Why PR isn’t the cherry on top - it’s the whole cake
Make yourself a cuppa and find out why
In a complex political landscape, communications works best when it’s built into the organisation, not bolted on
Too often for charities, PR and media coverage is seen as the cherry on top of the cake, particularly in a tough fundraising environment.
But for charity clients operating in a tricky political landscape, good, clear, bold communications need to be the cake - baked with ingredients from the whole organisation to make it fulfil and exceed its potential, to make it rise.
(I now need to stop with the baking analogies, this blog is starting to make me hungry.)
We’re lucky to have clients that understand that communications is not only necessary, but can be a superpower when aligned with organisational strategy.
Team Cause spent time last week with our longstanding client, the Disabled Children’s Partnership (DCP), to deliver media training to its top spokespeople ahead of the Government’s Schools White Paper, which iexpected in early February. We prepared questions which pushed them out of their comfort zone, and held the session at News UK’s HQ to give the training that authentic air of news pressure.
The result: a very impressed, and well-prepared, set of clients who know what to expect and how to react when faced with hostile (and friendly) journalists.
My tips for maximising your charity’s potential through PR:
Make the most of your PR, media and communications team, whether internal or external agency colleagues. Bring them into the business planning process, so that their strategic ideas are integrated with your plans, and they can incorporate their tactical ideas to support project delivery.
PR is fundamentally a strategic function, because its planning should always align with overarching business goals, such as increasing market share, attracting funding, or managing a crisis.
When PR is strategic and you apply creative tactics to achieve goals, maximise success, and mitigate damage, the communications function can support the rest of the charity to be the best it can be.
The strategic advantages PR and communications can help you achieve:
Building credibility and trust:
Unlike advertising, which is paid and inherently biased, positive PR comes from independent, third-party sources, which the public, including your stakeholders, finds more credible.
2. Managing reputation:
PR provides a structured approach to managing a company’s brand and image, especially during a crisis. Communications professionals can quickly address concerns, provide transparent updates, and mitigate damage, which is vital for long-term survival.
3. Enhancing visibility and influencing:
By securing coverage in relevant media and engaging across platforms, PR significantly increases brand visibility and helps a charity stand out for the right reasons. When done well, it helps shape the narrative and influences decision-making.
4. Supporting growth:
Effective PR strategies support specific business objectives, from generating leads and attracting coverage to facilitating corporate partnerships and positioning key spokespeople as thought leaders.
At a time when difficult decisions are being made about charity resources and functions, it can be seen as a quick solution to make cuts to PR and communications, if it’s seen as a garnish for the “real” work. Not valuing and centring communications in your organisation is, at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, a serious risk.
So the choice is yours - if you want your metaphorical charity cake to be a showstopper and get a chance of a Paul Hollywood handshake, you need to think about how you use communications, and put strategic PR at the centre of the organisational mix.
And if you’re a charity that wants PR support or media training from an agency that really ‘gets it’ - from both the public and media side - send us a message and let’s chat.
