Why Customer Loyalty Can’t be Invented

It Has to Be Earned

A few Sundays ago I was watching Katy Perry’s CBS Sunday Morning interview with Anthony Mason that charted her journey from failed gospel country singer to faux pin-up girl pop sensation. I admit it, her songs are catchy, but that’s not why I remember her name. I remember her for her controversial Sesame Street appearance (thank you TMZ for the apply written footnote: “this post was brought to you by the letter C cup”), and for her bras made of whipped cream canisters or decorated as cupcakes.

People love outrageous stories, and along with the catchiness of her songs, her public antics have propelled her into a bright spotlight. That is the job of PR.

I am not suggesting that serious companies bring out their executives to dance around in cupcake bras. What I am suggesting is that a good PR program will identify the opportunities to stir the pot – in a good way (see our post on what PR can learn from the Tea Party). It will help a company understand the runway of opportunity that runs up the middle of a big market and above the competition. This kind of program is executed well with a spokesperson who can articulate a contrarian (and compelling) point of view without insulting the rest of his or her ecosystem. It’s not easy.

PR’s job is to bring this message or product to its intended audiences. As PR professionals, we deal in “earned media.” We earn the interest of our audiences through an attention to the right message and the right timing (as opposed to paid media, which appears most often in the form of advertisements).

However, the most brilliantly conceived PR campaign will not sustain a fundamentally flawed product or business plan. Once we remove the beautiful dressings, the ornate debut presentations, and the aspirational messages we convey about growth potential, the thing we’re selling must stand on its own. If it does, we can help sustain its momentum through regular awareness regarding the things that make it unique in ways that matter. If it does not, no amount of controversy or public antics will conjure customers.

Much has been written about the making of Katy Perry. Is her persona one of her own making or was it created by brilliant music label marketers? There are many skeptics who fall into the second camp. Part of me hopes they are right. As I watch her prance around in bold bustiers and travel to India for her wedding with plenty of photo opportunities atop decorated elephants, I wonder what her mother must think. Yet, she is on the cusp of tying Michael Jackson’s record for five chart topping hits from the same album. Bonne chance!