A “Do” and a “Don’t” for Finding PR Services

We’re a full services agency comprised of women who love what we do. We have sat on both sides of the desk and are uniquely qualified to offer suggestions on how to conduct a search for PR assistance.

First...DO have a budget in mind. Often, prospective clients will say, “propose what you think we need.” We can chat with you just a bit and have some great ideas about how and what kind of PR initiatives can benefit you/your brand/company. But, we are often reminded of the Dilbert cartoon in which he says something like: “It will cost whatever you put in the budget. If we get a lot of money we can build something great.” Smaller budgets can (and do) net big rewards but clients also need to be cognizant of the adage, “You get what you pay for.” So, be prepared with at least a range. It’s counterproductive for us to spend time creating a proposal that is out of your ballpark, or worse yet, underwhelming because we based it on a low number when you were expecting to be wowed. Much better to tell us what you can spend and let us create a custom program around that number.

DON’T forget why you are seeking to use a PR firm. We get paid for our expertise, time, and ideas. We’ve spent decades working with the media and building relationships. We know what is newsworthy and how to position your brand accordingly. We need your timely interaction and the right collateral to support our efforts on your behalf. For example, we just lost a great opportunity for a client because they had no high-resolution images of their product and didn’t want to spend the money to have it photographed. No, we can’t “get by without it.” Trust us. That’s why you hired us in the first place.

A New Approach

In today’s competitive business climate and conservative spending, it’s more important than ever to know the triggers that will cause your customers to open their wallets. People are willing to spend (and they do) if you give them the right incentive at the right time. If the product or service is associated with a recognized brand, be sure you use the name and the logo right up front. Your product has to be good value, design, and price but the brand can make it great…and more appealing to shoppers.

Make sure your message appeals to your customer. A recent national survey illustrates the importance of knowing customer hot buttons.

The % that regard each factor as extremely important when considering the purchase of a new food, beverage, personal/household care product:

a. 57% provides better value for the money
b. 42% offers better quality
c. 40% is longer lasting, more durable
d. 34% simplifies my life
e. 33% offers a healthier option
f. 33% helps save time
g. 22% is made from all natural ingredients
h. 17% is innovative

It’s not rocket science. Be visible. Be consistent. Be important. Be what your customers want.

A New Way of Thinking

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He
held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a
few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped
them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote
some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would
see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to
the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to
see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were
you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"
The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a
different way."

I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply
said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so
lucky that they were not blind.  Should we be surprised that the second
sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be
innovative. Think differently and positively.

A New Year: The Right Marketing and Media Mix for 2010

Companies that have survived the great recession did so because they didn’t retreat into the shadows by slicing their marketing, advertising and PR budgets to zero. They understood (and understand) that “to make money, you have to spend money.” Yes, they were frugal in their spending. Most cut their budgets. However, they remain in business today because they know you can’t sit on the sidelines and simply wait for things to get better. 

So what are those companies doing to get ready for the slow but sure climb to economic recovery in 2010 and beyond? They are going to use multi-media advertising and public relations programs to be visible to their potential customers as pocketbooks and wallets begin to open. The American consumer will spend if we give them reasons. If your product and message are both relevant and top-of-mind you will get the sale. As we say (over and over), “people cannot buy what they don’t know about.”

What’s the best way to reach them? First, understand where they are. That’s where you want to be. Are your customers reading magazines, watching TV, surfing the net or going to sporting events? It’s not enough to know your customer demographics. Not every $55k household has the same lifestyle and spending habits. Local cable TV and regional magazines could be right for your target audience. Or not. Your potential customers may do most of their shopping online. Do you know? If not, find out. Second, understand the buying process. It takes much longer to cinch the sale of a sofa than it does a sweater. We know that home furnishings customers like to gather lots of information and most want to hold printed literature in their hands in addition to internet research.  Third, understand that there is no single “right” media vehicle. An integrated approach is the most cost and time efficient way to reach your customer. 

Last, but certainly not least, hire someone with marketing, advertising and PR expertise. Let your sales folks do the job of selling. Financial whizzes should handle forecasting, payables and receivables. Ditto, your product development people need to focus on new designs. Many company CEOs think they know how to buy advertising and write a good press release. But unless they have an agency or publishing background, most of them would be wrong. To reach out to your potential customers with compelling messages you need people who are experts at what they do. If your company is large enough, an in-house marketing department might be in order. It’s unlikely one person will bring you the breadth of experience of a full services agency or have time “to do it all”, so you might still need outside help. The other option is to hire an agency in lieu of an in-house marketing department. For some of our clients, we report to senior management and provide all the company’s marketing needs. For others, we support their in-house folks with ideas and project execution. Either way, you need a range of expertise and knowledge from people dedicated to marketing and media that can research and develop the right media mix for your success. 

August 2009 - Building Your Brand
Be sure your brand image and message is consistent when creating advertising and collateral materials.  Often clients “tire” of the same look because they live with it day-in and day-out.  They want to “reinvent the wheel” each time we create a new advertisement or brochure.  Constantly changing your color palette, layout and logo treatment can be detrimental to your marketing efforts.  Regardless of the size of your budget, with time and consistency your brand can become recognizable. 

July 2009 - Give Them Reasons to Buy
In times of trouble, it is human nature to find comfort in the familiar and nostalgic, while surrounding ourselves with things that feel stable and reassuring.  We know that people can be motivated to purchase when there is a perceived value and a sense of immediate benefit.  Will their lives improve?  Will their family be more comfortable?  Does owning your product or having your service offer a tangible reward?  Give your customers reasons to spend and they will.

June 2009 - The difference between editorial and advertising
Those not familiar with editorial (earned media) and advertising (paid media) often confuse the two.  If we are doing our jobs effectively, PR (public relations) results in “editorial.”  Editorial means stories or articles that editors or journalists write because they believe the idea or product will be appealing to their readers.  The topic must be “new” news, timely, unique and not a commercial for a product or service.  Consumer editors aren’t interested in your best sellers because they want to show their readers what is new in the marketplace and inspire them with fresh ideas.  Media folks visit a lot of trade shows; they know what is “out there.”  So when we say something is “new,” we need to ensure it really is new and not another version or price point of something already in the market.  We can’t buy editorial…it’s not like advertising in which the client pays for their products to be seen.  And, in most instances, it doesn’t matter if you advertise with a magazine or media outlet as editors determine what will be covered, not the sales department.  When editors choose to include your company or product in the publication or website be sure to share the honor with your customers, employees, and sales associates.  This free advice:  to get editorial coverage, do your homework and only pitch it to the media as “new” if really is.  Otherwise, let’s talk about advertising opportunities.

Leave it to the Experts.

We sometimes have clients who want to cut corners by writing their own press release and then have us distribute it.  It may save on the front side but, in the long run, delivers a poor ROI and can be a waste of money for already limited budgets.  Example:  we were asked to distribute a release about a new CEO.  The company not only wanted to announce new leadership but also was interested in relocating and hoped to get inquiries from real estate owners.  The problem?  First, their release didn’t mention their product.  They assumed that all media would recognize the company and be eager to run a story.  Secondly, out of concern for their employees, they didn’t want to specifically mention the idea of relocating.  In fact, the release didn’t even state their current location.  The CEO announcement got a lot of ink in the industry where they were known.  However, the general news and business media had no idea who the company was or why they should give it coverage.  Recently, we had a request to help a company with its nationwide debut of an innovative new product.  We were asked to reduce our fee by distributing their already-written release.  The name of the product was mentioned 20 times in 3 paragraphs so it read like a commercial, and it had over 15 grammar and typographical errors.  The moral of these stories?  Don’t be pennywise and pound-foolish.  If you have great news to share, hire a PR firm and let them do their jobs.  It will be worth it; we promise.

Marketing Your Most Valuable Asset
The ability to show others who you are and what you are about is good business sense.  Reprinted with permission from Home Furnishings Business magazine.
For the article on marketing your most valuable asset, click here.

May 2009 - Talk the talk and walk the walk
Have you taken a look at your website lately?  A close look?  Is it written in a language your target audience will understand and appreciate?  When we research a potential new client we visit their website.  Recently, we were studying a consumer site that features products for children’s rooms.  Imagine our surprise when we read the following text about one of their beautiful collections for girls’ rooms, “Our objective here was to hit a young girl of 7 to 14 that wants to make her room her haven.”  Now, we are pretty certain they didn’t mean it like it sounds but we wonder what the moms shopping for their darling daughters thought.  This free advice:  communicate with your customers in lingo that they not only understand but in a way that delightfully engages them with your products and brand.

The Secret of Every Successful Business Leader
If you are aspiring to lead, find mentors and learn from them.  Are you a mentor?  Be the person that others want to emulate.  Learn more in this article written by Kathy Wall during her tenure as president of WithIt.  Reprinted with permission of "Home Furnishings Business Magazine."
Click here to read

Timely parable we think says it all
We accept that in challenging times, companies scale back expenses.  What always confuses us, however, is that the departments and services that experience the first cuts are the very ones that should be last.  This parable is so timely that we passed it along to our clients and now to you.  Remember, people cannot buy what they do not know about!

THE MAN WHO SOLD HOT DOGS

There was a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs.
He was hard of hearing, so he had no radio.  
He had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspaper.
But he sold good hot dogs.
He put signs up on the highway telling how good they were.
He stood on the side of the road and cried, “Buy a hot dog, mister?”
And people bought.
He increased his meat and bun orders.
He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade.
He finally got his son home from college to help him out.
But then something happened.
His son said, “Father, haven’t you been listening to the radio?”
“Haven’t you been reading the newspaper?”
There’s a big depression.”
“The European situation is terrible.”
The domestic situation is worse.”
Whereupon the father thought, “Well, my son has been to college: he reads the papers and listens to the radio, he ought to know.”
So his father cut down on his meat and bun orders, took down his advertising signs, and no longer bothered to stand out on the highway to sell his hot dogs.
And his hot dog sales fell almost overnight. 
“You’re right, son,” the father said to the boy.  
“We are certainly in the middle of a great depression.”

Women Do Impact Industry
Women can help you attract, retain, encourage and fully leverage female brainpower and talent.  Written by Kathy Wall during her tenure as president of WithIt, this article is reprinted with permission from "Home Furnishings Business" magazine.
Click here to view full article "Women Do Impact Industry."

Our approach?  Good old-fashioned common sense and creativity.  Through captivating imagery and language, we can help you break ahead of your competition and stand out in the world of the ordinary.
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