Free stuff?

“Do you have to pay to get PR in foreign language media?” someone asked me last week. And we talked about it for a bit and moved on to other subjects. But the question came back to me yesterday as I was driving.

Put simply, the smaller the pool of potential advertisers, the more the media owner will feel it necessary to tie ‘editorial’ to an advertising package. Some European countries with their own language have relatively small populations - and when we drill down to a B2B audience for a specific product or service, we’re talking a pretty select group. So yes - once you’ve played the usual cards ‘no budget till next year’ ‘prove your effectiveness first’ - some spend is going to be involved.

But here we come back to issues like ‘Aren’t the aims of PR and advertising different, if complementary?’ Surely you want to do both - so what’s more important is how you choose where to invest. A media sales friend of mine - yes, these people do have friends! - stresses how important it is to view media as potential partners.

Don’t just download the pdf rate card from their website, talk to them! There’s a great deal of sector knowledge and if you brief them properly they can add a lot of value. Media packages are increasingly varied and complex. You can get your ‘free PR’ but why not look at lists for emarketing, banners and website sponsored links, print display advertising and whatever else is on offer. There are some valuable services on offer - and like someone else says, ‘It’s good to talk.’