2012 PR Planning: Learning From the Past, Building on 2011 Momentum

October 24th, 2011Comments (2)

2012 PR Planning: Learning From the Past, Building on 2011 Momentum by Diana Rostkowski

With the fall in full swing, 2011 will soon be drawing to a close. PR agencies like MSL Chicago are developing and evaluating their 2012 PR plans with clients in addition to speaking with new companies about their public relations needs. In planning for 2012, agencies must bring the brightest ideas to the table, especially for clients who want to stand out and excel among their competition. MSL Chicago is currently working with our clients to develop powerful campaigns, and build upon existing partnerships to engage customers and consumers in real time. A key part of our planning is leveraging key learnings from the past year.

For example, MSL Chicago attended BlogHer in San Diego this year on behalf of a healthy food client. The expo included thousands of female bloggers who circle a convention hall to hear about trends and the latest and greatest of various products and services. Our consumer team knew from years past that we needed a different strategy to stand out among the other brands at the conference The simple solution: pulling the client out of the expo hall and into a suite across the street.

After sore feet from long weekend hours at the expo hall, being pitched in both ears, and pulled in various directions, these “BlogHers” needed some R&R. The client therefore held a “Refuel and Recharge” suite. This gave bloggers a healthy snack, a make-up touch-up and a hand paraffin treatment, all while sitting on a massage chair. Simultaneously, they learned all about the health benefits and messaging of our client’s brand, and tweeted along the way.

With 2012 planning underway, it’s important to take key learnings from the year prior and create an overall strategic PR plan—taking the best programs and results and using those as a precedence with creative ideas for the year ahead. It is important to look back and see how much ink and/or social media buzz that a program received for the money spent. Finally, it always works best when these key learnings are employed across all MSL clients, ensuring that our team works cohesively as a whole—and the expertise is carried throughout and shared.