Wake Up and Smell the PR
I have spent a long career as a poor relation, playing second fiddle to the advertising agency. How many times have I heard the request: “Can you amplify the advertising?” or “Make my ads famous” The implication was always clear – PR was there to play backup. We were the supporting act, brought in to sprinkle a little earned-media fairy dust after the main event had already left the building.
We sat in meetings after the ad campaign had been conceived, scripted, shot, and signed off. The agency would present a polished TV spot or a multi-million pound media plan, and then someone would turn to PR and say, “Can we get this in the press?” As if we were supposed to persuade journalists to cover a paid ad just because it looked nice.
But thankfully, those days are nearly over.
Brands are starting to wake up.
They are realising that you can’t just buy your way into the hearts of consumers. A beautifully shot 60-second commercial doesn’t equal trust. A full-page ad in a magazine doesn’t build community. A catchy slogan doesn’t give your brand a soul.
What consumers want now is connection, transparency, authenticity – and that’s where PR thrives.
Take Patagonia, for instance. They don’t just advertise sustainability – they live it. When they made headlines for donating their entire $10 million Trump-era tax break to environmental causes, that wasn’t a paid campaign. That was a PR masterstroke – an authentic action that aligned with their brand values and earned them global media coverage, consumer loyalty, and brand admiration money can’t buy.
Or Ben & Jerry’s, who have used their PR not to amplify ads, but to amplify values. Their public stance on issues like racial justice and climate change has sparked conversations and made them relevant far beyond the freezer aisle. You won’t see them relying on flashy ad spend to make headlines – they make headlines by standing for something.
Even Nike, a brand with deep advertising roots, understands the power of earned attention. The Colin Kaepernick campaign didn’t just work because of the ads – it worked because it sparked real public debate, was amplified through PR channels, and resonated with a cultural moment. The most impactful results weren’t the media buys – they were the conversations, the controversies, the opinion pieces, and the social ripple effect that PR orchestrated.
Here in the UK, Tesco’s PR firm Tin Man, created an absolute belter by creating the Tesco Wedding List. Playing on a consumer truth that people are more concerned about everyday living than single-use trinkets, the campaign hit a nerve and swamped the media. It was on brand and perfectly conveyed Tesco’s values.
This is the evolution we’re witnessing: PR moving from promotion to positioning. From being reactive to being strategic. From repeating what advertising says to challenging what the brand should say – and sometimes, saying it better.
In a world oversaturated with ads, trust is the new currency.
People fast-forward commercials, block pop-ups and scroll past sponsored posts. But they still listen to a compelling story. They still care about purpose. They still believe what’s earned, not what’s bought.
So now, when someone says, “Can PR amplify the advertising?” I turn the question around: “What if PR is the idea?”
Because when PR leads, something incredible happens. The campaign doesn’t just land. It lives. It lingers. It earns.
And after years of playing second fiddle, it feels like PR is finally conducting the orchestra.
Written by Nick Band, Founder of Strada PR
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