PR ? The Industrial Context
A trip to the bookshop at the airport recently, reunited me with one of the best stand up comedians of all time, Bill Hicks; or actually a book concerning his comedy to be more precise, Bill died in 1994, aged 32. Incidentally, I have read there is an upcoming film on Bill’s life starring Russell Crowe which should be interesting in itself.
Anyway one of Bill’s more provoking on-stage requests, was that all the members of the crowd who were involved in ‘advertising’ or ‘marketing’ should stop immediately, ideally by killing themselves. Obviously its a humorous statement, but Bill’s underlying message was much more important.
Bill argued that any advertising act or statement could be ‘used’ to manipulate the thoughts and actions of people in order that goods or services may be more easily promoted and sold and that the PR machine was ruining the life experience of many people by preventing independant thought. Its probably a bit harsh, but you have to accept Bill’s opinion.
Happily, marketing messages directed at the individual are really ineffective in industry. PR in industry is more subtle and the more ‘base’ aspects of marketing methods favoured by the mass media are usually ignored. Instead there is concentration on performance benefits, issues of the day, for example energy saving and service aspects. Its seems that industrial procurement based on these points is easier to justify to the budget makers than points which address the individuals grooming habits!
So in the context of ‘industry’ PR I would hope to escape Bill’s wrath, as I am not trying to change peoples’ conceptions but actually trying to inform potential customers of REO and what we do in the most efficient way.
We try and back up our ‘messages’ with scientific facts and engineering knowledge. For example our new 180 kW test system allows us to test all of the components in a typical drive system, from EMC Filter, to DC Link choke through to brake resistor under load. We can produce comprehensive test schedules and results allow our customers to effectively field test without the problems associated with this. Contact us for more information.
