Insight from Paul Arden on Rising Above Market Noise
Posted on Thu, Apr 12, 2012
By: Kathryn
Most people wouldn’t equate failure with success, yet that is exactly the claim that Paul Arden makes in his book, “It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be.” Drawing upon his experience as an advertising executive, Arden provides insight into rising above market noise and becoming a leader. Three of his points examining creativity, involvement and weaknesses are applicable to PR and worth checking out:
- Rebellion drives creativity. It’s easy to see how this phrase could fit every business. Just because your company always writes a release about an award win, for example, don’t be afraid consider other ways to promote that accolade. To drive company awareness, it’s sometimes better to add the award win to your Pinterest page, and then used it as content for tweets and LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook updates. According to Arden, when you propose something out of the ordinary, the worst that can happen is that you get shot down.
- A happy client is an involved client. We need to keep stakeholders – clients, upper management, peers -- involved in every step of the PR campaign process, from brainstorming to execution and measurement. Each player within your company must feel as though he has ownership in PR and marketing efforts. Without this buy-in, it ’s difficult to complete tasks and reach goals. Just doing something yourself – although it might be easier – isn’t necessarily better.
- Point out your weaknesses and your company’s weakness. When presenting an idea, identify where it is the weakest before your audience does so first. Although it may seem harsh to bomb your own concept, as Arden states, “treat it like an advantage.” Work with various departments at your company to shore up weak spots, and not only will your ideas work better, but you will have built stronger relationships with key executives.
Have you read this book? How does it speak to you and your business?