In the latest issue of CSQ, our very own Mike Schaffer writes about how you can use trigger systems to avoid PR nightmares.
In case you’re not familiar with trigger systems (which are kind of our new favorite thing), let’s catch you up. A trigger-system is a planned group of marketing activities that support a business event.
Let’s make that even simpler. Say your company makes widgets. You release a few new widget designs per year. If you were working with Echo-Factory (because obviously, we’re leaders in the widget-marketing field), we’d set up a trigger system, so that every time you were close to releasing a new widget, that’d trigger a series of marketing projects, like creating a new product page on your website for the new widget, and press releases, and social media announcements, etc. etc. etc.
It’s not a complex idea, but it works. Really, really well.
Which brings us back to Mike’s article in CSQ. The point Mike’s making is that you can apply the concept of trigger systems to both proactive, and reactive PR. In other words, not only can you use trigger systems to support product launches of your new and improved widgets, you can also use them when unexpected things go wrong.
Say someone’s caught on camera stepping on one of your widgets, and then falling and breaking their arm! PR Crisis Alert!!! You could run around like a chicken with their head cut off doing whatever seems like a good idea at the time and possibly turning a minor kerfuffle into a major crisis for your brand. Or, if you’ve developed a strategic, well-thought-out trigger system for just this type of issue, you could turn a challenge, into an opportunity.
Your call.
But that’s enough of me summarizing. Why don’t you just jump on over to Mike’s article on trigger systems in CSQ, and read it for yourself?
Want to learn more about Trigger Systems? Learn more through these posts:
Build, Maintain and Protect Credibility with Marketing Trigger Systems