Write a PR brief when you want to increase your market share

Probably one of the most important tasks of a marketing director is to win or defend a brand's market share, and this is even more difficult in highly competitive markets. Can PR contribute to this strategic mission of an organization?

PR is conventionally viewed as an optional communication discipline for marketing. Moreover, there are whole categories — for example OTCs — that do not integrate it at all into the communication mix. There is the misconception that PR is limited to building trust, keeping this discipline outside the sphere of interest of marketing or using it below its potential.

In 2022, the concept of trust needs to be redefined. It's no longer enough just to be transparent and have a constant dialogue with stakeholders, you need to genuinely integrate your brand into consumer communities.

Although there are no generally valid recipes that produce the same results in any industry or category, one of the little-explored uses of PR for marketing purposes is to demonstrate the versatility of a product, thus creating more opportunities for consumption and increasing the frequency of use.

Demonstrating the versatility of products in a portfolio is a PR theme because it makes the consumer genuinely discover the novelty and relevance of a brand with a varied product inventory. There are thousands of communities in the digital environment fascinated by how they can transform products according to their own imagination. People play with them and invent new ways of using them that enter popular culture. A very well-known example of this are the communities of “food hacks”, where users use and combine products as ingredients for new dishes, creating true gastronomic trends. Faced with the clichéd narratives of advertising, these communities will credibly and authentically integrate entire product portfolios, generating curiosity, trial and long tail consumption. Knorr is, for example, a brand that has creatively tested PR to explore the versatility and variety of products in its portfolio, starting from the common point between them: people's passion for food.

In conclusion, the answer to the question “is PR capable of generating market share?” is yes, if you write a very good PR brief. As with any strategic approach, in a PR brief one departs from the problem and its true causes and often the road to solutions passes through numerous exchanges of ideas and information. PR people are valuable resources for marketing departments, and marketing PR campaigns can increase market share and sales if you take the first step: write a brief that inspires PR people.

PR can help you explore the versatility and variety of products in your portfolio