Reading David Balter’s (founder of Boston-based BzzAgent) interesting and engaging new book, The Word of Mouth Manual, Volume II, served as inspiration to take a moment and draw a narrative bulls eye to focus on the role of PR in building sales and market share.

Balter makes an interesting case about consumer behavior by reciting the history of how Top 40 radio came to be and its linkage to how people function in the marketplace. What he says makes sense: we know consumers can only retain so much information at one time on any given product or service. In spite of this condition thousands upon thousands of products work relentlessly day in and day out to compete for their share of mind and wallet. Many, however, continue to orbit the mental planet without landing in the considered purchase set.

The insight here is intriguing and hats off to Balter for framing this. An Omaha, Nebraska radio station general manager named Todd Storz gets the high five for inventing the Top 40 format in 1955. His epiphany — that people can remember and recognize about 40 songs at any given time and thus listenership rises when radio playlists focus on rotation of the popular tunes. And we all know renowned DJ Casey Kasem went on to turn the Top 40 concept into a marketing phenomenon in the music business.

Balter draws the analogy to consumer behavior, stating at any given time people can carry around about 40 products or services in their heads they are willing to talk about. Yes, the Top 40 product playlists will vary from individual to individual based on personal experiences, passions and preferences. Having said that the “goldmine” for any marketer is to make the Top 40. Knowing the playlist is in a constant state of flux and change, the opportunity is there over time to move on it. And narrower audiences (we refer to them as Brand Super Targets) defined mostly by their passion for the category you play in, offer the sweetest opportunity to secure a revered brand playlist position.

Role of PR in the Changing Communications Landscape

There’s no question advertising is by definition an interruptive medium. Many believe the crack in the highly vaunted veneer of this marketing tool flows from an ingrained lack of credibility. It is paid solicitation and everyone within ear or eyeshot knows it. So why do marketers continue to spend more and more, as Balter puts it, “to deliver messages consumers are trying harder and harder to avoid? ….It is virtually impossible these days to break through without some form of advocacy.” This can include sources of believe-able influence from editorial media, from testimonials or even a family member’s recommendation. “Focus is moving away from mindless repetition toward meaningful engagement,” Balter reports.

Can we agree that TV viewing of a 30-second commercial is passive? And can we agree that the power of a recommendation from a trusted source FAR exceeds the value of a paid solicitation to buy no matter how clever? If so, we have arrived at the threshold of what makes PR such an important asset in the brand-builders arsenal.

The Global Editor and Playlist Maker…

PR outcomes serve two meaningful objectives in the ongoing competition for share of mind and wallet:

First, to help crack the clutter code and edit down the choices for consumer consideration. There are simply too many products chasing consumers on any given day. Too many paid messages from too many sources, emanating from too many media platforms that create too many attempts at interruption. Remember the Top 40… only so many slots in the brain to occupy anyway. So editorial media and personalities — from magazines, newspapers, web sites, social forums, the TODAY SHOW to Oprah — provide great service to us all. They do this by bringing focus and credibility to products and services vetted in the editorial columns of mainstream media, recommended through the testimonials of respected bloggers or endowed with celebrity status when Oprah works her magic to discuss things she likes and uses.

The second and perhaps ultimately more important outcome is advocacy. When others say it instead of the marketer themselves the message gains added credibility and intrusiveness. PR is all about third-party communication. Whether it’s through the voices of outside experts, the media themselves or via tactics that attract the attention of alpha-consumers who routinely spread the gospel about the things they like amongst their friends and families (word of mouth).