Seat at the Table

One of the biggest problems in public relations messaging counsel is the overuse of “leadership” driven messages.  Company A is a leader in X industry….

In this week’s Unsolicited Advice column, the question “are claims of leadership the cause of leadership?” is asked.  This is where too many PR people fail.  The answer is no.  Reporters are, at best, skeptical of leadership claims, and publics become deaf to them.  But too many companies make them becuase they feel good.  Frankly, it’s just as often management’s fault as it is the PR team as management pushes for this message instead of listening to what works.  What works is substantive messages that focuses on the core strengths of a company and product that will appeal to the target audience.

The column asks, “At stake is one of the fundamental questions of marketing: Is perception reality, or is reality reality? …companies become and remain leaders by offering consumers a tangible reason to choose them over the competition. Soon after they fail to deliver, they fall from grace.” 

So even if you’re pushed to put in a leadership message, put in one that can be backed up with facts, not rhetoric.  Say your company is the largest in a specific product category or is the only one producing a certain feature. 

Lesson to learn: Vision doesn’t make a company a leader, market share does.