“Does That Make Sense? Mas o Menos?”
Four press events last week, two new business proposals this week. No joke.
Coming into this program, I had a handful of questions regarding the new business process here in Spain: How is a PR proposal developed? Who develops it? Two people? Twenty people? Does it have the same sort of foundation that our new business pitches have in the U.S.?
This week, I got answers.
As luck would have it, here in office, PR strategies were being developed for two Spanish-based brands interested in expanding to — you guessed it — the U.S. of A. The accounts would live in Spain, but the programs would be executed in the U.S. The team needed to understand the media landscape, effective PR approaches and industry insights relevant for America. For the pitch to be well-received, it had to be tailored to PR “norms” in the States.
Cue internal monologue: Hey, I can help with this!
My assignment was to help write the plans in English, and the team in Madrid would translate them into Spanish. Easy? No. Impossible? Definitely not.
Sidenote — being able to share my knowledge, experiences and what I’ve learned about PR in the U.S. has definitely been one of the coolest parts of this journey so far.
After drafting the strategy, I worked to explain it to my Spanish colleagues. I found myself constantly saying, “Does that make sense? Mas or menos?” Between my lack of Spanish and my colleagues’ developing English, we’d go back and forth for a few minutes before we’d both land on the same page. “Yes, it makes sense.”
So, what’s it’s like to develop a new business deck in Spain? It’s so similar to the States. A few other quick observations:
· Insights Matter — Just like in the U.S., industry analysis is a must. We can’t just present our tactics; we have to set the stage first.
· Show me the Money — What’s the ROI? Will this be successful in the States? Why? This must be clearly acknowledged in the presentation.
· It Takes a Village — Pun intended. When we’d land on an idea, before I knew it, we’d be pulling someone in from social and digital and media planning to weigh in with their thoughts. Yes, we were the PR “experts” but nothing was solidified until the Village weighed in. So cool.
The point is, no matter where in the world a PR proposal is developed, 1) insights 2) ROI and 3) collaboration are key.
Does that make sense? Mas o menos? :)
