PR’s emerging role in cleantech

Two years ago, business plans with the concepts of 'green' and 'solar' were generating as much buzz as the dot.com glory days. How quickly things change.

Even with a pro-cleantech Obama administration, innovators in the renewable energy and green IT sectors have their work cut out for them. Aside from the swarm of companies striving for viability and leadership, there is the withering effect of the economy that is forcing organizations—notably startups and early-stage companies—to tighten belts to the extreme. The question on the table is: “What part of a company budget is expendable?”

All too often, the first and most significant casualties are marketing and PR. Regrettably, that is a strategic blunder.

Why? As a marketing tool, PR represents the best return on investment for companies of all sizes. In fact, early-stage companies that mature into dominant players share something in common: an ongoing commitment to strategic marketing and PR services that are vital to gaining and sustaining industry recognition, differentiation and market validation. This is especially true for companies that strive to capitalize on tough economic times, instead of just enduring them.

Unfortunately, the current economic crisis has come home to roost in the IT and cleantech sectors. While the S&P 500 lost almost 40 percent in 2008, many cleantech exchanges, such as WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation and the Winslow Green Growth Fund, were down 60 percent or more.

So, in the midst of this economic gloom and doom triggering layoffs, restructuring and a “hang on for dear life” management approach, where in the world does PR play a role? The answer is that it’s your most vital marketing function. And here’s why:

1. PR builds credibility and accelerates validation

In this age of stagnant spending, it’s more important than ever for early stage companies to have a strong and credible image with solid third-party validation. Credibility and validation, especially for start-ups, is a fundamental requirement for cash, customers, and media attention. During the early cleantech years, such credibility arguably was easy to come by—all you needed was a reasonably interesting idea that involved supporting the boundless growth of solar, clean and green applications. But now that the bounds of growth are painfully clear to everyone, it’s a bit tougher.

Credibility means having a reputation that makes people feel comfortable enough to buy your product or invest in your company. There are several aspects of credibility that a solid PR program can promote including technology, product, management, market positioning, and finances.

2. Aggressive PR promotes market survivability

While many companies succumb to a duck and cover attitude to cut “burn rates” by ignoring or eliminating PR budgets, they risk vanishing from the competitive landscape and digging a hole that they may never emerge from again. On the other hand, the likelihood of a “power vacuum” in specific market segments leaves the door open for aggressive, forward-looking companies to leverage PR and catch a wave to secure company-to-watch status. And that can mean the difference between making the short list on RFPs or being left out in the cold.

3. PR is a process (not an event)

Creating an ad hoc event or throw-away news announcement is a non-starter. A solid PR plan must link personal outreach with aggressive, creative, on-going proactive programs that help to build a positive media profile and sustain a critical mass of meaningful company coverage during otherwise slow news periods. This is where the “R” in “PR” comes into play. This can be done, for example, by placing bylined thought-leadership articles, speaking at key industry venues, developing leadership momentum announcements, leveraging customer successes and partnerships, touting financial milestones and citing key personnel hires, just to name a few.

These “evidence pipeline” deliverables are key to building growth and market leadership and serve to position your spokespersons as indispensable subject-matter references. Earning the respect of the media places you in a position to receive media calls for comment in advance of industry or competitors' announcements, rather than being forced to react afterward. PR is all about control, and being reactive is tantamount to relinquishing control.

4. PR as a recruiting tool

With the rash of layoffs sweeping across the Cleantech and IT sectors, there are new recruits ready to flood the market. Who is going to snap up the best and brightest? Organizations that maintain their buzz factor through a sound PR programs stand a much better chance of snagging previously unavailable talent, provided they represent a company moving up the ranks with staying power and a vital business case.

5. PR makes sales easier

Companies that are looking to gain customers, seeking funding or vying for a legitimate exit strategy should be cranking up their market visibility, not dialing down dialog with their influencer constituencies. Strategic PR can accelerate this process by educating and motivating key influencers at a time it is needed most. A continuous, rigorous PR program is vital to any sales effort because it makes no sense to send in ground troops without air cover.

Don't be a Kevorkian

The true personality of a company really surfaces during tough economic times. And in an unprecedented period of what can only be described as a financial calamity, many companies retreat into reaction mode when it comes to marketing. The herd instinct often times results in a mentality of “if it doesn’t generate revenue right now, kill it.” Unfortunately, immediate gratification does not make for strategic marketing.

What separates companies that mature into dominant players in their respective industries is an understanding that marketing and PR services and programs are vital to staying out of the death trap of becoming invisible. Ironically, the dire straits of the economy can actually be advantageous to those companies that seize upon a vacuum created by mass retreat. Instead of performing battlefield triage with their marketing budgets, forward looking organizations surgically allocate marketing and PR resources to amplify market presence and signal much greater resiliency and valuation.

This is not a time to make marketing departments extinct. To the contrary, it’s the perfect time to leverage seasoned marketing and PR practitioners who can deliver the maximum bang for the buck. Companies demonstrating leadership, especially during a down cycle as severe as this, will be handsomely rewarded—the cyclical nature of the economy has proven this time and again.

Turn off your PR machine? Only if you’re a Kevorkian at heart.

Kevin Gallagher is a managing partner at Gallagher Group Communications, which supports cleantech, renewable energy and information tech companies. He can be reached at kevin@gg-comm.com.

Want to author a guest column yourself? We welcome contributions, and would like to hear from you. Guidance and directions here.