The Value of PR During a Downturn: Third-Party Validation
By David Barkoe
July 25, 2022
I've run an agency for over eight years and worked at them for over 20. I've experienced my share of brands cutting PR budgets during an economic downturn. It's usually a version of: "We need to drive sales immediately." And then, they increase their digital ad spend and report to higher-ups on clicks and traffic.
I've also experienced my share of brands that upped or launched their PR investment during a downturn, and it usually boils down to this: "We need more third-party validation. That's what moves the needle." They don't typically use those words, but it's the common theme I've extracted after all these years.
Here's why I think they're right — possibly more than ever. The expansion of the "traditional" media landscape, including the growth of influencers, gave brands more opportunities to tell their stories through others' eyes. And that's more value than any paid digital ad can hope to offer. (I want to thank the six clients that have upped or launched their investment with Carve over the last quarter):
Third-Party Validation Drives Sales
You see it again and again in studies like this from Horowitz Research:
Or articles like this in Entrepreneur magazine:
Word of mouth – which is largely driven by the third-party validation media coverage provides – works.
However, I'm not here to say that this is the only marketing brands should undertake in a downturn. In fact, I'm an all-in guy. I think brands should double down on PR and marketing as a whole.
Because what drives word of mouth? It's not one thing. It's largely a mix — articles and reviews you read, ads you see, samples you try, paid search, experiential moments, demos, "dark social," content that builds credibility, a newsletter that inspires you, and more. I'll borrow a line from this infographic Declan Mulkeen shared on LinkedIn: "It's all happening below the surface."
Today’s Media Landscape Allows for More Third-Party Validation
An expanding media landscape and the emergence of advocate marketing give today's PR professionals more opportunities for third-party validation than they had ten years ago. Some people call this fragmentation. I get it, especially when you're a reporter who has lost a job due to downsizing or a content creator who finds it harder and harder to capture audiences at scale. But I like to think about it as an expansion.
When the Great Recession hit, PR programs’ focused on securing third-party validations in traditional print, online, and broadcast media outlets became increasingly important. For example, a positive review of a new tech product by The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg was the gold standard.
At the same time, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter were in their infancy. Instagram and TikTok didn't exist. The first podcast was produced in 2004, and Steve Jobs devoted time during a 2006 keynote demonstrating how to create episodes of this strange new format.
Today, more than 2 million podcasts are available worldwide. Niche, independent newsletters exploded. Social media outlets are primary sources of news, opinions, and reviews. And influencers use these platforms to position themselves as experts to millions of followers.
This opens up a whole new world of third-party validation possibilities. We treat those "newer" media outlets with the same respect and thoughtfulness as the "traditional" ones.
Here’s validation in Fortune’s Term Sheet newsletter for VC client Swiftarc.
And here it is in The Logistics of Logistics podcast for our client Transfix and in The Use Case podcast for Reachdesk.
We also knew we needed to create a dedicated influencer arm of Carve to help our clients get validated through the voice of this expanded media world.
In 2019 we began developing, managing, and executing advocate marketing campaigns for Educational Insights, one of the world’s leading educational toy brands. It began with a small campaign focused on a single product to drive clicks to Amazon. Three years later, we’re running campaigns for Educational Insights and its two sister brands, and several consumer electronics campaigns for other clients every year.
Fact: The media landscape will not stop changing. Everyone is a media company today with the rise of content marketing and personal brand development. We've had people pitch story ideas to our blog, which is always a funny turn of events, and clients hire us to build out their thought leadership content calendars on LinkedIn.
Here's another thing that won't change: the importance of third-party validation in consideration and purchase decisions. It's up to PR pros to navigate the volume and variety of those platforms, separate the ideal from the noise, and work those ideals for your brand.
