Advertising, branding, marketing and public relations developed out of the business sector's need to promote products and services in creative ways while standing out from competitors. But in the attention economy where public attention becomes a limited resource than ever before, almost every body from government offices, municipalities, associations and even charities are required to use public relations activities. What are the rules for correct and effective disclosure, and how do you do it correctly?

 

In the business sector this is taken for granted. No self-respecting company will release a new product to the market, or launch a new service without an accompanying advertising campaign, marketing moves and public relations. In contrast, government ministries, municipalities or non-profit organizations are often afraid to allocate a budget for marketing and public relations for fear of public criticism or because of a lack of recognition of the effectiveness and the current basket of tools available. 

 

The social entrepreneur Dan Pallotta, who founded an association that raised 582 million dollars in nine years through three-day trips for cancer patients, or bicycle trips to promote AIDS research, talks about the gap between the marketing concept in the business sector and the marketing concept in the public sector and the third sector: while In the public opinion, it is considered obvious that business companies promote moves with the help of marketing, advertising and public relations - government offices and associations that do this are perceived as frivolous in managing the budget. And by doing so   "wasting" the budget on the bland and not on the main thing - helping people, something that Pelota sees as real discrimination.

 

He says that in order to raise the hundreds of millions that he set for the goal, he needed the cooperation of hundreds of thousands of people. For this purpose, he advertised his activities and events in the most reputable newspapers, despite the expensive cost of advertising, promoted events with the help of articles in journalism and hosting preliminary events. The payoff for public relations efforts indicates that, just like in the business sector - non-profit organizations should also allocate marketing, advertising and public relations budgets as necessary tools to increase the non-profit organization's budget, its activities and its impact on the community and humanity.

 

Public relations, the public sector, and the third sector: why now?

It would be correct to say that government offices and non-profits managed to operate for years without PR and marketing efforts (regarding advertising, the situation is slightly different, since at least in the public sector, there will be the Government Advertising Office - LaPM, which was established in the 1980s and marks the beginning of the recognition of the importance of advertising for moves as well public).

At the same time, the public and third sector's need for marketing and PR moves has intensified in recent years due to several key changes: one is related to the need for public transparency and freedom of information. If in the past many aspects of institutional conduct could remain confidential and far from public scrutiny, today there is a growing demand For public involvement in the innards of institutional conduct. Public institutions, municipalities and associations. Therefore, there is also a need   for regular and direct communication with the general public regarding all their moves, their conduct and decisions and to communicate these in a manner adapted to the public.

Another change is related to the fundraising of associations and institutions: if in the past it was customary to rely on a small number of large donors, today various crowdfunding models present a completely different fundraising model in which, in order to be successful, organizations and institutions must tell their story in an attractive and clear way to hundreds of thousands of potential donors .

 

Maximmedia: PR as a growth engine

Maximia by definition is a public relations and marketing consulting company. offering advanced work practices while advising and building a broad communication strategy for all platforms and social networks. This is with full involvement in all stages of the process in order to generate news interest from the stage of building the move to its promotion and exposure in the media, out of recognition and understanding of the needs of the media.

Our staff includes not only creative content people who know how to produce and communicate an outward message, but also a research department that conducts a broad international review and research for our clients in the initial phase and submits, after analyzing the data, a report of recommendations for creative moves and activities that are required to accurately define the nature of the product or service. The success ratio of our customers increases as they include us in the process from the very first steps.  

Our peripheral perception, and the continuous relationship with the media give us the ability to have the widest possible exposure to any organizational move, as well as a multitude of creative opportunities. Precisely in the great commotion of the contemporary media, we are big believers in a balanced, quiet and well-thought-out strategy - something that in our experience is very suitable for public institutions and associations.