Even in wartime, companies must remain on the public agenda./Unsplash
One of the most important lessons from the corona: don't disappear from the media arena
In times of economic uncertainty, as we are experiencing these days, companies' marketing budgets tend to be reduced, sometimes significantly, and they think about how best to divide the pie.
During the Corona period, for example, there were quite a few companies that were quick to freeze PR activities (public relations or PR for short), because the initial instinct was to reduce everything that was not "mast".
Today, while we are experiencing another economic crisis in the shadow of the war, companies and organizations clearly More than ever, public relations are not a "nice to have" and are an integral part of the success or failure of the business. Companies that disappeared from the media during the Corona period experienced firsthand the difficulty in achieving their business and marketing goals and also discovered that after a long period of neglecting the sector, new players entered who occupied their "slot" on the pages of the newspaper and on television in topics and areas that were previously identified with them.
Business goals do not disappear in times of crisis, on the contrary. Precisely when sales falter and it is more difficult to recruit customers, it is important to use PR tools to generate correct and focused exposure among the target audience relevant and highlight important advantages. At this time, the PR strategy should focus on creating differentiation in relation to competitors, some of whom may be a little more sleepy or busy with business survival.
Those who do public relations know that the effectiveness is felt over time, since it is a "cumulative effect".
A company that appears in the media once every few months will not notice a business or branding change because no one will really remember which company it is.
This is why companies that use professional PR services appear frequently in the media and maintain a respectable presence in this arena. Imagine that a company that has been very present in the media until today, suddenly "disappears", how might this be interpreted by customers and investors? It is very possible that they will assume that this is a sign to some kind of crisis, which is of course not something we would like to happen, especially after we worked so hard on our branding and reputation.
Public relations in 2024 will be an integral part of the national reality
Public relations must always correspond with the local reality, especially in sensitive times such as war or economic crisis.
The State of Israel is currently in one of the most complex and painful periods in its history, and the PR activity must be connected to current events in a sensitive and intelligent way. The public in Israel is now being mobilized for the war effort, as is the business sector. Almost every business, small and large, is currently decorated with Israeli flags, and we are not stopping To hear about more and more civil and business initiatives that aim to contribute to the victims of the war.
These special circumstances also shape the messages we want to convey through the PR activity.
The routine marketing business messages give way to messages of contribution to the community, unity, patriotism and Zionism.
This is by no means a cynical move: that's how we all feel, including company managers, and it's important for us to express it.
Therefore, this is an excellent opportunity for companies to take advantage of the media stage to create resonance for the voluntary initiatives they lead, for the personal stories of their employees who participate in the fighting, and above all to generate empathy and connect their audience with the values they lead.
In the coming year, we will hardly see any PR moves that are disconnected from reality and that have no connection one way or another to the war.
This does not mean that you cannot promote your products or services in the media, it simply requires you to make the necessary adjustments, think about how the item you want to promote may be perceived in the current circumstances, and guard against moves that may be interpreted as disconnected, cynical or insensitive.
The sharing era - the employees become the ambassadors of the organization
Livnat Levy./Amanda Sardoi.
The era of social networks has completely changed the world of public relations. Today, public relations does not begin and end with the publication of any item in the traditional media (radio, internet, television, newspapers).
In order to make the most of the PR move, it is equally important to leverage the articles through social networks and use them to spread the message as widely as possible. How do you do this? Through the employees.
In the age of sharing, company employees are a significant force multiplier in PR activities, and many companies do not take advantage this.
See, for example, Israel's informational efforts regarding the war, which do not rely only on professional speakers, but also on influencers and even ordinary citizens, who use social networks to share videos and stories to the whole world.
In exactly the same way, companies should act when a flattering article is published about them, and harness the employees for the purpose of increasing shares and exposure.
As most of us have become ambassadors of the State of Israel in recent months, so many will be happy to help the company where they work out of a sense of belonging and singular pride.
In organizations that employ hundreds and thousands of employees, and even in smaller companies that employ a few dozen employees, the collective sharing effort can make the item viral and possibly bring additional items with it.
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PR in high-tech did not disappear, it just changed its face
A sector in which PR has been a very significant layer in the business strategy in recent years is of course the high-tech sector. Between 2017-2022, when the high-tech sector in Israel and the world grew at a dizzying pace, the marketing and PR budgets also increased significantly accordingly.
In Israel, the PR efforts of the high-tech companies mainly revolved around the issue of "employer branding", that is, the use of media exposure to distinguish the company as an attractive workplace in order to attract talent to its ranks. We are talking about that period when most of the items on television and in newspapers dealt with which high-tech company flew the All its employees to the Maldives with an appearance by Omer Adam and who is the company that gives more options and bonuses to employees.
Since then, reality has changed and the hiring binge has slowed down, but high-tech companies continue to stand out in the media due to the fact that they assume significant roles in Israeli existence and it is important for them to accompany this with PR and strategy activities .
After the retreat of the capital markets in 2022, high-tech was a very significant pillar in the legal reform.
As I recall, there were quite a few companies that transferred money outside of Israel as part of the protest, while today we see among the high-tech sector a trend of mobilization, solidarity and unity.
From this we learn that PR was not redundant but changed its face. High-tech companies today focus their public relations on the promotion and resonance of voluntary initiatives that they lead and on highlighting the high recruitment rate for the reserves among their employees. At this level, PR contributes to the unique pride of each company in particular , and to the sense of national belonging of the entire sector.
PR in high-tech these days also has a key role in looking outward, to investors and customers overseas. The war creates a lot of uncertainty among people from around the world, who are exposed to headlines in the foreign media about a difficult and prolonged war. High-tech as a sector , and for each company separately, it is important to send a clear message to the world that Israeli high-tech continues to supply the goods even in times of war - to meet the schedules, to continue growing and developing new technologies. Indeed, foreign investors who have visited Israel in recent weeks are deeply impressed by the ability of the companies to continue with all their might despite the challenges Companies that know how to convey this message will come out of the crisis strengthened.
In conclusion
Studies show that in times of declining marketing budgets, the two channels that gain more weight are digital advertising and PR.
The reason is that these are marketing channels that make it possible to achieve more effect with fewer resources (more with less).
Therefore, even if the advertising budgets are lower, it is important to continue the PR activity and maintain a continuous media presence. Crisis periods are also an opportunity to stand out and create differentiation, to convey resilience and business continuity. Strengthening the brand in times like these will pay off both in the short term and in the longer term.
Livnat Levy is the CEO and owner of the public relations company "Eden Communications"
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