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A new report from the CIPR suggests the concept of 'Marketing PR' will prove a catalyst for change in the way campaigns are run and marketing budgets allocated, says Alex Jardine
Ever since Don Schultz, author of The New Marketing Paradigm, coined the phrase 'integrated marketing' in 1993, the PR industry has striven to turn the concept to its advantage. But while the idea seemingly promotes the value of PR alongside other marketing disciplines, PROs have had only qualified success in being seen as equal partners when marketing budgets are carved up.
However, according to new research from the CIPR - shown exclusively to PRWeek - a missing piece of the marketing puzzle has emerged that could help the industry secure better returns: a concept that unites sales promotion, direct marketing, advertising and PR, and in which PROs can take the lead. 'Marketing PR' (MPR) is defined as 'the use of public relations strategies and techniques to achieve marketing objectives', and the CIPR is promoting the idea as a template for future best practice.
Strategic shift
The report-'A Marketing Communications Scenario for 2010' - was written by Philip Kitchen, professor of strategic marketing at Hull University Business School, on behalf of the CIPR's Marketing Communications Group. Questioning more than 100 senior marketing directors, it concludes that PROs who adopt a marketing-oriented approach to their work will be best placed to take advantage of their industry's growing importance in the marketing mix.
The research finds that advertising currently makes up 40 per cent of UK marketing budgets, with the remaining 60 per cent comprising below-the-line disciplines such as sales promotion, direct marketing, PR and sponsorship. Within this group, brand PR and sponsorship are the fastest-growing disciplines, having grown their revenues by 6.8 per cent since 2001, with their combined markets currently worth around £ 3.6bn. The PR industry is currently much smaller than direct mail or sales promotion but the gap...