
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✹
Introduction
Thirty years ago, Al cowrote a series of articles for Advertising Age
entitled “The Positioning Era Cometh.” They were an instant hit.
Almost overnight, positioning became a buzzword among advertising
and marketing people.
If we were writing the same articles for the same publication
today, our title would have to be “The Public Relations Era Cometh.”
Wherever we look, we see a dramatic shift from advertising-oriented
marketing to public-relations-oriented marketing.
You can’t launch a new brand with advertising because advertis-
ing has no credibility. It’s the self-serving voice of a company anxious
to make a sale.
You can launch new brands only with publicity or public relations
(PR). PR allows you to tell your story indirectly through third-party
outlets, primarily the media.
PR has credibility. Advertising does not. PR provides the positive per-
ceptions that an advertising campaign, if properly directed, can exploit.
When we counsel clients, we normally recommend that any new
marketing program start with publicity and shift to advertising only
after the PR objectives have been achieved. For managers indoctri-
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{X • INTRODUCTION}
nated in an advertising culture, this is a revolutionary idea. For others
it’s a natural evolution in marketing thinking.
A Continuation of PR
Advertising should follow PR in both timing and theme. Advertising is a
continuation of public relations by other means and should be started
only after a PR program has run its course. Furthermore, the theme of
an advertising program should repeat the perceptions created in the
mind of the prospect by the PR program.
Nor is the advertising phase of a program something to be taken
lightly. An advertising program should be launched only on behalf of
a strong brand and only by a company that can afford the commit-
ment an advertising campaign demands.
Advertising people sometimes put down the PR function as a sec-
ondary discipline, useful only in a crisis or perhaps to publicize the
latest advertising campaign. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For most companies today, PR is far too important to take a back-
seat to advertising. In many ways the roles are reversed. PR is in the
driver’s seat and should lead and direct a marketing program. Hence
the title of our book: The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR.
Advertising Is Dead. Long Live PR
But how can advertising be dead if there is so much of it? You see
advertisements everywhere you look.
It’s like painting. Painting is also dead even though painting is
more popular today than it ever was.
When it comes to painting, its “death” is not the death of paint-
ing itself, but the death of its function as a representation of reality.