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Invention in PR
A handbook for pushing the limits of PR to inventing things, rather than only promoting them. When PR teams live or die on the success or failure of the products and services they support, Invention in PR shows how they can take a stronger hand in their creation.
This book says the profession can do better than waiting for someone else to determine, develop and package what a company sells. It spurs PR pros to go beyond what they're handed and come up with new products and services that change a brand's life.
Through tales of award-winning campaigns passionately told by their creator, readers learn how to apply invention at the beginning of the PR process and take away usable strategies and tactics. With PR under constant pressure to evolve, communications pioneer Adam Ritchie uncovers practitioners' aptitude for invention and empowers them to harness it.
For PR professionals ready to rebel against taking a back seat to their counterparts in marketing and advertising, Invention in PR teaches them how to beat every other discipline to the punch by coming up with the product or service idea first.
This guide will fire up professionals of all generations about what they can build. It will change the way experienced pros approach their jobs, and inspire students to break the rules in the best possible ways.
This book says the profession can do better than waiting for someone else to determine, develop and package what a company sells. It spurs PR pros to go beyond what they're handed and come up with new products and services that change a brand's life.
Through tales of award-winning campaigns passionately told by their creator, readers learn how to apply invention at the beginning of the PR process and take away usable strategies and tactics. With PR under constant pressure to evolve, communications pioneer Adam Ritchie uncovers practitioners' aptitude for invention and empowers them to harness it.
For PR professionals ready to rebel against taking a back seat to their counterparts in marketing and advertising, Invention in PR teaches them how to beat every other discipline to the punch by coming up with the product or service idea first.
This guide will fire up professionals of all generations about what they can build. It will change the way experienced pros approach their jobs, and inspire students to break the rules in the best possible ways.
151 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 28, 2022
1 person is currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Adam Ritchie
1 book9 followersAdam Ritchie advocates for public relations to evolve from its past as an organization's mouthpiece to its future as an organization's creative engine. Nationally regarded in the U.S., he's been named the field's most innovative professional (PRovoke), launched campaigns honored as the most creative (PRWeek) and runs a practice recognized as the top boutique agency in the country (PR News). He has won every award in the industry multiple times, presented at dozens of conferences and spoken at more than 50 universities on the Invention-first approach to PR.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 13, 2023
As a Gen-Z communicator looking to make a shift from Journalism to PR, Adam hit home his breakdown of a lot of the PR strategies we see today.
My formative years have been spent amid the McDonald’s Travis Scott meal and the Ice Spice Dunkin drink, Ritchie lays out the why and the how of strategies like these, which are not limited to brand collabs.
I have a new perspective in what PR can be and hope to build on these principles as I move ahead in my career.
My formative years have been spent amid the McDonald’s Travis Scott meal and the Ice Spice Dunkin drink, Ritchie lays out the why and the how of strategies like these, which are not limited to brand collabs.
I have a new perspective in what PR can be and hope to build on these principles as I move ahead in my career.
September 15, 2023
This book honestly changed my perspective on PR. It gave me so much hope and confidence in my creativity and desire to think out of the box. Adam talks about how PR professionals are no longer the end of he conveyor belt and have so much to offer. If you are looking for an informative but interesting book on pr I highly recommend this one.
February 7, 2023
Adam Richie is a masterful storyteller and strategist. His entrepreneurial approach to solving communications and branding challenges, detailed in this book is an adrenaline shot of much-needed inspiration in a sea of communications sameness. A must-read!
November 7, 2024
I have been part of the public relations (PR) industry for the past 45 years and have heard so many talks and presentations I’ve lost count. When I had the pleasure, though, of attending a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) program featuring Adam Ritchie talking about his latest book, Invention in PR, I took notice.
Adam, you see, is instrumental in the effort to elevate the public relations profession from not only serving as the voice of an organization, but also as its creative engine. Adam advocates for PR to be involved with inventing products and services rather than just promoting them. Adam makes a compelling case in his book, Invention in PR, for public relations to seize the opportunity by proactively identifying and developing product or service ideas first.
With its solid background and expertise in media and community relations, and serving as the company’s eyes and ears in the public, PR is well suited to create newsworthy offerings that meet consumer needs. And it is tremendous, indeed, when everyone comes together and stretches the definition of what is possible.
Adam’s book takes you step-by-step through the creative process, from product and service development to promotional campaigns and success measurement. He includes numerous examples of invention in PR at work; effective campaigns backed by strong products/services that meet a need and exceed consumer expectations. It’s all about useful and effective invention from beginning to end. Remember, everything must protect and strengthen the brand.
With my longstanding involvement with issues, crises, and reputation management, I was especially interested in Adam’s chapter on Invention in a Crisis, and he did not disappoint. The chapter is filled with examples of creative approaches to crisis communications. Of course, discretion is necessary depending on the nature of the businesses and crises themselves.
During the height of the pandemic when people were adamant about staying six feet away from one another, Dos Equis saved the day by making a six-foot beer cooler. Burger King provided “Safe Order Masks” printed with order forms patrons could use at the restaurant’s drive-through lanes. Taking advantage of the increase in people staying at home and playing games, Heinz offered an all-red, 570-piece “Ketchup Puzzle.” Later, when the restrictions eased, it was another beer brand, Heineken, that helped people come out of hiding by providing mobile hair salons parked outside bars and pubs so patrons could get haircuts while sipping on a cold Heineken.
Invention in PR explains the many possibilities there are to expand the PR profession, and should be read by everyone in PR, of course, but also those in additional fields, including executive leaders, business owners, employers, operations leaders, and anyone interested in how to be inventive and creative.
“Start with a concept. Work with a manufacturer, a cause or a relevant influencer group to make it real. Then do what PR excelled at for its first 100 years – tell the story,” advises Adam. “Do that, and you’ve made the leap from communicating about things to inventing them.”
One other thing. Be sure to read and absorb Invention in PR. - David A. Jolley, APR
Adam, you see, is instrumental in the effort to elevate the public relations profession from not only serving as the voice of an organization, but also as its creative engine. Adam advocates for PR to be involved with inventing products and services rather than just promoting them. Adam makes a compelling case in his book, Invention in PR, for public relations to seize the opportunity by proactively identifying and developing product or service ideas first.
With its solid background and expertise in media and community relations, and serving as the company’s eyes and ears in the public, PR is well suited to create newsworthy offerings that meet consumer needs. And it is tremendous, indeed, when everyone comes together and stretches the definition of what is possible.
Adam’s book takes you step-by-step through the creative process, from product and service development to promotional campaigns and success measurement. He includes numerous examples of invention in PR at work; effective campaigns backed by strong products/services that meet a need and exceed consumer expectations. It’s all about useful and effective invention from beginning to end. Remember, everything must protect and strengthen the brand.
With my longstanding involvement with issues, crises, and reputation management, I was especially interested in Adam’s chapter on Invention in a Crisis, and he did not disappoint. The chapter is filled with examples of creative approaches to crisis communications. Of course, discretion is necessary depending on the nature of the businesses and crises themselves.
During the height of the pandemic when people were adamant about staying six feet away from one another, Dos Equis saved the day by making a six-foot beer cooler. Burger King provided “Safe Order Masks” printed with order forms patrons could use at the restaurant’s drive-through lanes. Taking advantage of the increase in people staying at home and playing games, Heinz offered an all-red, 570-piece “Ketchup Puzzle.” Later, when the restrictions eased, it was another beer brand, Heineken, that helped people come out of hiding by providing mobile hair salons parked outside bars and pubs so patrons could get haircuts while sipping on a cold Heineken.
Invention in PR explains the many possibilities there are to expand the PR profession, and should be read by everyone in PR, of course, but also those in additional fields, including executive leaders, business owners, employers, operations leaders, and anyone interested in how to be inventive and creative.
“Start with a concept. Work with a manufacturer, a cause or a relevant influencer group to make it real. Then do what PR excelled at for its first 100 years – tell the story,” advises Adam. “Do that, and you’ve made the leap from communicating about things to inventing them.”
One other thing. Be sure to read and absorb Invention in PR. - David A. Jolley, APR
May 4, 2023
Adam Ritchie's book is unlike any other I've read having anything to do with the art of public relations. It is neither a self-aggrandizing autobiography written by a retired crisis counselor; nor is it an arcane treatise by some researcher talking about the importance of data or measurement.
Rather, Adam has literally invented a new type of PR in which he and his firm actually invent ideas for products, services and organizations as opposed to storytelling about products, services and organizations that already exist. It's a HUGE distinction and Adam's myriad examples taught this old dog many new tricks.
I cannot recommend it more highly for someone just entering the field or a grizzled veteran like this reporter who spotted a struggling youngster by the name of Edward Bernays and suggested the people at Dove Soap give him a crack at reinventing the soap bar. :-)
Rather, Adam has literally invented a new type of PR in which he and his firm actually invent ideas for products, services and organizations as opposed to storytelling about products, services and organizations that already exist. It's a HUGE distinction and Adam's myriad examples taught this old dog many new tricks.
I cannot recommend it more highly for someone just entering the field or a grizzled veteran like this reporter who spotted a struggling youngster by the name of Edward Bernays and suggested the people at Dove Soap give him a crack at reinventing the soap bar. :-)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews