Despite growing focus on technology, it is important that we must not overlook traditional PR tools, e.g. TV, radio and print. Effective PR will continue to be essential in building brand awareness, gaining customers and differentiating the brand from competitors. It is essential to integrate both traditional PR platforms as well as social media into a PR campaign for the most impact campaign.

While there is emphasis on digital strategy and social media for PR, traditional tools encompass components required for a successful brand campaign. Although social media could be seen as a threat to the business of public relation, it can be said that they exist in a symbiotic relationship, where it has become essential for a public affairs company to take advantage of social media opportunities for their clients. Damage control however, can be difficult on social media when dealing with controversial issues, and has thus created the need for public affairs strategy that should be executed in the case of an emergency (i.e. a crisis management plan).

Social media provides creative freedom to reach out to the target audience, but unless this is managed by someone with PR knowledge and experience, the spread of the message will not go very far. There’s only limited content to share on social media without a public affairs strategy. And what one shares is mostly the interviews or the stories covered by media – for which you need traditional PR. Furthermore, traditional means of PR must still be used to reach those who are not tech-friendly. In essence, rather than being something that replaces PR, social media has become a tool of PR which enhances its effectiveness at reaching wider audiences.

Desiree Peterkin Bell is the founder and CEO of public affairs company DPBell & Associates. Desiree is someone who intimately understands the growing role of social media in public relations, and is able to devise a brand campaign that utilizes a balance of traditional PR methods and social media promotion. This is what differentiates her public affairs company from other public affairs firms. To find out more about Desiree Peterkin Bell and the services provided by DPBell & Associates, visit her website.

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As opposed to three decades ago, public relations has transitioned from its original focus on communications and towards becoming more integrated, with a focus on a variety of other theories such as economics and behavioral psychology. Originally, PR became the centre of the business around which all other operations would take place. Without thinking of each action beforehand and the impact it may have on stakeholders of the business, mistakes are likely to be made.

Nowadays, there has been a change in climate within the PR industry, with many major firms viewing PR not as a singular ideology/operation to be carried out, but rather as a supporting mechanism for advertising and otherwise promoting a business. As a result, these major firms have since remodeled themselves. However, this change leaves opportunities for independent PR firms to take over and prove that PR is not just a series of steps that should be followed to achieve success, but rather an approach to effectively managing a business in a way that is most beneficial to each stakeholder, and should therefore be treated as such.

Desiree Peterkin Bell is the CEO of boutique public affairs firm, DPBell & Associates, an independent public affairs firm that is reestablishing the significance of public relations as an approach to successful communications and operations within a business through effective public affairs strategy. To find out more about Desiree Peterkin Bell and the services provided by her boutique public affairs firm, visit her website.

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Target Markets:
Target markets are a specific group of consumers that a brand will target with their marketing strategies. The market can be divided into four main sectors:

• Demographic
• Geographic
• Psychographic
• Behavioural

This is known as market segmentation. By choosing a combination of characteristics from these market segments, a brand target market can be determined (e.g. middle aged men in California). With the professional input of a brand consultant, an accurate target market can be determined for the brand, allowing for a greater return on investment when marketing the brand.

Pricing Strategies:
One of the most difficult parts of business can be to sell a product at the correct price. If the price is too high, the product may be perceived as higher quality, but it will become unaffordable for most consumers. On the contrary, if the price is too low, consumer may opt for another product due to the perceived lack of quality. There are countless strategies for pricing that can each be used to generate the most revenue in specific situations. The expertise of a brand consultant can be used to capitalise on these strategies.

Brand Image:
Brand image is the perception of a brand that is held by potential buyers. Once a target market is chosen, a brand consultant can play a major part in helping reshape a brand so that it will appear favourably towards the intended audience.

As the president of DPBell & Associates, Desiree Peterkin Bell brings her invaluable political and business experience when offering her services as a brand consultant. To connect with Desiree Peterkin Bell about brand consultancy and other services, visit her website.

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Communication Skills

Communication is an essential skill for anyone working in public affairs to possess. The cornerstone of good communication is having confidence when speaking, but being quiet and responsive when listening. It is important that a PR worker is able to explain complex concepts in ways that are simple and concise. A PR manager should also be cautious of cultural nuances in order to be respectful when communicating with people from different places. Most importantly, those working in public affairs must be patient and appreciative of other people’s priorities and pressures.

Research Skills

Another key aspect of public relations is research. A PR manager must do thorough research so that they are able to communicate accurately with clients. They should also be able to keep track of current events in the respective industry and be knowledgeable of their clients. Without the proper research skills, a PR worker cannot gain the relevant information in which to apply their experience and public relation skills, which will subsequently devalue their service.

Writing Skills

The ability to write engaging content is another key skill in public relations. A common theme among great writers is their grasp of grammar and writing experience, which differentiates them from others. Attention to detail is also important so that there are minimal grammatical and spelling mistakes, as these types of mistakes can devalue good work.

Creativity

Public relations allows for a lot of creative freedom. PR workers must come up with creative ways of writing, and must also develop creative ways of promoting a business and approaching potential clients. Fresh ideas and lateral thinking are crucial to success in public affairs.

To find a PR manager with all these skills and more, look no further than DPBell & Associates, headed by Desiree Peterkin Bell. To get in contact with Desiree about her public affairs expertise, visit her website.

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Seek out a PR Manager with a vast amount of real-world experience

The first step to achieving political success should be to seek out a PR manager with a vast amount of knowledge of the political landscape. When deciding on potential candidates for this position, you should thoroughly review their resume. Remember that political experience is not the same as management experience, and just because someone has worked with well known personalities does not mean they will be able to successfully manage your campaign. Someone like Desiree Peterkin Bell and her company DPBell & Associates would be an excellent choice as a PR manager

Don’t lose focus on the goal – winning the election

Winning the election should always be your main goal as a candidate. Do not get ahead of yourself and flaunt off your ego. It is essential that you remain humble and do not be petty. Slandering competition will not help your image and may jeopardise your goal of getting more votes than them. Even if you receive bad news, you must deal with the situation and keep moving forward; do not let it distract or deter you from your goal. Expect hardship but don’t let it hold you back.

Understand that people have different views and not everyone will like you

People will always have different moral ideals and political perspectives to yourself. This is not something that you should be angry about. Even the most beloved politicians will have opposition. Your job isn’t to persuade everyone that you are the correct person for the role, just the majority of the voters.

Treat your supporters with respect

You mustn’t be rude to those who do not agree with you, not matter what they say or do. Often times they may be trying to bait you into doing or saying something that can be used to defame you. If people respect you as a person, they may take the effort to try better understand your point of view, winning you more votes in the long run.

It is very tough to succeed in a political career, however these tips can hopefully help guide you in the right direction. While it is important to be have the correct mindset and a basic idea of how to properly interact with the public and competition, brand management and PR decisions should be advised by a professional such as Desiree Peterkin Bell. To find out more about Desiree and the services of DPBell & Associates

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Desiree Peterkin Bell strives to identify leverage, and define PR strategies through political and non political crises.

A crisis is a threatening situation that risks harming people, property, the reputation and the profit of a business. Organisations must understand that they are not immune to undergoing a crisis, and they should tackle the problem ‘head on’ if one were to occur by creating a PR crisis plan. It is important that businesses are always prepared, with good communications protocols in place to effectively relay information between employees, other stakeholders and the press. Here are the three main steps to plan for and handle a crisis by Desiree Peterkin Bell:

1. Anticipation and Response Plan

The best thing you can do before a crisis is be proactive and prepare beforehand. A useful technique would be to conduct a vulnerability audit by brainstorming potential crises and simulating the possible solutions. Often times this method will bring to light new preventative measures against a crisis that were previously unthought of. It is also practical to create a small crisis communications team, lead by the CEO and PR executive who will specialise in instructing the company operations and response during a crisis. This group could also include experts in specific fields depending on the nature of the crisis.

When responding to the press, there are many ways of saying very little without compromising legal matters and appearing responsive to those seeking information. Authorised spokespeople should be the only employees to speak for a business, and these spokespeople should be properly screened and trained in advance of a crisis. Businesses should understand that there is a difference between proactive PR (promotion) and crisis communications (preservation), and should be careful when sending people to speak to 60 minutes and similar programs, who will often attempt to ask difficult questions that will provoke responses that can reflect badly on a business and damage it’s reputation. In order to provide the best form of response, businesses should make sure that their spokespeople thoroughly understand the situation and will convey the correct information to the media in an appropriate way.

For Part 2

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Here are more main steps for  planning and handling  a crisis by Desiree Peterkin Bell:

2. Explain the Situation to the Stakeholders

When suffering from a crisis, it is important to reach stakeholders to explain the situation and what measures of corrective action are being taken. A business should have a planned method of communication that will allow them to reach relevant stakeholders as quickly as possible. In order to develop the most strategic response to send to stakeholders, it is essential that businesses gather intelligence from social media and traditional media to see who is saying what about them, and use this information to prepare a response that will counter any bad press. For this to happen, a monitoring system such as Google Alerts for websites, and Hootsuite for social media should be implemented in advance. A holding statement is a message designed for use immediately after a crisis. It should be planned in advance and continually updated to best suit the situation. This holding statement can be used as a message to relay to stakeholders.

3. Review Crisis

When reviewing the crisis as it is occurring, it is essential to not react until enough information has been gathered. This will ensure that the response given is the most appropriate to the situation. The PR crisis plan should be pre-prepared and and rehearsed to prevent the response from being delayed any further than necessary. A crisis-specific message should be developed that contains no more than three main messages for stakeholders. These messages should be adapted for different forms of media e.g. twitter character limit (links should be used to larger article).

After the crisis has concluded, the business should review the experience and determine what can be learnt to help for the next crisis. A list of pros and cons should be made and corrective action should be taken to ensure that the next PR crisis plan is carried out even more efficiently. It may be tempting for businesses to think it won’t happen to them, but it’s always better to be prepared for the situation than have the entire business crumble because of a lack of planning.

Despite the growing trend of planning for crises, a large majority of businesses remain unprepared for a crisis and would be unable to effectively manage the situation. Fortunately, with the services of Desiree Peterkin Bell and her business DPBell & Associates, you can create a tailor-made pr crisis plan to save your business from almost any situation. To find out more about Desiree Bell and her crisis management services, visit her website.

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Galaxy Note 7

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 had great potential and was speculated to be a major contender with Apple.However, in an unexpected turn of events, Samsung had to recall the Note 7 phones after reports of an internal battery error that caused the device to overheat and catch fire. While Samsung’s move to swiftly recall the phones was positive at first, the situation worsened after the replacement devices were showing similar defects. The situation got to the point where airlines were banning customers from using their Note 7’s while in the air. Samsung worsened the situation by not coordinating the management of the recalls of their phones with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and poorly handling customer contact during the crisis. Despite Samsung’s poor management of this crisis, turning it into a public affairs disaster, their loyal following will likely continue to use their products, and any damage done will be temporary.

Ryan Lochte

Lochte’s poor behaviour at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and his handling of the situation was indeed a public affairs disaster. After drunkenly vandalising a Rio gas station, Lochte decided to cover his tracks by concocting a tale about being robbed at gunpoint by a group of bandits. Lochte then fled back to the USA before the truth was revealed, after which he admitted the truth and gave a formal apology. The situation did a lot of damage to his reputation, and he is now trying to rebuild it with his appearance on Dancing With The Stars and the announcement of his fiancee’s pregnancy.

Outrageous EpiPen Prices

Martin Shkreli became an icon of industrial greed in 2016, but Heather Bresch may have managed to take the cake. As CEO of pharmaceutical company Mylan, Bresch was behind a 400% price hike of Mylan’s EpiPen, causing Congress to launch a formal investigation. Unsatisfied with Bresch’s answers, Mylan attempted to resolve the situation by reducing the price for those without adequate health insurance, but this didn’t manage to stop all the backlash from the public affairs failure.

With a talented and experienced public affairs manager, such as Desiree Peterkin Bell, many of these disasters could have been avoided. To find out more about Desiree Peterkin Bell, and the services of her company DPBell & Associates, visit her website.

For Part 2

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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) suffered from a surprise leak of private emails in 2016. In an effort to effectively manage public affairs and save face, the DNC rushed to limit the damage, with many figureheads, such as Deborah Wasserman Schultz, being forced to resign. Unbeknownst to the democrats, their problems were not yet over, as Russian hackers managed to obtain the emails of Clinton’s campaign director, John Podesta, and leak them on Wikileaks. Despite there not being any major scandal uncovered in the emails, much of the embarrassing information was used by the press, and created an awkward situation for Hillary and her team when she was questioned about the material in the emails. The hacks served as a reminder of the growing need to educate employees about security risks, and have a better, well thought out, plan for managing public affairs in the case of a crisis.

North Carolina “Bathroom Bill”

Governor Pat McCrory has sparked extreme controversy with his HB2 resolution to regulate use of public facilities by transgender individuals. This bill lead to his electoral defeat by one of the slimmest margins in history. The governor attempted to portray the “Bathroom Bill” as a method of protecting individual privacy, however his controversial perspectives angered many LGBTQ rights groups as well as big businesses, resulting in an economic boycott of the state and the loss of a potential $600 million in revenue. After McCrory’s defeat, a path was cleared to prevent the bill from being passed.

With a talented and experienced public affairs manager, such as Desiree Peterkin Bell, many of these disasters could have been avoided. To find out more about Desiree Peterkin Bell, and the services of her company DPBell & Associates, visit her website.

For Part 1

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