Mixing it up

Public relations is no longer focused simply on managing media relations. An integrated strategy can help maximise PR impact, both inside and outside the firm.

By Daniela Conte, Baker & McKenzie LLP

In this article, I want to discuss the concept of integrated public relations: how we define it, why we choose such an approach and how it works in practice.

The integrated approach
Taking an integrated approach requires the widest possible definition of what PR encompasses: a willingness to use any activity or medium strategically to enhance the profile, reputation and understanding of our lawyers, their practice and the firm, in order to influence behaviour. The key element of this approach is to ensure we use as many of the mediums available to us as possible to minimise the effort of lawyers, while maximising PR impact.

Benefits
It is worth considering the advantages of this approach. After all, taking a more comprehensive approach to PR activity is more resource-intensive and requires greater investment. It is also best to be clear about what can and cannot be achieved.

Approached correctly, focusing on media relations alone will help raise the profile of a firm. An integrated approach will further enhance this benefit by enabling:

Greater acknowledgement and recognition for staff, at all levels, for the work they have done. This helps people to feel part of a team and improves morale, which ultimately assists with retention and makes for a happier working environment;
Assisting with recruitment. Greater external coverage and recognition, coupled with a positive working environment, is a powerful tool in attracting the best talent;
Reinforcing the value of marketing and PR, by maximising impact without creating an additional burden to already busy lawyers.

Integrated PR in practice
Although it is clear that PR is more than media relations, this aspect of the PR mix should not be neglected. Dealing with the media – building, promoting and protecting reputation – remains one of the most important functions of PR.

Media relations is now more sophisticated, so the challenge is to get lawyers to move beyond simple promotion of high-profile transactions and client wins through press releases. We work to help lawyers understand that clients, competitors and staff are not always interested in how ‘delighted’ someone is to have worked on a transaction.

A more constructive approach is to encourage lawyers to become ‘thought leaders’, so that they can contribute to a topical debate or discussion within their field of expertise, rather than simply talking about themselves or their work. This enables them to demonstrate their expertise, and their awareness of current debates and issues, in a way that is more relevant to the target publication’s audience

In addition to strategic management of media relations, entering awards is a key aspect of our approach. It feels as if a new awards scheme is launched every other week, and some cynics may suggest that this provides a neat money-making exercise for the organisers, at our expense. Of course, entering awards can be expensive and time consuming, but if they are strategically targeted and participation is used to maximum effect, they can result in excellent PR results. For example, awards can be used to strengthen relationships with clients, by nominating them in relevant categories, inviting them to the presentation ceremony and helping to reinforce the quality of their chosen legal teams. They are also a way to build a profile with the judging panel, which is often made up of influential commentators and journalists.

Another aspect of an integrated PR strategy is legal directories. The merits (or otherwise) of legal directories have previously been examined in Legal Marketing and are by now well known, especially to those of us involved in the process. Nevertheless, for as long as firms continue to commit significant resources to the process, we ensure that we make the most of the PR opportunities they provide.

PR is often viewed as an outward-facing activity – how clients, lawyers and others outside the firm view it. But internal communications is an integral part of our integrated PR strategy and we commit considerable resources to it.

For their own professional development and practice profile, it is important for lawyers to build their reputation within the firm, and we have an important role in making this happen. Benefits of internal PR activities include: helping lawyers with their own career; job satisfaction gained as a result of having their contribution acknowledged; improved cross-selling between departments; and reinforcing and encouraging external PR efforts.

We promote the work of our people within the firm in a range of ways. One is through the firm’s quarterly magazine, Commonground, which includes stories about successes, profiles on lawyers and support staff and features about our international offices. Any article that is published, or press coverage that is gained, is included on the firm’s news ticker, which is a live information bulletin that appears across the top of all PC monitors. Other communication tools, such as our intranet site and notice boards throughout the office, are also used to recognise the successes of our people.

Great in theory…
Working in this way can produce excellent results, but it is time consuming and it can sometimes be difficult to engage lawyers already suffering ‘marketing fatigue’. We deal with these challenges by making it as easy for the lawyers as possible, especially for partners who are so crucial to our PR efforts. We minimise the amount of time we need from lawyers and ensure we use information in as many ways as possible. For example, once a partner has provided a brief on a particular piece of work, the marketing department will use the information across a range of mediums. Depending on the significance of the work, a communications plan may be drafted to roll out the news externally. We may contact legal directory researchers to update them on the development, send the information to deals databases, and will include an article in Commonground. Any resulting press coverage will be promoted internally. The information and resulting coverage will be filed for possible use later in award or legal directory submissions.

The other essential ingredient in implementing this type of integrated PR is a particular mindset: there is no room for a ‘silo’ mentality with this approach. It requires the team to have the expertise and willingness to work across the spectrum of PR activities. It also requires all marketing and PR professionals in the department to work together at all times. Having a centralised marketing and business development department, where everyone sits together, has made this more achievable.

This approach, when combined with other aspects of the marketing mix such as business development and events, has proved to be extremely effective and valued within the firm. ?

Daniela Conte is marketing and PR manager at global firm Baker & McKenzie LLP. She can be contacted at daniela.conte@bakernet.com