Ink for Sale: Evidently, You *Can* Buy That Kind of PR
Two reports this week prove that you don't have to be a PR maven to score headlines and buzz -- you just have to hold enough budget to buy your way in.
Earlier this week, in what you might call a grand statement of the obvious, Nielsen BuzzMetrics reported that marketers can, in fact, buy their way into WOM. According to their press release:
After analyzing blog buzz volume, ad spending, purchase intentions and actual product sales, Nielsen found the best predictor of buzz for newly launched consumer-packaged goods (CPG) is a large advertising budget...
The study evaluated nearly 80 new CPG products across several subcategories, launched in the U.S. between 2005 and 2006. On average, the top 10% of products with the most buzz, spent nearly $20 million on paid media for the launch. In contrast, the companies that generated the next 40% of blog buzz spent an average of $15 million and the companies that generated the bottom 50% spent an average of only $5 million.
In another blow to hard-working PR firms everywhere, PR Week (via MarketingCharts) reports that 17% of senior marketers have bought advertising in exchange for ink. (Shocker.) Others admitted securing their media placements with gifts, or paying for favorable coverage.
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