PR fares well in the recession
By Kerryn Le Cordeur
In a recession like the one experienced in the past year, business owners’ immediate reaction is to cut budgets for services such as marketing and public relations (PR). However, this isn’t necessarily the smartest decision, as it can be these very services that help the business through an economic downturn.
Jennifer Boyes, Account Manager for New Zealand PR consultancy, Intermediary Communications, suggests that rather than slim-lining PR efforts, a recession is the time to start
rbeefing them up and in order to help maintain the trust of stakeholders by regularly communicating with them and letting them know how the company is dealing with the situation. PR is also one of the most
cost efficient tools available, especially compared to traditional advertising and marketing campaigns. It can achieve great things, even on relatively small budgets.
However, with the recession slowly coming to an end, it is perhaps more apt to look at the way in which the PR industry has fared, as opposed to providing endless tips on how to survive – which, it can only be assumed, have been applied, if a recent
article in
The Economist, stating that the PR industry has been booming while the rest of the world has been suffering through the recession, is anything to go by.
The primary reason for this, according to the article, is that the old adage that ‘any publicity is good publicity’ hasn’t rung true in the financial crisis, and in times when companies have had to answer for “undeserved bonuses; plunging share prices; and government bail-outs, among other ills,” PR agencies have been called upon for their expertise in crisis and reputation management.
Ivan Moroke, Vice Chairman of the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA)
APEX 2010 adjudication panel, notes that on a local level, the recession may have inadvertently
helped the PR industry. This is because companies have been forced to re-focus on the single most important aspect of their operations: the consumer. By implication, this has given PR the centre stage as it is the primary means in which consumer behaviour can be meaningfully influenced, which has a powerful effect on brand and business performance.
However, the statement that the PR industry hasn’t felt the effects of the recession isn’t sweeping, as not all PR agencies have survived the storm, with many having to shed jobs and reporting declining revenues. The general trend, it would seem, is that companies are more willing to put their faith in the bigger, more established agencies, when return on investment (ROI) is more important than ever and they can’t risk further negative publicity as a result of below-par PR performance. Therefore, it is not enough to just be a PR agency in the recession. Agencies need to offer innovative, competitive services and create a good reputation in order to tread water in the recession and beyond. It is also not enough to simply offer a ‘quick fix’ in times of crisis, but rather to offer long-term service that can be sustained beyond the recession.
Successful agencies are capitalising on the fact that PR is often cheaper than advertising campaigns, and that its impact in the form of favourable coverage can be more easily measured. PR campaigns are also beginning to encroach on advertising territory, giving the PR industry more clout – no longer is it just about pitching a story to the media in order to gain client mentions, it now includes
innovative ideas like orchestrating live events and web launches.
Talking about the web, the rise of the internet and social media has certainly given PR a boost. Not only are PR agencies able to leverage the viral nature of the web to aid in launching clients’ various products and brands, but they have also been called upon to oversee clients’ social media presence – tracking what is being said and responding timeously in order to maintain media and consumer relations, as well as reputation. Online public relations is also a cost-effective and useful way to communicate with stakeholders, to keep everyone up-to-date with projects and to remind them that you are ‘alive and kicking’ despite the current economic climate.
All in all, it would seem that the PR industry is the place to be in tough economic times, provided you know what you’re doing and can offer your clients the best service possible. Recessions are a natural part of the economic cycle, and it is important to position yourself in such a way that your consumers and products will still be around during and after the downturn – PR is an important aspect in ensuring this is the case.
To share your thoughts on PR in the recession, leave your comments on our
blog.
View allHCM Spectrum in the cloud – the latest solution to emerge from Swicon360’s extensive portfolio
By Lindsey Kin
Established business technology partner and Human Capital Management (HCM) solution provider, Swicon360, held a press conference on Thursday, 4 March at Peermont’s Emperors Palace – a long standing client and inaugural beneficiary of Swicon360’s exciting new offering. The conference unveiled Swicon360’s new product, HCM Spectrum in the cloud, in association with multi-national software developers and consulting corporation, SAP AG, and hosting partner, Vodacom Business.
SAP AG reaches 35-million users through market leading analytic tools and complex processes across 25 industries. With 35 years of industry expertise, its clients include: consumer industries: Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Coca-Cola; trading industries: Harrods and Mont Blanc; financial services: Deutsche Bank and JPMorganChase; discrete manufacturing: BMW and Airbus; public services: United States Postal Service and NASA; services: DHL and
The Times of India; and process manufacturing: Pfizer and De Beers.
Vodacom Business, the second partner for Swicon360’s new offering, in conjunction with SAP AG, has implemented a state-of-the-art hosting platform at its data-centre in Midrand. This is in line with the company’s strategic approach to reduce the total cost of its customers’ ownership; re-shuffle requirements and management infrastructure services; as well as enabling current and future customers to remove unnecessary administration burden and overhead, and in turn reducing dependency on key staff and mitigate risk.
“In association with industry leaders, SAP AG and Vodacom Business, we have introduced a solution that takes human resource management to a new level in making services available as a virtual and easily accessible platform. It is essentially offering as human resources as a service,” said Markus Bucher, CEO at Swicon360. This solution signals an innovative segment with offerings for both local and international business communities, and supports Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services in support of the SAP® Enterprise Resource Planning Human Capital Management (SAP ERP HCM) application. In addition to the certification of Swicon360, BasisOne, the company has successfully qualified as an SAP-certified provider of hosting services for South Africa, and has entered the market place as the only SAP-certified HCM BPO Solution Programme Provider operating in Africa.
With Swicon360’s HCM Spectrum in the cloud, benefits include: cost reduction (cost is a prerequisite for achieving quality; no initial capital outlay for hardware acquirement is needed, as it can be spread monthly over a three-year contract basis; and client-staff costs are reduced); risk reduction (sensitive information is inaccessible and therefore, legal compliance risks are reduced); efficient HR (administration is reduced, allowing for strategic processes to have more of a focus; there will be an ongoing knowledge transfer of best practice); and added expertise (Swicon360 offers both a payroll and full HR spectrum, and is always on top of legal and technological changes).
“Providing the SAP HCM Solution as a Service (SaaS) enables organisations large and small to access SAP HCM without making any upfront investment in either hardware or software. This flexibility allows customers’ SAP HCM Solution to grow and fluctuate in-line with their workforce, resulting in a fully scalable solution which is extremely cost-effective as a result,” said Marketing Executive for Vodacom Business, Ermano Quartero. “With our customers’ SAP ERP environment being managed and hosted within Vodacom Business’ data centre, our customer’s requirements for acquiring and retaining the necessary SAP skills and training is also greatly reduced,” said Quartero.
“By matching our understanding of what companies expect from a data and voice communications service provider, together with Swicon’s world class solutions, we are enabling companies to have the agility they need to compete in a challenging and changing world,” he said.
Quartero concluded by thanking Vodacom Business’ new partners for making this opportunity a reality. “May we continue to grow from strength to strength together.” He ended.
HCM Spectrum in the cloud will be distributed throughout Africa in association with business partners and payroll companies such as Deloitte.
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