Global PR Trends: Branding, Crisis Management & Strategy

Global PR Trends and Niche Branding

A November 3, 2004, article in The New York Times asked readers, "Would You Like an Extra Shot of Music With That Macchiato?" The article chronicled a new global public relations effort by the Starbucks Company. Starbucks had begun employing its own retail music label, "Hear Music" — a label it purchased five years prior — and entering into joint ventures with the independent label Concord Records to produce its own music line. In doing so, the behemoth coffee retailer embodied an increasingly common global public relations trend: the fusing of corporate image with a carefully targeted and segmented brand name, offering a diffuse range of products to a highly specific target audience.

It is increasingly difficult to capture the so-called general public's attention through advertising. Perhaps there is no general public — either globally or within the United States. Consumers have developed more and more ways to screen out crafted public relations efforts, through technologies like TiVo, premium cable such as HBO, and simple savvy and wariness about being manipulated and aggressively marketed to. Instead, niche marketing and audience segmentation have moved to the forefront of PR strategy.

Rather than luring customers away from standard record shops, Starbucks sought to generate more sales among "casual music fans disinclined to enter record stores, which they perceive as overwhelming. By giving space near the register to a few CDs, Starbucks essentially makes recommendations to a specific audience." In this way, "it puts the music in front of the right customer and makes it convenient to get." The company was "well positioned to move beyond customized CDs, because more than 3,000 of its stores offer wireless Internet access, which could be used to download music files." As record labels struggled to prevent freely available online music from undermining the value of their CDs, they might have taken a cue from a retailer with a proven track record of providing a premium alternative to a widely available product. "Starbucks is a branding machine," since "nobody in the world buys a 40-cent cup of coffee for $4 unless they're buying a brand." (Levine, 2004)

Differences Between Publicity and Advertising

Public relations, in contrast to advertising, attempts primarily to raise awareness among the public rather than aggressively target a market. It seeks to change public opinion over time and shift attitudes, rather than immediately change behavior. It addresses the need for raising awareness and creating atmosphere or buzz around a service, person, or product, rather than aiming for the sudden transformation of consumers' minds and lifestyles. Thus, in such a psychologically oriented field, heightened sensitivity to segmentation and cultural differences is critical — particularly cultural sensitivity across the variety of ethnic markets in both the United States and the broader world.

For instance, in achieving positive public relations in a new global market, even "ingrained mannerisms that no one would pay attention to at home can make an unfavorable impression abroad. 'I have a habit of putting my hands on my hips when I talk,' said Ms. Krajchir, who lives in Venice Beach, Calif. But in Bali," where she traveled on a business trip, "it was politely but pointedly noted that when you stand that way it's seen as a sign of rudeness or defiance.'" (Garfinkel, 2004) This illustrates why cross-cultural communication awareness is an essential component of international PR practice.