PUBLIC

RELATIONS
Solution Study

Insights, Landscape, & Vendor Analysis

 PUBLIC RELATIONS
Solution Study

Table of Contents
1 Executive Summary 03

2 What is a Public Relations Solution? 05

3 Public Relations Maturity Model 08

4 Benefits of Public Relations 11

5 Public Relations Deployment Lifecycle 13

6 Vendor Selection Criteria 17

7 Public Relations Solutions Landscape 20

8 Analyst Bottom Line 24

Action Plan 25

Our Solution Study Methodology 36

About 37
 PUBLIC RELATIONS
Solution Study

Executive Summary
 PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLUTION STUDY 4

Executive Summary
“The press release is dead” is a proclamation that provokes a lot of
debate in the public relations (PR) community. The reality is that the
This Solution Study covers:
press release is not dead, but it has changed.

Once it was the currency of news dissemination, but decades of abuse What is a Public Relations Solution?
and the rise of online media have changed the uses and value of the
press release.

What hasn’t changed is that PR is still an important strategy for many Benefits of Public Relations
companies to engage an audience and create awareness.

The content creation and influencing skills of the PR professional are more
important than ever, and in a broader context than just traditional media. Public Relations
Deployment Lifecycle
As the role of the PR professional has evolved, so have the supporting
tools and software. This report provides insights and analysis to help
marketers understand the solutions available to help the modern PR
practitioner. Vendor Selection Criteria
If your organization has a defined public relations role and needs to
support it with a PR platform or solution, this report will provide you
Public Relations
with fresh insights on the options, approaches, and vendor solutions.
Solutions Landscape

Action Plan
PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLUTION STUDY 5

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Solution Study

What is a Public
Relations Solution?
 PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLUTION STUDY 6

What is a Public Relations Solution?

Demand Metric defines Public Relations as:
The software, tools, and data that help PR
professionals form relationships with media
and influencers by saving time on the process
of identifying contacts, enabling communica-
tions with them, monitoring, and sharing the
content they produce.
Role in Digital Marketing
Demand Metric considers Public Relations to be an integral part of Digital
Marketing. The role of Public Relations in the digital landscape can be
seen in our Digital Marketing Roles Matrix (next page).
Driven by the Public Relations Manager, Public Relations processes, tech-
nologies, and platforms are used primarily by Public Relations and Strategic
Communications to create relationships with external media, bloggers,
and influencers for news stories and other earned media opportunities.

Success in Public Relations continues to depend on skill in building rela-

tionships and influencing the influencers with effective, timely communica-
tion of relevant content.

Public Relations solutions facilitate the success of their users by helping

them better manage their relationships and communications processes.

Assess the maturity level and capabilities of your current Public

Relations processes and technologies with Demand Metric’s Media VIEW RESOURCE
Relations and PR Audit.
 DIGITAL MARKETING
ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES
Revenue Accountability
Senior
Staffing & Channel Management
Management
Reporting to CEO/Board
Brand Strategy Digital
Strategic
Marketing Strategy Social
Communications
Mobile Marketing Strategy
Lead Generation & Events
Demand
Inbound/Outbound Marketing
Generation
Sales Opportunity Management
Web Content Management
Content
Content Marketing
Marketing Content Distribution
Online Community Management
Community &
Social Listening
Social Media
Social Engagement
External Communications
Public Relations Media Relations
Analyst Relations
New Product Development Product Launch
Product
Mobile App Development Product Positioning
Marketing Video Production/Development Competitive Analysis
Interactive Experience
Customer
Customer Satisfaction
Experience Customer Advocacy
Roles Matrix
PROCESSES TECHNOLOGY CONTENT METRICS
Budgeting & Planning WCM Thought Leadership Blog Revenue by Channel
Reviews & Coaching Marketing Automation Webinar Presentations Customer Lifetime Value, NPS
Conference Keynotes Return on Customer (ROC)
Recruitment & Retention CRM
Marketing Budget WCM Data Sheets, Whitepapers Market Share, Profitability
Agency Management Content Marketing Platforms Case Studies/Testimonials Brand Equity
Communications Management Social Media Platforms Competitive Analysis Content Usage
Advertising/Sponsorship Marketing Automation/Email Advertising/SEO Campaign ROI, Email Metrics
Lead Generation Digital Asset Management Email Campaigns Marketing Qualified Leads
Event/Survey Management Contribution to Pipeline
Tradeshows Webinars
Content Creation WCM, Blogging Platforms, MA Website and Blogs Content Views, Links Earned
Campaign Analysis Content Mktg & Distribution eBooks, Articles Content Conversion
Video Marketing Platforms Content Published
Content Scoring Videos
Community Development WCM Posts, Tweets, Photos User Engagement
Social Channel Management Social Media Platforms Forums, Chats, Comments Sentiment Analysis
Social Reputation Management Social Channels & Networks
Articles, Community News Campaign ROI
Influencer Identification Media Contact Database News Content/Press Releases Mentions/Impressions
Relationship Cultivation News Distribution & Monitoring Thought Leadership Content Audience Growth & Engagement
Content Creation/Distribution Analytics & Reporting Rich Social Media Content Sentiment Analysis
WCM New Features/Ideas for R&D Avg. Revenue Per User
Mobile Development Platforms Gamification Avg. Order Value
Video Production Platforms Competitive Analysis Conversion Rate, Renewal Rate
Customer Experience Customer Profile Management Buyer Personas Customer Satisfaction Index
Customer Journey Mapping Customer Support, Twitter Customer Journey Map Customer Lifetime Value
Customer Persona Creation Survey & Social Channels Proposals, Presentations Net Promoter Score (NPS)
 PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLUTION STUDY 8

Public Relations Maturity Model

A modern marketing organization that desires to align itself for Public Our Maturity Model shows the progression of an organization from Stage 1
Relations must focus on eight core areas. These are: (Undefined) to Stage 4 (World Class) in each of these areas.

Orientation Level of Commitment

The strength of the commitment and the focus on excellence in Public
Leadership Relations initiatives and campaigns drives other best practices.

Process Focus
Planning
Technology & Interoperability Public Relations Marketers create strategies, goals, and KPIs for
every point of their Public Relations effort.
Media Engagement
Processes
Budget & Staff
Public Relations Marketers develop measurable processes for
each phase to ensure progress and success.
Management & Policy

Metrics Resources
World Class Organizations ensure that sufficient resources (time, talent,
tools, money) exist for each initiative, campaign, and phase of their plan.
Demand Metric’s Public Relations Maturity Model can be used in combi-
nation with the vendor landscape analysis and charts detailed in the
Management
Public Relations Solutions Landscape section of this report. World Class companies effectively manage the change, progress,
and results of Public Relations efforts.
For each of the four deployment stages, our maturity model and
vendor landscape can enable a modern marketing organization to
move forward in process efficiencies, programs, and technologies for
Public Relations.
 PUBLIC RELATIONS
Maturity Model

STAGE 4 - World-Class
STAGE 3 - Mature
STAGE 2 - Progressive
Public STAGE 1 - Undefined
Relations A sustainable strategy is in place
that produces consistent results and
A strategy is in place that has produced
creates measurable value
Need for a strategy becomes apparent some results; Investments are made to
No defined strategy or process for and strategy formulation begins by trial increase strategy effectiveness
Orientation
Public Relations and error

Leadership Unaware of need for or value of PR;
Willing to fund press releases for regu-
latory compliance only
Awareness of need for PR exists;
Part-time responsibility delegated to
marketing; Communications begin to
trickle out
PR is acknowledged as a critical
Recognition that PR is important and success strategy, understood by all
making some contribution; Greater leader- and with strong executive participa-
ship involvement in some communications tion and support

PR process completely focused on

Process Focus No established media relationships
or process to develop them
Spray and pray. Produce press
releases, find targets and send as
email attachments
When the “spray & pray” approach
doesn’t produce results, focus shifts
to building relationships with key
influencers
delivering insights and value to key
influencers, with whom there are excel-
lent relationships

Fully integrated, cutting-edge PR solu-

Technology & Spreadsheets/homegrown media
Interoperability No PR solutions in use contact DB in use; Google search used
to identify media contacts; News distri-
bution services
Subscription to a media contact data- tion provides media contacts, media
base is added to more easily identify key monitoring, news distribution and
influencers reporting/analytics
 PUBLIC RELATIONS
Maturity Model
Public
Relations STAGE 1 - Undefined STAGE 2 - Progressive STAGE 3 - Mature STAGE 4 - World-Class

Strong, extensive set of relationships

Media No proactive engagement. Media
Engagement
interaction happens only when or if
media inquiries occur
Learning who key media contacts are,
but media contacts don’t yet know
them
Some media relationships exist and there exist with media influencers; Company
is understanding about how to build them is often sought after as an expert
source

An internal PR team exists that

One or more full-time PR staff, often functions like an agency, and is often
Budget & Bare bones budget for limited news supported by an agency or publicist; supported by an outside agency;
Staff No budget exists; Spending & staffing release distribution; Part-time responsi- Budget for media contact DB subscrip- Ample budget for tools, training and
is ad hoc bility of one staff member tion and professional development travel to meet influencers
conferences

Expert media-relations skills exist;

The PR team works in close proximity
Experienced with a solid understanding
to executive team; Execs consider
Management & Inexperienced but willing to make of the PR process and engagement
something happen; PR efforts communications excellence a competi-
Policy Reluctance, ignorance or even fear of protocols; Management gets reports
managed by someone fairly low in tive advantage
media engagement; No designated and has regular dialogue with PR team
the organization
media spokesperson

Advanced output and outcome

Output metrics plus some deeper metrics including sentiment analysis
Metrics Output metrics (e.g. number of press outcome metrics around interactions or and the ability to link PR efforts to
No formal measurements in place releases issued) and basic outcome relationships with influencers business result
metrics (e.g. number of placements, etc.)

Want to rate your organization’s Public Relations maturity with an

interactive tool? Download our Media Relations and PR Audit VIEW RESOURCE
and get started today!
PUBLIC RELATIONS PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLUTION STUDY 11

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Solution Study

Benefits of Public Relations

 PUBLIC RELATIONS SOLUTION STUDY 12

Benefits of Public Relations

Perhaps more than any other strategy, an effective Public Relations effort PR solutions provide some or all of the following benefits:
has the ability to create awareness and put small companies on the same
Access to media contacts database
stage as their larger rivals.
Regular updates to media contacts database
One of the greatest challenges of executing a PR strategy is identifying
who the journalists and influencers are with which you need to cultivate Ability to search contacts by beat, interests, outlet, and other criteria
a relationship.
Research/archive of past coverage
Identifying these contacts is the first priority of a PR professional, and
Insights & pitching tips for contacts
providing this information is one of the top benefits of PR solutions.
Maintaining a history of contacts
In addition to helping identify contacts, PR solutions deliver other bene-
fits as well by helping PR professionals organize their work, provide Targeted press release distribution
reference data on media contacts and outlets, enable research, facilitate
Integration with social media for sharing
communication, and track results.
Media monitoring to detect placements

Customized reports & newsletters of hits

Email alerts of hits & placements

Online newsrooms

Analytics dashboards
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