Global PR and Local PR – which one is right for me?

16/09/2024 16:48:42

In business, effective communication strategies that transcend demographics are crucial. Whether you are communicating important messages to stakeholders or showcasing the latest innovations to your customers, each communication will require a different approach.

In PR, a global PR campaign and a local public relations campaign are two distinct approaches that each come with their own set of strategies, challenges, and benefits. Whether you're a multinational corporation looking to strengthen your brand's global presence or a local business aiming to build a robust community connection, understanding the differences between these two forms of PR is essential.

What is Global PR and how can it benefit my business?

Before looking at how to approach global PR and local public relations campaigns, it helps to understand the key differences between each discipline.

Global PR, also known as international public relations, involves managing and executing an effective PR campaign worldwide. This approach is ideal for organisations that operate across multiple countries and where it may be more challenging to maintain a cohesive brand image and message across diverse markets.

Managing successful global PR or international public relations campaigns requires a deep understanding of the overall culture, spoken languages, and the media landscape in the country you are targeting. This helps to ensure that your communications resonate universally while still being adaptable to local nuances.

If you have an overseas presence, having a global PR campaign in place can help to build brand awareness in the countries that matter the most to you. It can also help you to maintain brand consistency, and ensure that your key messages, core values, and overall image remain uniform and translate as they should internationally.

An international PR campaign can also include crisis management to protect and safeguard the brand and its global reputation. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to predict a crisis, but having a well-coordinated global PR strategy in place can proactively manage both local and international media, stop the spread of misinformation, and deliver a unified response.

Finally, global PR can help to manage stakeholder engagement. If you have customers, investors, stakeholders, and government bodies overseas, a successful global strategy can tailor messages to reflect values and help facilitate two-way communication which is crucial to maintaining trust and strong relationships.

At Partners PR, we are part of International Public Relations Team, which means we have professional agency connections around the world to ensure each campaign has an impact and gets the required results in the countries that matter to you.

What is a local PR campaign and how can it help me?

Local PR, on the other hand, is centred around crafting a public relations strategy that specifically targets and is tailored towards a particular region, town or city. This approach is essential to foster trust and build a good reputation amongst stakeholders in your local area.

Unlike global PR and international public relations, which focuses on broad, consistent messaging across multiple markets, local PR requires a deep understanding of one specific location, including the main media outlets, economic factors that may influence audiences within that area, local influencers, and a knowledge of any local issues that could help to formulate your campaign.

A local PR campaign is great for showcasing business growth in the local area, including office moves, new contract wins, staff updates, and financial milestones. This type of news content helps to shape your brand’s identity in the local area, build your reputation, and also support employer branding which is crucial in attracting new talent within the business, and also retaining talent.

A skilled PR agency, such as Partners PR will work with you to identify local news angles and use their expert knowledge of the media and local landscapes to craft news stories that resonate with your target audience, taking into consideration the news agenda within that specific area.

The key objectives of a local PR campaign revolve around building and maintaining relationships with local stakeholders, including your customers, local media, and community leaders. To do this, your PR partner will create a localised campaign that is tailored specifically for each demographic, ensuring your story is heard by the right people at the right time.

Similar to global PR, a local PR strategy can play a critical role in crisis management, addressing any issues or crises at a local level to prevent the spread of misinformation, which could tarnish your broader reputation. In addition, local PR can be a great tool in managing your online presence, with a steady stream of positive news stories; and can help to increase overall visibility in the local area.

The bottom line

No matter how big your organisation is, a carefully thought-out PR campaign can help you to cut through the noise, build and maintain relationships with your customers, and get your story heard by the people that matter.

While global PR and local PR have distinct roles, if you have an overseas presence, we recommend you combine both approaches to ensure your brand message remains consistent and impactful at both a local and global level.

Here at Partners PR, for over 36 years we have been a trusted PR partner for businesses all over the world. We think outside the box and pride ourselves on being talented wordsmiths and storytellers, crafting hard-hitting local and global public relations campaigns that make a difference to your bottom line. If you’d like to discuss how local and global PR can benefit your business, get in touch with our friendly experts today.