by Julia Kursova, BCOM presiden

In this article most widespread and successfully used in Business Communications Agency practice PR-tools are analyzed in reference to an actual problem of communications optimisation between companies and specialised mass-media. Speaking about the ways of investments into mass-media, the author begins with analysis of advertising possibilities. At J.Kursova's point, its base advantages are simplicity and clarity of information for target audience and fixity of expenses for advertiser. Thus, it is noticed that imaging and product advertising influences at emotional level and by regular repeating. This factors make it the most suitable promotion tool to mass consumer. In case of b2b promotion, target public makes purchase decisions not under the influence of emotional factors, but by the analyze of information, received from different channels.

Frequently, products offered by the companies lie in high-tech sphere, and direct advertising mode does not allow media to make detailed explanations of product/service features and possibilities. And the author position here is to use PR-tools, which are more suitable allowing to solve many problems at once:

• target audience effective informing
• necessary level of partner mass-media investments providing
• expenses optimization.

Among the traditional and successful PR-tools used by the Agency for the clients promotion, J.Kursova names and analyzes: round tables; surveys and researches (on media basis); sponsorship of headings and thematic columns; competitions and quizes (on media basis); special materials dispatch to the key media subscribers; advertorials, given by the client or prepared together with media; web tools (actually, any tool described above can be applied in its on-line version).

The author comes to the conclusion that partnership of business and mass-media, working on the profile markets, is inevitable and necessary for both parties: «investments into mass-media become an important condition of a high-grade support for the company, and media, in its turn having the partner connections established, gets the opportunity to receive an exclusive information which can be represented to its readers». The crisis factor, according to J.Kursova's words, in some cases only promotes strengthening of partner relations, because now many editions facing financial difficulties are compelled to reduce their volumes and to concentrate on the advertisers support. In these conditions, by means of competent investments it is possible, on the one hand, to strengthen company's positions in media space, and on the other — to support the edition, what can give further feedback in advanced cooperation possibilities.

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by Julia Kursova, BCOM presiden

The Article is devoted to the analysis of marketing tools dynamics in the crisis conditions for various business organisations.

The author notices that crisis has come to Russia later, than on American and European markets and till the end of 2008 marketing activity proceeded almost in the same volume. With approaching of 2009 it became clear that serious changes in communicative policy of many companies appeared and, according to the author's opinion, it was expressed in the following factors:

1. Corporate planning and budgeting volumes decrease
2. Long-term communicative campaigns decrease
3. Structural changes and optimisation of PR and marketing services.

Among the most widespread influenced by crisis marketing tools of the last years, J.Kursova allocates: large and scale exhibitions; expensive shows with VIP participation; team-building events; scale projects with mass-media; sponsoring.

In crisis conditions when the main problem for any company is to preserve its market positions, full refusal of product and service promotion is impossible. According to the author's position, the reduction of expensive tools in favour of more economic ones is the most reasonable decision.

J.Kursova comes to the conclusion that nowadays it is necessary to displace marketing accents aside PR, as a less expensive tool in comparison with advertising and exhibitions. Internet Marketing role thanks to its lower costs also increases. Special events and sales support are still one of the most effective tools of dialogue with target public.

Full text available on demand