A Recipe for PR Success | Jerry Silfwer | TEDxÖstersund

Summary

The speaker discusses the origins of modern PR, highlighting Edward Bernays' campaigns, such as promoting bacon and eggs for breakfast and encouraging women to smoke in the 1920s. The talk emphasizes the importance of building genuine personal relationships over mass communication in public relations today. Brands often focus on reaching new audiences, but the speaker suggests they should nurture existing relationships. Through examples like Red Bull, Apple, and Tesla, the speaker argues that identifying and challenging a 'stupid majority' can help brands connect with a 'smart minority' and build a loyal following. Success in PR lies in choosing these battles wisely.

Takeaways

• 🍳 The tradition of having bacon and eggs for breakfast originated from a PR campaign in the 19th century, led by Edward Bernays to promote meat consumption in America.
• 👨‍⚕️ Bernays convinced 4,500 out of 5,000 doctors to endorse a heavier breakfast, which helped popularize the idea of eating bacon and eggs in the morning.
• 🚬 Bernays also played a significant role in promoting cigarettes to women by positioning them as 'Torches of Freedom' in the late 1920s, tapping into the feminist movement.
• 🤝 The speaker believes that the essence of public relations (PR) is about creating meaningful personal relationships between brands and people, despite PR's often negative reputation.
• 🧠 The concept of the 'social brain' suggests that human relationships range from close-knit groups to larger communities, but brands struggle to engage with these small groups effectively.
• 📈 The challenge for brands is balancing their focus on large-scale outreach with the need to nurture existing relationships to turn them into loyal fans.
• 🔢 The speaker uses the analogy of grains of rice on a chessboard to demonstrate how small, incremental growth in fan engagement can scale significantly over time.
• 🏆 The speaker suggests that the true secret to PR success lies in leveraging a 'stupid majority'—a large group of people who are wrong about a belief—and a 'smart minority' that can be convinced otherwise.
• 🎸 The story of Alice Cooper’s promotion in the UK exemplifies how targeting a specific group (in this case, parents) to create controversy can lead to increased publicity and engagement with a rebellious audience.
• 🎯 The final message encourages brands to identify the 'stupid majority' relevant to their industry while also aligning with a 'smart minority' to create meaningful and impactful PR campaigns.

Q & A

Who was Edward Bernays and why is he significant in PR history?

Edward Bernays was the cousin of Sigmund Freud and is often considered the 'father of public relations.' He pioneered PR techniques by orchestrating major campaigns such as popularizing bacon and eggs for breakfast and promoting Lucky Strike cigarettes to women, influencing the PR industry's development.

How did Edward Bernays convince Americans to eat more bacon and eggs for breakfast?

Bernays reached out to 5,000 doctors and asked if Americans would benefit from a heartier breakfast. When 4,500 of the doctors agreed, he used this endorsement to promote bacon and eggs as part of a healthy breakfast, helping create the now-common American breakfast.

What role did Bernays play in making smoking more socially acceptable for women?

Bernays helped Lucky Strike by reaching out to female influencers, actresses, and feminist groups. He promoted cigarettes as 'torches of freedom' to symbolize women's independence, which successfully expanded the market by making smoking more socially acceptable for women.

What is the social brain hypothesis mentioned in the script?

The social brain hypothesis suggests that human relationships form in groups ranging from small, tight-knit groups of 3-5 people to larger tribes of 1,000-2,000 people. This theory outlines the natural limits of social relationships, which brands often try to exceed through mass communication.

Why does the speaker suggest focusing on existing relationships rather than just trying to reach new audiences?

The speaker argues that brands often overlook the importance of nurturing their existing relationships, viewing them as 'solved' problems. Instead, focusing on maintaining and growing relationships with loyal customers can lead to better long-term success.

How does the speaker compare 'mass communication' with modern 'interpersonal relationships' in PR?

The speaker notes that in the past, mass communication aimed to secure editorial space to reach large audiences. However, with the rise of social media, anyone can create content, making it more important to focus on building interpersonal relationships and earning mental space through trust and relevance.

Can relationships scale according to the speaker, and what analogy is used to explain this?

The speaker believes relationships can scale by earning one true fan who recruits another fan each month, creating exponential growth. This is compared to the grains of rice on a chessboard problem, where the quantity doubles each time, eventually leading to a heap larger than Mount Everest.

What is the 'secret recipe' for PR success, according to the speaker?

The speaker's 'secret recipe' for PR success consists of having 'one stupid majority' and 'one smart minority.' The idea is that by identifying a majority that will soon be proven wrong and engaging a smart minority, a brand can create lasting PR success.

How did Alice Cooper's promoter, Shep Gordon, use PR to create a buzz in the UK?

Shep Gordon generated publicity by placing a naked photo of Alice Cooper on a truck and having it break down repeatedly in rush hour traffic in London. This angered people, made headlines, and helped Alice Cooper sell out his concert in just 10 days.

What is the speaker's main takeaway about PR and how brands should approach it?

The speaker emphasizes the importance of choosing wisely when identifying the 'stupid majority' and the 'smart minority.' Brands should focus on being relevant, trustworthy, and strategically aligning with groups that will help them grow, rather than just seeking attention from large numbers.