The Big Idea gives a PR program life, focus and purpose. Without it,
a PR program is just a bunch of tactics. The Big Idea makes your program
important and memorable, and helps your company stand out favorably in the
public mind.
Just as with an ad campaign, the Big Idea provides a central, all encompassing
theme and focus to communications. It carries out the company's marketing
strategy, and by reinforcing its messages in everything it says and does,
helps establish the company's identity before each of its audiences.
Here are some general guidelines for a successful Big Idea:
It positions the product, service or company with a broader purpose
It creates a new issue or trend
The idea makes absolute sense for the company
It's not self-serving
The idea positions the company as socially responsible
With a Big Idea driving the PR program, you should be able to cut through
the clutter and carve a niche in the public mind. Ideas that are big enough
can help accomplish a lot of goals at once, i.e., sales, investor relations,
internal communications, and allow you to reach many different markets at
the same time, i.e., customers, shareholders and employees. And if the idea
is newsworthy enough and broad enough to extend throughout the corporation,
the idea should set the tone for the company's marketing efforts.
How to Generate the Big Idea
Big Ideas are born, not made. As philosopher Rollo May put it, "We
cannot will to have insights. We cannot will creativity. But we can will
to give ourselves to the encounter with an intensity of dedication and
commitment."
According to May, ideas won't come when you're too busy trying to have
them. "Instead, creative insights come at a moment of transition between
work and relaxation," he says.
In other words, study the problem, analyze and absorb it. Then walk
away. Albert Einstein had some of his best ideas while shaving.
Some ideas seem to come out of nowhere, a flash of inspiration. It happens
while driving, running, dreaming, or, yes, shaving.
Some other ideas on ideas:
Begin with the end in mind. Visualize what the idea will do, what it
will look like, what kind of news it will make.
Brainstorm with one rule: No rules! Forget budget, politics, timetables
and who's going to do what.
Encourage joint ownership of ideas. That way, you can get buy-in from
more people.
Be proactive. Break out of the box. Take risks. And take the opportunity
to make history at your company.
Spector and Associates offers public relations seminars to marketing
and communications professionals. These are highly interactive, idea-generating
sessions designed to boost creativity and innovation. Among the topics:
Creative PR Programming
Mobilize your creativity and resourcefulness to develop PR campaigns that
improve corporate recognition and impact the bottom line.
Speechwriting
Why do so few speeches engage, inspire, entertain, build credibility, get
results, and leave the speaker and the audience feeling good? Because the
speechwriters never took this seminar.
Building Better Teams
Learn how to mobilize the inherent genius of any group.
Engaging the Employee through Engaging Communications
Take out the jargon and the platitudes and get real.
Technology PR
How to make the message more meaningful for every public.
Seminars can be custom designed for your corporation, presented in-house
or at our Manhattan offices. If you'd like more information, please
e-mail or call the Seminar Director at 212-943-5858.
SITE LOCATIONS:
© 1997 Spector & Associates
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