Conclusion for Academic Purpose...but the blog still and will continue!!!

Well by the end of our course our brains will look like the above image..wat ya think mate?

So this entire month for all the class mates was kind of hectic with assignments to submit.
For this blog I think I was less able to justify the topic. Lack of laptop,sudden travel plans, no internet connectivity when laptop was there gave space to time constraint. But what ever I felt should be shared with the class is there in this blog. Actully the point of diffrences between advertising and PR are never ending. But I believe that we the PR practioners in the making are like sponge who are ready to absorb the plethora of knowledge around. This helps us to reach a wider audience.
In todays world a company needs public relation unit to give out the specific message. Clients need multitasking experts. Here we come to the rescue.
Certain products fail in the market because of no knowledge or a super built up of the product is known to people. Advertising fails because of this reason. PR is like the fuel to the fire. Its flexible strategies, flexible resources and longer lifecycle tend to give PR its USP.
Advertising can not be afforded by all the organisations. PR comes handy. They benefit to each other. Its like a love hate relationship with them.
Maybe many of us end on saying this line - PR and Advertising go hand in hand.
Remember - PR is niether a part of Advertising nor a form of Advertising. It has its own identity which cuts right through the IMC mix.

ZARA never made any ADVERTISEMENT?

Hi guys...good to read mails from your end about your own blogs...and most of us are finshed with them...but I will continue this blog even after 12th..because of 2 main reasons..technically I will be connected 24/7 [ues..finally I will get my own laptop!!] to the internet and the blog topic maybe related to my dissertation subject. I will continue posting. As of now lets hit to the topic...

All the girls adore ZARA dont we? Spanish brand ZARA is known for its fresh designs every 2 weeks and intrestingly its the popular brand in the UK. Below link is another blogger's view on how ZARA never advertised.
http://carlhallard.typepad.com/carl_hallard_in_english/2006/08/zara_never_made.html

According to my little research ZARA seems to be a case study in the business fraternity. Harvard Business Review writes that ZARA spends as little as 0.3% on advertising than its rivals who spend at least 3-4 %.
Just read this excrept from CNN. com ,

"Have you ever seen a Zara commercial on a billboard or on TV?

The company's founder, Amancio Ortega, believes advertising is a pointless distraction. Once when a famous Spanish actress asked to do a photo shoot in one of his shops, Ortega said no and scolded the newly appointed executive who suggested it would be good for the firm. "You haven't got the idea yet have you," he said.

The company believes that its shop windows, the contents of which are also decided in La Coruña, are all the advertising it needs"

Well I believe that word of mouth is the best way to sell your product. When one A lady uses a lady shaver...the product turns out to be good then she will recommend the product to B lady...and the chain goes on. How many of us read product reviews on line for a particular product than reading an advert? I think most of us do believe product reviews. I Do. That helps me to make a choice. From others experience you learn about the mistakes.And hence you do not want to repeat them !!

What do brands like Zara,Microsoft,Viagra,J K Rowling's Harry Potter, Red Bull have in common?

All the brands listed above just have one thing in common - advertising did not launch them but PR did. Sounds strange but if you trace the history of all these brands you come across that these brands got reknown through public relations.



Lets have a quick snap shot to how PR shaped the launch of Microsoft the 'then' new brand.

Microsoft: As we all know Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. My core reading for this particular blog is from The Fall Of Advertising and The Rise of PR. As mentioned in the book Microsoft did not advertise for the first 25 years. To find whether this holds true I searched on Google for Microsoft advertisiements for particular years. I could see some ads dated to 1993 and onwards. I doubt the authenticity of some of the ads.I stressed my mind to think if I can recall any advertisement. I could only think of the most recent on i.e I am PC.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7hhVjSbV_oQ


" Public relations practioners target audiences with greater exactitude than men and women in advertising." [Image Makers: Advertising, Public Relations, and the Ethos of Advocacy (2000)]Microsoft came up with huge amount of publicity to build brand. You can read the below [link] article as an exmple.


http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-5578886_ITM

According to Interbrand, brand value of Microsoft was $59,007 million in 2008. Due to the publicity gimmicks and campaigns Microsoft's brand perception among common common man is stronger than its rivals.

Next Post will see ZARA's NO Advertising wonder.

Advertising is Expensive but PR is not !

Hope you all had a real good start for the new year :). Due to my sudden travel plans I was away from bloggin all these days..anyways Wish you all a very happy new year!

Those of us who have practiced PR will certainly find this true - advertising spend is more than that of PR. Sometimes the spend for advertising is GRAND. Now this does not mean that PR is the cheap thing and may not be of good quality. Its just the connection between price and value. Al and Laura Ries explain that a person would not spend $100 on Timex watch but willingly spend some $3,000 on a Rolex. Higher the price, higher the percieved value by the customer. Al and Laura shared one of their professional experience on this topic. They had a prospect client who wanted them to cut down on the consultancy fees. Al and Laura refused and said no to him. After a week they read in the news that the same prospective client had hired an advertising agency which was not even the worth of what Al and Laura where going to charge him.

Ad man Morris Hite said "There is more money wasted in advertising by underspending than by overspending. Years ago someone said that underspending in advertising is like buying a ticket halfway to Europe. You've spent your money but you never get there."