The Best Of Times The Worst Of Times

Writen by Jeff Crilley

The fax machine in our newsroom is constantly spitting out news releases. And most of the time, I read what's being pitched and wonder if anyone involved bothered to watch the news before pressing "send."

I remember in the days following Hurricane Katrina, seeing hundreds of news releases that had absolutely nothing to do with the disaster. I wanted to pick up the phone, call the poor PR person who was faxing us and shout "Turn on your TV set!"

On the other hand, there are countless days each year when it's so slow in newsrooms across the country, we journalists are lighting candles to the news gods praying for something interesting to happen.

If you want to crank up your PR machine, you need to know that the news biz is actually no different that every other business. It's based on supply and demand. On a busy day when the supply of news is plentiful, there may not be much of a demand for your story. But pitch the same story to us on a slow news day and we are all over it.

Holidays are great times to try and get your story covered. As a general rule, anytime government offices are closed, it's a slow news day and the media will be anxious to cover anything that even resembles a story.

TV, radio and newspapers still have to put out the news, whether there's anything newsworthy going on or not. The week between Christmas and New Years is notorious for being the slowest of the year. Time and time again, stories that would never make the news during a normal news cycle suddenly become interesting when no one else is feeding us news.

On the other hand, every once in a while the media will get a hold of a big story and you'll have a feeding frenzy. Last year's hurricanes, the start of the war in Iraq and the Sept. 11th attacks are all examples of the kind of mega-stories I'm talking about. When we're in one of these kind of feeding frenzies, TV and radio stations will devote entire newscasts to the story and the newspaper will publish a special section on one event. It seems no other story even matters.

When the media is totally focused on one subject, don't even waste your time with another story. It won't make air.

Each station is trying to out "team coverage" the other and before you know it, there's no news time left for anything else. They'll even cancel sports and weather if a story becomes big enough. I remember when I was doing nothing but soft news, sometimes people would call with a great story and I'd have to tell them to call back when things returned to normal.

If you see these news typhoons coming, you have only two choices really. You can wait until it blows over and then pitch your story or you can take advantage of the media madness.

For instance, it doesn't matter how poorly your team did last year, on opening day every baseball team in the country is World Series-bound. Hope springs eternal, right?

Well, a disc jockey in Dallas named Alan Kabel knew he couldn't fight the media attention being given to opening day for the Texas Rangers. So he came up with an angle to complement the coverage and suddenly it was whole new ball game.

Alan sent out a news release announcing that in a show of support for the Rangers he and his morning show co-host would be sitting in every seat in the ballpark on the day before opening day. Pure publicity stunt, right? You bet it was. But you know what? It was so timely no one could pass it up. To use a baseball analogy, Alan hit a grand slam. Every TV station in town showed up to cover his stunt.

Alan knew the TV folks would be out at the ballpark that day anyway doing a preview of opening day and all of them would be looking for an angle. It was either get video of Alan going from seat-to-seat in the 50-thousand seat ballpark or interview the head groundskeeper on field conditions.

He had the right story at the right time. If he had tried it on opening day, the game itself would have overshadowed his stunt. Two days before---he would have been too early. The day after opening day? Too late. When it comes to news, timing is truly everything.

Jeff Crilley is an Emmy Award winning TV reporter in Dallas who speaks at no charge on the subject of publicity. He's the author of the first PR book written by a working journalist. His book, Free Publicity, is available at bookstores everywhere or http://www.jeffcrilley.com

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Changing Business More Media Covering Fewer Stories

Writen by Steven Silvers

We've noticed that while there are increasing numbers of news media outlets, the numbers of stories being reported on is actually less.

This year's "State of the News Media" report from the Project for Excellence in Journalism calls this "the new paradox of journalism... more outlets covering fewer stories." Simply put, increasing numbers of news media outlets – print, electronic and online -- are thinning out the audience, thus reducing the number of journalists each outlet can afford to have.

Having more media outlets with fewer reporters each is redefining the relationship between the business press and the institutions they cover. On a national level, corporate newsmakers often have more leverage to manage major story coverage because there are so many competing news organizations jockeying for fresh information and access to official sources. Competitive pressure can also cause a stampede to unconfirmed headlines, as when the national media reported that the Sago miners had been found alive.

And some companies make their own negative situations worse when they arrogantly interpret the media's limitations as an blanket invitation to obfuscate or obstruct coverage of bad financial reports, industrial accidents, executive malfeasance and other "bad news" events.

On a more local level, competition among thinly staffed newsrooms keeps many corporate stories – positive and negative – from being covered at all. Business editors are obligated to commit reporters to the same major stories as everyone else, and this understandably makes them protective of what discretionary news hole they have left. As a result, local-market business editors around the country routinely pass on legitimately newsworthy events because they simply don't have reporters available, or because the story is being covered by someone else.

This of course doesn't phase the flackery industry, which continues to inundate business media with unsolicited company press releases and story "pitches." Rocky Mountain News business editor Rob Reuteman figures he gets 1,200 publicity pitches each week.

If he spent on average two minutes reading and considering everything directed to him – he'd spend 40 hours a week doing nothing else.

. . . . . . . . . .

Originally published in Scatterbox by Steven Silvers at http://www.stevensilvers.com

Steven Silvers is an accomplished reputation management, corporate affairs and communications strategy consultant with 25 years experience helping organizations navigate through today's increasingly complex nexus of business, government, news media and community.

For information on having Steve speak to your business or organization, please drop a note to scatterbox@stevensilvers.com

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Editorial Calendars A Key To Publicizing Your Business

Writen by Bill Stoller

What is the one thing that all of the best public relations
agencies do every year?

They research and compile editorial calendars from publications
that are pertinent to their client's business.

You should too.

What's an editorial calendar?

Editorial calendars are schedules of what topics a publication
plans for cover for a particular month. For example, the INC.
editorial calendar for July 2003
http://www.inc.com/advertise/magazine/calendar.html states that
they're writing an article on various business services.

Bingo!

If you feel that you can contribute to this particular topic,
call or email the editorial department at INC. (try to "speak" to
the managing editor) and find out who (which reporter) has been
assigned to write the story. Email or call the reporter and
explain how you can contribute. It's that simple -- it takes less
time than writing this article - and is much more effective than
blast-faxing a garbage bound press release to inappropriate
reporters.

Final thoughts: Many publications post their editorial calendars
on their Web sites -- usually they're found in their advertising
media kits. Otherwise, contact the publication's advertising
departments and ask for a calendar. Check for editorial deadlines
- many publications work 6 months in advance.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America's top publicists.  Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp
, he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of
scoring big publicity.  For free articles, killer publicity tips
and much, much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

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Recessions Dont Last Forever

Writen by Robert A. Kelly

It could, but what if it doesn't?

Will you be prepared?

Will those key external audiences of yours, whose behaviors REALLY affect you, look favorably at you and your business?

Because, once the economy emerges from recession, if they don't, you'll have one arm tied behind your back.

Don't let that happen. Instead, decide now which groups of people outside your organization can help or hurt you the most. For our purposes, that #1 group is your key target audience.

What's going through the minds of members of that audience? You and your people must monitor those perceptions by interacting with these important folks, and asking questions. Yes, that takes time, but you must do it!

Take this approach when you actually meet those members. Start with questions. What do you think of our operation, products or services? Stay alert for wrong thinking, misconceptions and inaccuracies that can hurt. Watch for rumors or beliefs that can lead to behaviors that will pain you. And be especially sensitive to negative conversational tone. Does it suggest that a problem may be on the horizon?

The answers you gather will let you create a corrective public relations goal. It may call for straightening out a damaging misconception about your service quality, or it may seek to replace an inaccurate perception with the truth. Sometimes, your public relations goal will zero in on a particularly hurtful rumor with plans to lay it to rest. For that matter, even a less than positive overall impression of your organization can be targeted for improvement by your public relations goal

How do you achieve that goal? You select a strategy that shows you how to get there. There are only three choices. Create opinion (perceptions) where none exist, change existing opinion, or reinforce it. Select the one that obviously fits your public relations goal.

Now, we think message. What are we going to say to your target audience?

First, your message must aim at correcting the misconception, inaccuracy, rumor, even a lukewarm enthusiasm for your organization. But it must be persuasive, and compelling with its meaning as clear as possible. It must also prevent any further misunderstanding. Try it out on a test sampling of members of your target audience, then adjust the content if needed.

How will you get your message to the attention of that key external audience? "Beasts of burden," that's how! Better known as communications tactics that will carry that message to the right eyes and ears.

And there are many tactics awaiting you. Personal contact, radio interviews, newsletters and open houses. Or contests, news conferences, emails and press releases. There are literally scores available.

So, after two or three months of aggressive communications between you and your key audience, are you making any progress?

Only way to find out is to monitor once again what members of your key audience are thinking. Same questions as the first set of interviews, but now what you want to see are perceptions altered in your direction.

For example, you want to know if that inaccurate belief has been successfully neutralized. Or that misconception cleared up. Or that rumor effectively killed.

Certainly, if you discover little progress in those areas, you will revisit your message and evaluate whether it offers believable facts, figures and rationale. In particular, you should revet it for clarity.

And, because there are so many communications tactics available to you, selecting higher-impact tactics, then applying them with greater frequency, will probably be the ticket for the second round.

However, as the day arrives when answers to your remonitoring questions show clear, consistent improvement, you may be excused for concluding that your public relations effort is, at long last, taking advantage of an economy emerging from recession.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks about the fundamental premise of public relations. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

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Get Free Publicity With Press Releases Amp Other Amazing Business Marketing Ideas

Writen by Sally Morton

The press release is a time-honored marketing strategy to capture free publicity for your business. Publishers of daily newspapers, ezines, and newsletters are especially in need of vast quantities of information to fill up space and provide "newsworthy" and interesting information for their patrons. Journalists welcome your press releases because they are looking for topics to write about that will interest readers.

If you can give them a unique angle to write from, so much the better! Did your business donate money, time, products, or services to a worthy cause? Is your administrative assistant a part-time disc jockey from the Orient, who speaks nine languages, plays the tuba, and rescues animals in her neighborhood? Why is your service or product unique from all others?

Writing a good press release consists of:

1. Use an attention-grabbing headline.

2. In the first paragraph, answer: Who, What, Where, When, & Why.

3. Slant your press release to your audience—make it important and "newsworthy" to them.

4. Focus on the benefits your business offers.

5. Don't use big words, slang, "legalese" (which few people will understand), or overused phrases.

6. Quote statistics whenever possible.

In addition to your press releases, create a "media kit" that includes:

• A cover letter
• A fact sheet
• A business profile and biography of chief executive or founder
• Any available company literature or brochures
• A business card
• Samples and/or photos

Other ways to get free publicity include:

1. Call a reporter. Tell them who you are and what your business does. Offer to give an interview.

2. Write articles and submit them to publications with wide circulation. Always give your byline and your company's information, especially your web address and email.

3. Be a public speaker. Get your name known. Become established as an expert.

4. Sponsor a newsworthy event.

5. Sponsor a team.

6. Visit the website of the United States Small Business Administration for 100+ FREE marketing strategies for your business.

Try your hand at the world's four most amazing advertising strategies:

1. Make your brochure downloadable for the customer to read later or print out on his own printer. (How cost-efficient is that? Your customers use their ink and paper to view your advertisement!)

2. That's almost as amazing as customers paying to buy a cap or tee shirt that advertises your business! Imagine someone wearing your logo tee shirt to Disney World on his or her vacation—how many people will see your company name on someone's chest in one day? Consider how much you pay for the privilege to wear an advertisement for Nike® on your shoes!

3. Isn't it amazing that some car owners keep the plate on the front of their car or the bumper sticker advertising "Jim Bob's Used Cars" in Anywhere-Ville?

4. Word-of-Mouth. You cannot get any cheaper or more amazing than this. Just because he liked you, your product, or service, Joe Q. Public goes out and tells 59 people to come see you. Those 59 people each tell 59 different people. (Multiply that!) And so on. It's absolutely amazing!

Remember, in our information-hungry society, most media want to publish your timely, accurate, and informative articles and press releases. If you give them what they are looking for, it is a win-win situation.

Further, your customer wants to be well-informed about you, your business, and your products or services. Your marketing materials must tell them "how it fits your specific needs" or "how it solves your particular problems." Answer the question: "What's in it for me?" for your potential customers. Once the customer knows how your business benefits them personally, you will have formed a relationship built on trust and understanding. Getting free publicity will be an added plus!

Sally Morton is Publications Editor and Senior Writer with Partners Online LLC (d/b/a http://www.hobbiesgeneratecash.com & http://www.nutsforcars.com). An experienced business copywriter, she can be reached at sally1@ncfreedom.net

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Public Relations And Party Supply Companies

Writen by Lance Winslow

Public Relations Programs and such for Party Supply Companies are not tough due to the number of events they are involved with and yet often sometimes something unique in nature also makes sense because this means a little innovation bonus in the minds of the community. Consider if you will that a Party Supply Company can receive community goodwill thru participation in a Neighborhood Business Mobile Watch Program. What you ask; Why? Well think about the Party Supply business model for a second;

PARTY SUPPLY COMPANIES: These people are always where the action is, town get -togethers, grand openings, and big family events. They are a great resource for your program and always willing to help. They come to volunteer group meetings with great attitudes; this is a major bonus. The upbeat attitude will help in the development of the program. They will be good resources too when it is time to throw a party for the group. They also have delivery vans with big pictures on the sides of happy things like giant balloons, to attract attention, thus many people look at the trucks and then see the magnet sign for the neighborhood mobile watch program. Party supply companies are very visible.

For all these reasons it makes sense to support the community thru participation in such a program and a Party Supply Company can and will bolster their goodwill and make excellent use of such a public relations strategy. Consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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The Four Seasons Of Publicity Building An Allyear Publicity

Writen by Bill Stoller

If you're like most publicity seekers, you probably think one
project at a time.  You've got a new product coming out in April,
so you send out a release in March. You've hired a new executive,
you'll put out a release when she's on board, etc.

For hard-core publicity insiders, though, there's a rhythm to
generating coverage, based upon the natural ebb and flow of the
seasons. Such an approach can help you score publicity throughout
the year, and will help keep your eye on the ball from January
through December.

Essentially, a yearlong approach consists of two strategies:

- Timing your existing stories (new product introductions,
oddball promotions, business page features, etc.) to fit the
needs of the media during particular times of the year.

- Crafting new stories to take advantage of events, holidays
and seasonal activities.

Before we run through the four seasons of publicity, a few words
about lead time.  In this age of immediacy (only a few seconds
separate a Matt Drudge or a CNN from writing a story and putting
it before millions), it's easy to forget that, for many print
publications and TV shows, it can be weeks -- and sometimes
months -- before a completed story sees the light of day.

The phrase lead time simply refers to the amount of time needed
for a journalist to complete a story for a particular issue of a
magazine or episode of a TV news program.  For example, a
freelancer for an entertainment magazine may need to turn in a
story on Christmas movies by September 15.  That's a lead time of
three months, time needed for the editor to review and change the
piece, the issue to be typeset and printed and distributors to
place the issues on newsstands before December.  Lead time can
range from a day (for hard news pieces in newspapers) to a few
days (newspaper features) to a few weeks (weekly magazines) to
many months.

The longest leads are the domain of "women's books" like Good
Housekeeping and Better Homes & Gardens.  These publications
often have a lead time of up to six months, which means they need
information for their Christmas issues as early as May!

Here's a tip to help you discover the lead time of a particular
publication you're targeting:  call the advertising department of
the publication and request a media kit.  Since advertisers need
to know when their ads must be submitted, each issue's lead time
is clearly stated in the media kit.

Factor the lead time into your planning as you look over the
following sections.  If you have a great story idea for Rolling
Stone's summer issues, you need to be on the ball well before
Memorial Day.

The Four Seasons of Publicity:

First Quarter:  January - March

What the Media's Covering: Early in the year, the media is
looking ahead.  It's a great time to pitch trend stories,
marketplace predictions, previews of things to expect in the year
ahead, etc.  If a new President is being inaugurated, you'll see
lots of "Will the new administration be good for the
(textile/film/cattle ranching/Internet/...or any other)
industry?" types of pieces.  This is a good time to have
something provocative, or even controversial, to say about your
industry.

The media also likes this time of year to run "get your personal
house in order"sorts of pieces.  Tax planning, home organizing,
weight loss, etc.  Anything that's geared toward helping people
keep their New Year's resolutions can work here.

Key Dates and Events: Can you come up with a story angle to tie
your business into an event that typically generates lots of
coverage?  Put on your thinking cap -- I bet you can!  Here are
some key events during the First Quarter:  Super Bowl, NCAA
Tournament, Easter,  The Academy Awards.

Second Quarter:  April - June

What the Media's Covering:  An "anything goes" time of year.
With no major holidays or huge events, April is a good time to
try some of your general stories (business features, new product
stuff, etc.)  Light, fun stories work here, as a sense of "spring
fever" takes hold of newsrooms (journalists are human, you know.
They're just as happy winter is over as you are and it's often
reflected in the kind of stories they choose to run.).  As May
rolls around, thoughts turn to summer.  Now they're looking for
summer vacation pieces, outdoor toys and gadgets, stories about
safety (whether automotive or recreational), leisure activities,
things to do for kids and so on.

Key Dates and Events: Baseball opening day, tax day (April 15),
spring gardening season,  Memorial Day, end of school, summer
vacation.

Third Quarter:  July - September

What the Media's Covering:  The dog days of summer are when smart
publicity seekers really make hay.  Folks at PR firms are on
vacation, marketing budgets are being conserved for the holidays
and reporters are suddenly accessible and open to all sorts of
things.  Get to work here, with creative, fun angles.
Entertainment-themed pieces do well in the summer, anything with
celebrities works, lighter business stories, new products, trend
pieces, technology news, back to school education-themed
articles, you name it.  Reporters are about to get deluged once
again come September, so use this window of opportunity wisely.

Key Dates and Events: July 4th, summer movies, summer travel,
back to school.

Fourth Quarter: October - December

What the Media's Covering:  The busiest time of the media
calendar, the Fourth Quarter is when the business media turns
serious and the lifestyle media thinks Holidays, Holidays,
Holidays.  Business angles need to be hard news.  Fluffy trend
pieces won't cut it, as business editors begin to take stock of
the state of the economy and the market.  It's a tough time to
put out a new product release.  For the non-business media, think
Christmas.  Christmas travel, Christmas gifts, Christmas cooking,
whatever.  If you have a product or service that can be given as
a holiday gift, get on the stick early.

Nail down lead times for the publications you're targeting, call
to find out who's handling the holiday gift review article and
get your product in the right person's hands in plenty of time --
along with a pitch letter or release that makes a strong case
about how what a novel, unusual or essential gift your product
makes.  After Christmas, you have a brief window for "Best of the
Year", ""Worst of the Year" and "Year in Review" pieces.  Be
creative -- the media loves these things.

Key Dates and Events: Labor Day, World Series, Thanksgiving,
Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's Eve.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America's top publicists.  Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp ,
he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of scoring
big publicity.  For free articles, killer publicity tips and
much, much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

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Business Lunch Perk Or Purgatory

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Public Relations For Fire Departments

Writen by Lance Winslow

Most Fire Departments are loved and needed. They have the respect of the community and the public is happy to know they are there in their time of need. But what other things can a Fire Department do to promote goodwill and a positive public relations program? Well consider if you will having them join a Neighborhood Mobile Watch Program. Why? Well because Fire Departments make a good fit you see;

FIRE DEPARTMENT: These are people who can really help, whether or not they put the sign on the vehicles. Firemen are active sports enthusiasts and always carry communication, walkie-talkies or cell phones. The fire department has chiefs and executive departments with vehicles too. The executive department is very political and has to stay involved.

If you would like my plan on our ARSON MOBILE WATCH PROGRAM, we also have an e-book for that. Search Neighborhood Mobile Arson Watch Program to get a free copy. Now then it makes sense for the Fire Department to participate in a Neighborhood Mobile Watch Program because they can maintain their community goodwill and bolster their public relations without hurting their budget or spending thousands of more dollars. So consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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How To Write A Press Release

Writen by Falco P.

Writing a press release is an art form and that is why many PR professionals charge over $100 and often over $500 to write a 300 – 500 word press release. Here, we will go through, step by step, what PR experts such as myself do, to help get the most publicity for our clients.

As far as basic formatting is concerned, one should make sure that they start their press release in this format, "City, State, Date – Start Press Release Here". Three pound signs (###) should be included at the end of the press release to mark that the press release is over. The length of the press release is also a major factor that should be carefully considered. In this case, shorter is not always worse and a concise 200 word press release that includes all of the required information would be sufficient and in often cases, more likely to be picked up than a long press release that is stretched out and restates the same information in different words over and over again. If there is a major newsbreak with the company, then the press release should be somewhere between 300-500 words long. You do not want to write a press release that reaches or exceeds 700 or more words because at this rate you are going to far in depth and while that is good for informational articles, a writer for a major news company gets hundreds of press releases daily and if you are lucky enough for a major media company to even look at your press release and consider it for an article, you do not want to go on and on and stretch the press release out as much as possible because that greatly reduces the chances of that writer choosing your press release for a story.

As far as the content of the press release is concerned, you should have 5-7 paragraphs in your press release. The first paragraph should be short and include basic information such as the "who, what, where, when, and why". The last paragraph should contain information about the company, similar to what would be written on an "About Us" web page. For the bulk of the content of the press release, you should include at least one or two quotes and two to four paragraphs about the newsworthy event and include all information you would want presented in an article about your press release.

In future articles, we will write, post, and analyze good press releases to give you an example of what a quality press release looks like.

Falco Pangkey is the owner and writer of http://www.Freepublicity.eu. He writes about getting online and offline Free Publicity. To view more work by Falco, you can visit Public relations articles

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How To Tiein With News Events To Score Publicity

Writen by Bill Stoller

It's safe to say that we live in interesting times.  It seems we
hardly have a breather between wars, tragedies, scandals,
epidemics, circus trials and other events that capitalize the
media's attention.  For the business seeking publicity, the "news
hole" for more traditional stories -- new product reviews,
business features, offbeat promotions -- keeps shrinking as the
"big story" mentality takes hold.

Fortunately, you're not completely at the mercy of world events
when it comes to obtaining some exposure.  By being smart and
aggressive, you can find a way to break through the logjam by
tying-in -- where appropriate and tasteful -- with the news of
the day.

Here are a few good examples (including a couple in which I was
personally involved):

Taco Bell's Mir Brainstorm.   The Soviet Mir space station was
falling, and Taco Bell reaped the benefits. The company set up a
40' x 40' vinyl target -- emblazoned with the company's logo and
the words ''Free Taco Here!'' -- 10 miles off the coast of
Australia. In the extremely unlikely event that Mir hit the
target, the company promised free tacos to all 281 million
Americans. Space-travel experts said the prospects of the debris
hitting the mark were slim to none. Taco Bell added relevance to
the public relations stunt by claiming to have taken out an
insurance policy. A minute-by-minute countdown of Mir's descent
and a photo of the floating target were anxiously seen by
millions of hungry websurfers on the Taco Bell site. The result?
Millions of dollars of free publicity on major news programs and
media outlets around the world. Their website could hardly handle
the traffic.

5 Star Shine Goes to War.  Fellow Free Publicity subscriber Glenn
Canady discovered that his car polishing product -- 5 Star Shine
-- was being used by the U.S. Navy to keep the Aegis radar
equipment up and running in the face of saltwater, sea air and
other potentially damaging elements.  Take a look at Glenn's
press release -- along with a great hit he earned in the San
Diego Union Tribune--by going to:

http://www.5starshine.com/press-coverage.html

Dan's Lucky Angel.  We were charged with getting publicity for
the "My Little Angel" doll, so we sent one to a photographer in
Ireland, who took a shot of the doll "kissing" the lucky Blarney
Stone.  We then sent the newly-lucky doll on to Olympic
speedskater Dan Jansen at Lillehammer.  When the previously hard-
luck skater finally won his elusive gold medal, we took the
credit -- and got lots of press!

Here's how to tie-in with a news event:

1. Be prepared.  If something happens that can offer the
possibility of your involvement, you'll need to act quickly.
Make sure you have press materials prepared beforehand so they're
ready to go when needed.  Obviously, you can't predict news
events, but you can begin examining your product, service or area
of expertise to discover the types of events that may occur and
the role you can play.  Put together a strong bio that details
your background and expertise.  Make a list of the news editors,
assignment editors and producers at, respectively, your local
newspaper, TV stations and talk radio stations.

2. Be appropriate.  This means two things, actually.  First,
don't force a fit where none exists.  If the world is focused on,
say, a manned mission to Mars, your carpet cleaning business
probably has nothing much that it can do to tie-in.  There has to
be some legitimate connection, or else you'll be laughed out of
the newsroom (on the other hand, if it's proved that the germs
behind some fast-spreading respiratory illness can live in
carpeting, you're just the person to talk to the press about how
to kill germs hiding in carpets).  The second measure of what's
appropriate is common sense and decency.  Jumping on a tragedy
with a hype-filled press release is just plain ghoulish.  In the
aftermath of something truly awful, go to the press only if you
have something unique, helpful, non-promotional and newsworthy to
offer.

3. Be timely.  If you have something of immediate value to offer
(e.g. you've written a book about a major figure who's just
died), time is of the essence.  Work from the media list you've
already prepared and hit the phones.  Tell the reporters, editors
and producers who you are and the kinds of insight you can offer
about the current situation.  Since seconds count, offer to stop
by with a copy of your book, or to email or fax your press
materials.   If you really are an expert on the subject of the
breaking news story, you're doing the journalist a huge favor
right now, so don't be shy.

4. Be timely, part 2. The other side of the coin: You have a
story that might fit in with what's happening, but it's lighter,
softer and less timely (5 Star Shine is a great example.  It fits
with world events, but it's not hard news).  In these cases, wait
until the dust has settled.  The first few days covering any big
story, the media is interested solely in the hard stuff.  The
who, what , when , where and why info.  If you can help with
that, great.  If not, hang on until the media machine needs more
fuel.  After a little while, there will be huge blocks of time to
fill, breaking news will dissipate and the media will begin
turning to lighter stuff to fill the void.  Consider that, just
in the past few weeks, you've begun hearing about such things as
the "Talking Iraqi Information Minister Doll".  Expect much more
to come.

5. Be creative.  For non-tragic events, taking a fun approach
often works wonders.  Consider the Mir idea (it was already
determined the station would land in the water, so there was no
element of potential tragedy involved.  If there was a chance
that people could have gotten hurt, the promotion wouldn't have
been such a great notion).  Or think about how ice cream
companies that get mileage out of naming flavors for newsmakers,
or fashion designers who send out lists of fashion hits and
misses for major Hollywood events or DJ's who do things like
sleeping in a billboard until the hometown team breaks its losing
streak.  When there no lives at stake and the story is purely for
fun, be as creative and "out there" as you can to tie in.

6. Be smart. One very important caveat has to be mentioned:
unless you specifically cater to a particular audience -- all of
whom are in agreement a particular issue -- don't take sides
politically.   No matter how strongly you may feel about a
certain issue, if a segment of your potential or existing
customer base may feel differently, you're taking a major gamble
by choosing sides.  If you want to poke fun at politicians,
include both Democrats and Republicans.  Unless your area of
expertise requires it, steer clear of divisive issues such as
religion, abortion, gay rights, etc.  Using your business as a
personal political soapbox can come back to haunt you.  This
isn't about "wimping out", it's common business sense.  Customers
are hard enough to attract and keep -- there's no point in going
out of your way to alienate them by showing disdain for their
beliefs.

Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America's top publicists.  Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp
, he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of
scoring big publicity.  For free articles, killer publicity tips
and much, much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site:
http://www.publicityInsider.com

medical health hospital

Publicity What Every Business Needs To Know

Writen by Abe Cherian

Businesses from all over the world are always searching for ways to get more publicity. You can let thousands of people know about your service, your store, or your new products without paying a penny.

Whether you want to make more sales, or get an offer on television, you can broaden the scope of your clients by free publicity. You don't have to send up huge banners flying behind airplanes to attract attention. In fact, with just a telephone, internet access, follow up letters and flyers, you can be making much more money than you are.

What product or business are you involved with that needs more clients or customers? You might have a neighborhood store, or you might be seeking exposure for a celebrity or politician. Maybe you have a new invention that you can't get marketed or a recently released line of designer furniture that you want to increase sales on.

How are you presently getting to customers? You may be advertising in newspapers and magazines or trade journals. Or you may be relying on a distribution agreement to retail the products your plant manufactures.

Perhaps you're an author depending on a publishing house to promote your book. Or you could be a young comic, trying to get some more acts to further your career.

Regardless of your business or enterprise, free publicity is available to you. And you don't need any particular back ground or training to do it. What you do need is the belief in yourself and your product and the diligence and perseverance to continue when one idea doesn't pan out.

Whether you want a local increase in sales, or national fame, free publicity is available to you at all times.

First, publicity is making something known to the public, spreading information to the general local or national market. It is information with a news value used to attract public attention or support. Everybody utilizes publicity. Politicians, manufacturers, celebrities even car makers use publicity to further their causes and gain attention.

And publicity isn't limited to large organizations. Small committees and enterprises use the local newspapers to publicize events.

Publicity differs from advertising because it is free. Although some groups or individuals do trade tickets or services for free mention in publications, generally publicity is newsworthy copy that a publication produces.

Publicity is a form of promotion, although promoting a product or service may require other efforts that cost the company money. Good publicity is one of the best ways to let people know you have a worthwhile business.

In order to gain publicity, you have to be totally familiar with your product, service or business that you are promoting. If it is your own product, you are the best one to describe the benefits and features. If you want to publicize something else, talk to everyone involved to get the facts and details.

Consider the radius of your market. If you have a local business such as a small store or service shop, most of your customers are from the surrounding five miles. If you are located in a large city, you may have a larger radius, but at the same time there may be stiffer competition.

Your business might be regional or statewide and your clients may come from hundreds of miles, either in person or by telephone to use your services. And if you are a large manufacturer, your clients and customers may come from the entire United States or you may have a worldwide audience.

Profile your customers. Who are they and what do they do? If you have a service, how often is this service used? If you have a product, is it something that is bought again and again, or is it a lifetime purchase?

How much do your customers pay for your products and are you competitive with the other manufacturers of the same products? If you have an unusual product, are you reaching the widest audience you can?

What do the customers want? Sometimes, the least expensive price is not the most important element. With today's packaging, many customers expect and will pay for things elaborately packaged. Where do these people go to buy your products? Are they sold at retail outlets or through trade publications or magazines? Or are they special items available from online web sites or from certain regions of the nation or the world?

Finally, why do your customers buy this particular service or product, or use the particular business you have? An architectural design company produces blueprints for architects to construct buildings for homeowners and industry. But your product may be aimed at a less precise group of people, somewhat hard to define.

You can discover what consumers want from surveys. You can get copies of surveys from special companies that conduct surveys, or you can do your own. The best place to conduct a survey is at a trade show for your product. Another good source is your own email list or offline mailing list.

You might run a drawing and ask people to fill in information. You can have cards printed with boxes to check easily so people will spend the time to answer your questions.

Manufacturers use surveys with warranties. Appliance makers often include a few questions along with the warranty that the consumer sends back.

Most major manufacturers have their own teams of product testing. Toy makers bring in children and watch their reactions. Book publishers have people look at covers and decide which they'd buy. Even the car manufacturers run surveys and opinion testing on style and pricing.

Before you seek publicity or even advertise, Know your Product First! Be familiar with the people who buy your products or services, and have a full understanding of the general competition and the full scope of your market.

By Abe Cherian

Copyright © 2005

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on your web site as long as the byline is included and the article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you activate any html links found in the article and in the byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com

About The Author
Abe Cherian

Abe Cherian's online automation system has helped thousands of marketers online build, manage and grow their business. Learn how it can benefit you too. http://www.imediatools.com

medical health hospital

Public Relations For Snow Removal Companies

Writen by Lance Winslow

Most companies are fairly easy to design public relations campaigns for and yet others become quite a challenge and require a little forward thinking and a bit of creativity. For instance what about a snow removal company, what kids of PR can they do? Well they can remove snow for free from Church Parking Lots, the Boys and Girls Club or a school, but some of these may actually be paying customers.

Why not have the snow removal company join a mobile business watch program to curb crime? Why do I suggest this? Well simple really consider the following if you will;

SNOW REMOVAL COMPANIES: They are driving around, and are out and about when everyone else in inside and toasty. They are out even when the criminals are not. But just incase the criminals come out in the cold weather your team is still working and helping police with extra eyes. The police have much more important emergencies to take care of when the weather gets that bad. In the summer time the snow removal companies have other jobs and will also be willing to display the sign.

You see a snow removal company can join this program without any out of pocket expense and enjoy the free Public Relations while the community enjoys a crime free environment. Perhaps you might consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

medical health hospital

Is Pr Right For You 6 Questions To Ask

Writen by Michele Pariza Wacek

When most people think about marketing, they think advertising. While advertising is a part of marketing, marketing is much bigger than advertising. There are lots of different marketing methods floating around out there, and the challenge as a business owner is figuring out when it's appropriate to use each one and the best way to use it.

Public relations, or PR, is the art of getting someone else to write or talk about you or your business. Preferably in a favorable manner. Traditionally, "someone else" was the media. In this day and age however, someone else can also be a blogger, a freelance writer, an e-zine publisher or even an owner of a big Web site. For purposes of this article, I'm using the word "media" to refer to all of those folks.

PR is also being able to get yourself on a big talk show to talk about yourself or your business, or writing your own article that's published in a desired outlet. (Not your own newsletter or Web site.)

PR is one of my favorite marketing methods, but it can also be one of the more frustrating ones. Even when you do everything right, you still might not get the publicity you want. Or for that matter, ANY publicity at all. When a PR campaign doesn't work, you can find yourself wanting to pull out all your hair in frustration.

Even with that in mind, I do believe most if not all businesses can benefit from some type of PR campaign. But before you launch into something that could end with you becoming hairless (and investing in a sizeable hat collection) ask yourself the following questions.

1. Do I need to see results right away? If you do, better pull out your wallet and pay for some advertising. PR takes time. And it's not guaranteed. You might not see your article for weeks, months or ever, and there isn't a darn thing you can do about it. If it's immediate gratification you want, don't look for it in a public relations campaign.

2. Do I have the time to consistently devote to a public relations campaign? We're back to the time issue. PR not only takes time to see results, but you also have to take time to make it happen. Either you have to do it or you have to pay someone else to do it. If you do it yourself, you'll have the potential of garnering the equivalent of thousands of dollars of advertising for little or no money. But it will cost you some time. If you pay someone else, you'll save time (which is a good thing, I'm a big believer in outsourcing) but it can get expensive. Worse yet, you STILL might not get any coverage for your money.

3. Do I have enough perseverance to run a PR campaign? PR is about follow-up. It's about sending story idea after story idea to the same reporter before one finally connects (and maybe it's the tenth one). It's about sending a little note or letter to the same editor for as long as several years before you get a bite. It's about reminding your contacts you're out there until one day they realize they need you.

If you're willing to court the media, develop relationships and do whatever you can to make their lives easier, the rewards can be huge.

4. Do I have newsworthy events happening at my business? (Newsworthy is something media personnel feel would interest their readers.) Or, if I don't, can I create them?

I'm not talking about making things up here. But there are things you can be doing to make your business more newsworthy. For example, you can do a survey and publish the results. You can tie a feature of your product or service to something that's currently happening in the news. You can hold an event. You can research a newly published study that relates to your product or service. There are countless ways you can transform aspects of your business into newsworthy story items -- the creativity exercise below can help you come up with your ideas.

5. Do I want to build my credibility? Develop my status as an expert? Then get that PR campaign off the ground. Nothing builds your credibility or expert status faster than having other people say you know what you're talking about.

6. Do I want to augment my other marketing efforts? Public relations definitely plays nicely with the other marketing methods. You can be building your long-term expert campaign with PR and building short-term customers with advertising. Or you can turn your community relations strategies into PR campaigns. It's a great way to get the most bang out of your marketing time and dollar.

Creativity Exercise -- How can you use PR in your business?

Grab some sheets of paper and pen (I like the fun gel pens myself) and get ready for some brainstorming.

Start by listing everything you do or sell. Then write out all the features or descriptions of your products or services. For instance, if you have a book, what is your book about? What does it offer people?

Now see if you can turn those features into something newsworthy. Is there a time of year when people are interested in your services? (Accounting and tax season). Are there any studies you can dig up? Is there something in the news that ties into your product? Can you turn an aspect of your business into a human interest story? (Something like fitness tips for busy people or parenting tips for single parents, etc.) Write everything down that comes into your head, even if it's silly. See if you can come up with 50 story ideas.

Now look at what you wrote. Can you find a few in there that you think would interest the media? Congratulations -- you just came up with a PR campaign.

Michele Pariza Wacek is the author of "Got Ideas? Unleash Your Creativity and Make More Money." She offers two free e-zines that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business.

She can be reached at http://www.TheArtistSoul.com

Copyright 2005 Michele Pariza Wacek

medical health hospital

How Managers Hurt Their Pr Results

Writen by Robert A. Kelly

Business, non-profit or association managers hurt their own public relations results when they become fascinated with PR tactics – press releases, publications and brochures and, particularly, fun-to-manage special events – while failing to plan for the perceptions and behaviors of the very people who probably hold their managerial success in their hands.

We're talking about those important outside audiences whose behaviors most affect their departments, groups, divisions or subsidiaries.

Obviously, some of the less sensitive among those managers just don't get it – the fact that the right public relations alters individual perceptions leading to changed behaviors among key external audience members and, thus, the achievement of managerial objectives.

When they compound that oversight by not persuading those awfully important outside folks to their way of thinking, then moving them to take actions that allow their units to succeed, bingo!, they badly hurt their PR results.

Needn't be the case. Take a moment and savor this approach: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is usually accomplished.

Look at what could come their way: fresh proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; community leaders beginning to seek you out; rising membership applications; welcome bounces in show room visits; prospects starting to do business with you; customers making repeat purchases; and new approaches by capital givers and specifying sources not to mention politicians and legislators viewing you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities.

A few questions as to how this work might be assigned. To an outside PR agency team? To folks assigned to your operation? To your own public relations people? Just realize that regardless of where they come from, they need to be committed to you and your PR plan beginning with key audience perception monitoring.

You should meet with your public relations team in order to be certain that those assigned to you are clear on why it's vital to know precisely how your most important outside audiences perceive your operations, products or services. They must accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your operation.

Discuss your PR operating plan with them, especially how you will monitor and gather perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. For instance, how much do you know about our chief executive? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

Have no hesitation (other than budget) in using professional survey firms in the perception monitoring phases of your program. But remember that your PR people are also in the perception and behavior business and can go after the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

The most damaging distortions you discovered during your key audience perception monitoring will respond to the right kind of PR goal by calling for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or stopping that potentially fatal rumor as quickly as possible..

Big challenge here is selecting the right strategy. Namely, a strategy that tells you how to move forward. Please remember that there are just three strategic options available to you when it comes to handling a perception and opinion challenge. Change existing perception, create perception where there may be none, or reinforce it. Since the wrong strategy pick will taste like sea salt on your rice pudding, be certain the new strategy fits comfortably with your new public relations goal. You don't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

It's inevitable and unavoidable -- someone on your PR staff will have to write a strong message and aim it at members of your target audience. Because crafting action-forcing language to persuade an audience to your way of thinking really is hard work, you need your best, first-string writer to put together some very special, corrective language. Words that are not only compelling, persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if they are to correct something and shift perception/opinion towards your point of view leading to the behaviors you are targeting.

Less taxing, and occasionally fun, is the selection of the communications tactics most likely to carry your message to the attention of your target audience. Do this after you run the draft by your PR people for impact and persuasiveness. There are dozens of tactics available to you. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

As we all know, the method by which we communicate a message, if tainted in any way, can affect its believability and credibility. So, if unsure, you may wish to limit its initial scope by unveiling it before smaller meetings and presentations rather than through higher-profile news releases.

Suggestions that progress reports might be a nice touch, should be viewed as an early warning that a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience, be undertaken. Many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session can be used again. But this time, you will be watching carefully for signs that the problem perception is being altered in your direction.

If you suspect the program is lagging, accelerate matters with more communications tactics, then increase their frequencies.

Thus, instead of hurting your PR results, you will indeed increase the chances of program success. And once you as a manager digest the underlying premise of managerial public relations, as outlined above, you'll understand how the right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to those changed behaviors you need.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 1135 including guidelines and resource box. Robert A. Kelly © 2005.

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations. bobkelly@TNI.net

Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com

medical health hospital

Internal Pr The Inside Story Of Successful Businesses

Writen by Peter TerHorst

Some of the greatest PR stories an organization has to tell about itself are well-known to everyone except its employees. How can this be?

An organization can become so focused on getting their message "out there" that they make one of two mistakes: the management assumes everyone working for the company already knows what is going on, or they simply fail to dedicate the time and energy to keep their own people in the loop. It's a common pitfall encountered by for-profits and non-profits, large and small. Left unattended, it can lead to poor morale, increased turnover, and an image problem for the organization.

Never underestimate the value of do-it-yourself PR –- the idea that the leader of an organization can be a persuasive spokesperson. Second only to the organization's president and CEO, in terms of credibility, are the company's employees. Since most people assume that everyone who works for a wage is in it for the money, someone who sings the praises of their employer's products, services or programs has a very persuasive effect on their audience, be they friends, relatives, acquaintances, or complete strangers. Let's admit it, we enjoy being part of a team that recognizes the contributions of its people, produces or provides something of value, and supports community projects.

So what motivates employees to speak out positively on behalf of their employer? It's simple –- tell them what the company is doing, what their role is, why it is important, and solicit their comments and suggestions. This internal communication is an essential type of PR.

Some simple suggestions include:
• Conduct monthly or quarterly meetings where all employees are given an update on the organization's goals and progress, can participate in the meeting, and receive recognition for their contributions.
• Solicit suggestions for improvements in the workplace, sponsor contests for the best ideas, and publicize the results.
• Give employees a first-look at new products or services and the plans to promote them.
• Produce a monthly employee newsletter and/or create an intranet site that discusses company news and highlights employee initiatives and community projects.
• Select a charitable cause that is related to the company's mission, provide employees with an incentive to volunteer, and publicize their efforts.

When employees are informed about what their organization is doing and recognized for their role in its success, they will become some of your best spokespeople.

Peter terHorst is president of SymPoint Communications. For more information, visit http://www.sympoint.com

© 2005 SymPoint Communications. All rights reserved. You are free to use this material in whole or in part in print, on a web site or in an email newsletter, as long as you include a complete attribution, including a live web site link. Please notify me where the material will appear.

The attribution should read:

"By Peter terHorst, SymPoint Communications. Please visit http://www.sympoint.com for additional articles and public relations services."

medical health hospital

Public Relations For Global Warming

Writen by Lance Winslow

What do you do when public relations is too good? What happens when public relation goes beyond its mission and causes disruption in our society and civilization? What happens when public relations for something that would seem important goes wildly out of control and is spurred on by mass media hysteria and scares the ever living bejesus out of every citizen? We seem to have a problem with global warming and the way in which it is promoted to our masses.

Global warming is being used is to scare people and it is causing problems. It is making people distrust industry and is calling for an abrupt change and disruption in the way our civilization works and how we do things. This is not to say that energy conservation and conserving fuel we use is not a good idea, obviously that is a good idea. This is not to say that we shouldn't pollute less, obviously we should pollute less because it cleaned up the air that we breathe.

But when global warming is used to scare citizens to vote for one particular political party then it is hurting our economic vitality and industrial output; that is when things have gone too far. Screaming from the tallest mountain that the world will soon end due to global warming and all life on earth will die is utterly ridiculous.

If we are going to promote global warming then we have to also promote global cooling which is what will happen if everything heats up in our atmosphere. Because there will be more clouds in the sky, which will not let the sun through and therefore things will cool down and that my friends would be a much worse problem.

If you don't like it very hot then what comes next would be even worse and shouldn't we be talking about global cooling and not global warming? Please consider all this and the public-relations ramifications on all fronts.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

medical health hospital

Is This The Pr You Thought You Were Getting

Writen by Robert A. Kelly

You know, where you do something positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences that MOST affect your organization? And where you do so by persuading those important external folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed?

Yes, that's right, it's where you use the fundamental premise of public relations to produce external stakeholder behavior change – the kind that leads directly to achieving your managerial objectives.

What it boils down to is (1) your public relations effort must involve more than special events, brochures and news releases if you really want to get your money's worth, and (2), the right PR really CAN alter individual perception and lead to changed behaviors that help you succeed!

You can do it when you bring that fundamental premise of PR mentioned above, into play. It goes like this: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished.

What kind of results can you, as a business, non-profit or association manager, expect from such an approach? Well, for starters, improved relations with government agencies and legislative bodies, stronger relationships with the educational, labor, financial and healthcare communities; prospects starting to work with you; customers making repeat purchases; and even capital givers or specifying sources looking your way

And that's not all. You also could see progress in the form of membership applications on the rise; new proposals for strategic alliances and joint ventures; rebounds in showroom visits; enhanced activist group relations, and expanded feedback channels; as well as community service and sponsorship opportunities; not to mention new thoughtleader and special event contacts.

Yes, that's promising quite a bit but that's what this approach to public relations is capable of delivering.

Of course the PR people supporting you as a manager – agency or staff – must be real team members and committed to you, as the senior project manager, to the PR blueprint and its implementation, starting with target audience perception monitoring.

Ask yourself how important it is that your most important outside audiences really perceive your operations, products or services in a positive light? Then assure yourself that your PR staff buys into that notion wholeheartedly. Be especially careful that they accept the reality that perceptions almost always lead to behaviors that can help or hurt your unit.

Review the PR blueprint in detail with your team, especially the plan for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning members of your most important outside audiences. Use questions like these: how much do you know about our organization? How much do you know about our services or products and employees? Have you had prior contact with us and were you pleased with the interchange? Have you experienced problems with our people or procedures?

The perception monitoring phases of your program obviously can be handled by professional survey people, IF the budget is available. But keep in mind that your PR people are also in the perception and behavior business and can pursue the same objective: identify untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors, inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Clearly, you will need a well-defined goal, one that responds to the aberrations that appeared during your key audience perception monitoring. As a flexible goal, it could call for straightening out that dangerous misconception, or correcting that gross inaccuracy, or doing something about that damaging rumor.

Inevitably, a goal needs a strategy to show you how to get there. And here, you have three strategic choices for handling a perception or opinion challenge: create perception where there may be none, change the perception, or reinforce it. Unfortunately, a bad strategy pick will taste like fudge sauce on your spareribs, so be sure the new strategy fits well with your new public relations goal. For instance, you don't want to select "change" when the facts dictate a "reinforce" strategy.

Changing people's minds to your way of thinking is a tough assignment, so your PR team must set down the needed corrective language. Words that are compelling, persuasive and believable AND clear and factual. You must do this if you are to correct a perception by shifting opinion towards your point of view, leading to the desired behaviors.

Sit down again with your communications specialists and review your message for impact and persuasiveness. Then, select the communications tactics most likely to carry your words to the attention of your target audience. You can pick from dozens that are available. From speeches, facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal meetings and many others. But be sure that the tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like your audience members.

Because the credibility of a message can occasionally depend on its delivery method, you might introduce it to smaller gatherings rather than using higher-profile tactics such as news releases or talk show appearances. One good thing about doing progress reports for clients or bosses is that they sound the alert for you and your PR folks to return to the field for a second perception monitoring session with members of your external audience. Using many of the same questions used in the first benchmark session, you must now stay alert for signs that the bad news perception is being altered in your direction.

If impatience shows up, you can always accelerate things with more communications tactics and increased frequencies.

It should be an irresistable premise for any manager! Do something positive about the behaviors of those outside audiences that MOST affect your organization. And do so by persuading those important external folks to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that help your department, division or subsidiary succeed.

Wow!

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net. Word count is 1125 including guidelines and resource box.

Robert A. Kelly © 2004.

About The Author

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to business, non-profit and association managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communi- cations, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia University, major in public relations.

mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net

Visit: http://www.prcommentary.com

medical health hospital

Crisis Management

Writen by Meryl K. Evans

The Internet may have opened worlds for businesses and consumers, but it has also created a public relations nightmare for businesses. Forums, opinion Web sites, blogs, and anything that is publishable can smear a company's name in moments.

Remember, "Yours Is a Very Bad Hotel" presentation that described one customer's bad experience with a hotel chain? Hotels are run by humans. Humans make mistakes. It's how you handle the mistakes that can make the difference in customer service. Since the hotel's employees didn't try to help the customer overcome a bad situation, the customer lashed back and bloggers blogged it.

If the hotel is on top of its game, it would unleash its crisis management (also known as reputation management) team to salvage its reputation while it can. It's possible for a company to overcome bad PR and come out ahead as in the case of PG&E (California's Pacific Gas and Electric company).

Another strategy is to use Internet monitoring to monitor online articles regarding a company's activities to prepare for negative publicity. Some go further and monitor chat rooms, newsgroups, and online discussion forums.

It's like the story of the town gossip who spread false stories about its people. One day, he felt terrible and went to the chaplain [Rabbi, pastor, priest, or other — take your pick] to ask for forgiveness. The chaplain said,"I will forgive you, but you must do something first."

"Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds." The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the chaplain that he had done it, the chaplain said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers."

The same can happen to a company without a crisis management plan in place. It's possible to survive the crisis and thrive as PG&E did. Don't expect Worldcom to pull out of its Enron-like mess. Fraud is not excusable. And Martha Stewart? She has hired a public relations strategist firm in an effort to do damage control. It'll be worth watching to see what happens in her case and how the PR firm attempts to save her reputation. Did you know there is a recall on one of her products? Adds fuel to the fire, doesn't it?

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.

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Do You Use Press Release Distribution Press Release Services

Writen by David Hay

If you want to start a business on the Internet you cannot ignore that easy golden rule. You must use this power from media.

When you get media attention you get quality links to skyrocket your ranking in search engines. Here we can help you.

Using press releases service you may insert photos (GIFF, PEG), word documents, PDF attachment in your press release. Maybe a simple photo or editorial feature would skyrocket your business.

Everyone thrive on press releases: Newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations. That's why this media wires stay on top of news.

Using news things from press releases will help them or affects their readers, viewers and listeners. It is absolutely decisively that your company utilize this marketing necessity!

Using press releases you reach a wide distribution list, fast delivery within 24 hours. Your press release could be sent to all the radio, newspapers and TV stations in our media list.

Matthew Hesser said in his article: "Well targeted and timely PRESS RELEASE to the media is the most powerful form of marketing and advertising on the planet! A high quality press release, with the proper targeting and distribution to reach the correct media members, could have many businesses sailing on a sea of new sales and profits."

Kathleen Gage said: "Very effective and they offer a great deal of credibility when published. You must have a well written release that is pertinent to the media source you are sending it to. You can distribute press releases both online and off."

We offer professional press release writing, targeted distribution, and speciality services like media coaching. Start today using http://www.media-press-release.com It is a free press release service.

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What Is Quotguerrillaprquot Anyway

Writen by Michael Levine

Public relations is the art, as one of my colleagues put it, of "offering people reasons to persuade themselves." In other words, we are not Madison Avenue; we don't tell people what we want them to think. Rather, we give them evidence, facts, and opinions that help them reach a conclusion. If we're good at what we do, they will reach the conclusion we've been hired to promote.

The differences between traditional public relations and Guerrilla P.R. are relatively simple. First of all, public relations firms like mine are available to people with a lot of money, because we charge what we consider to be reasonable fees, which are out of reach of many small or one-person businesses. So entrepreneurs and small business owners need to learn and apply the same skills I use every day in service of their larger, more well- heeled rivals. But these skills can't be used the same way, since they require more money than most small businesses can afford. Not everyone can buy a minute of time on network TV to get the message across.

That's where Guerrilla P.R. comes in. This down-and-dirty offspring of the traditional method is based on an idea I developed called the Tiffany Theory. The Tiffany Theory is an idea that sounds simple but, like most such theories, is so basic it contains numerous truths.

My Tiffany Theory states that a gift delivered in a box from Tiffany's will have a higher perceived value than one in no box or a plain box. That's not because the recipient is a fool; it's because in our society, we gift-wrap everything: our politicians, our corporate heads, our movie and TV stars, and even our toilet paper. Tiffany paper places a higher perceived value on things.

In effect, what I do each day is gift-wrapping. I take a message and wrap it in the finest paper from Tiffany's. No matter what the message may be, I try to make it sound more appealing, more interesting, and more useful. If I do my job correctly, the consumer (who gets the message through television, newspapers, radio, or the Inter net) will get the message. But first, that message has to go through editors, producers, reporters, and website managers. The Tiffany paper adds perceived value and cachet.

Notice, now, I said, perceived value. In public relations and publicity, perception is truth. It isn't what happened that counts, it's what people think happened. This is the absolute day-to-day currency of politics, entertainment, and most other industries. In our case, we're looking at how the public-that is, the segment of the public you believe is your customer base-perceives your company. Not what your company actually might be.

Does that mean you should lie? Never. Lying, besides being morally wrong, is quite literally indefensible. That means, at some point, you're going to be found out. And even if you weren't, you would have to start living the lie- remembering what you told the people interested in your business, and hearing people call you what you said you are. It's too hard, and it's not worth it. Besides, it's plain bad business.

When I say that the perception of the truth-rather than the truth itself-is the stuff of great publicity campaigns, I mean that the truth will take care of itself. But you have to make sure that the image you project, the perception you offer to potential customers, is what you want it to be.

For example, a man named Dave Schwartz decided he'd start a car rental company that would lower rates to the consumer by featuring cars that weren't 100 percent new off the showroom floor. He had a choice to make in terms of the perception of his new company, and he chose to beat critics to the punch with a strong sense of humor and a catchy company name: Rent-A-Wreck. Now, Dave didn't lie (his cars weren't wrecks, they drove just fine, so maybe he exaggerated a little), and he didn't fall into the trap of emphasizing price. After all, his competitors already had names like Thrifty and Budget. He hit you in the funny-bone, made his impression of a fun car rental company-with the implied promise that the cars would cost less because they weren't brand new- and launched a very successful business.

It's all in the perception. But is this a contradiction of the Tiffany Theory? Did Dave actually wrap his cars in Kmart paper to make his point?

Not really. Dave still wrapped his message in Tiffany paper. He made sure local news outlets, publications, and media companies knew about his company, and he emphasized exactly how reliable and economical the rental cars at Rent-A-Wreck would be. By downplaying the appearance of the cars-calling them "wrecks" he allowed the media to expect dented, scratched, beat-up cars. When they toured his facility and saw cars that were only slightly used, Dave didn't have to say a word. The message got out that the "wrecks" in question were very reliable, attractive cars that would be available for a lower rental rate because they were used. A brilliant, subtle piece of Tiffany wrapping.

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The Tiffany Theory applies to the Internet in ways it never could with traditional media. Keep in mind that more information is available on the World Wide Web than you can possibly track, let alone control. So it's always important to keep your information true. But unlike information in newspapers or magazines, the data you provide on a website is yours, and you provide the Tiffany paper. Use photographs, charts, quizzes, and prizes, if you can, to keep surfers' interest alive on your site. And remember to wrap every fact in a nice neat piece of Tiffany wrap.

GuerrillaPR Insights is a, weekly newsletter that does 2 things: First, it provides readers with a weekly, actionable "insights" on how you can work more effectively with the media.

Secondly, it provides NAPES: Names, Addresses, and Phone numbers of key media producers and editors. For example, in a recent issue, we gave specific contact information on how to contact the producers of the Oprah Winfrey Show.

To check out the archives, go to: http://www.guerrillapr.net/Guerrilla_PR_Insights-backissues.html

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Using Radio Advertising Effectively In 2006 Political Campaigns

Writen by Scott Perreault

The worst week in the life of the radio station's scheduling department is the week before election day. Every local, regional and national candidate expects to purchase as much air time as they can afford and demand the station find room on the daily commercial log for their message. The months of campaigning come to a crisis point and the mad dash to the radio stations ensues. Do you enjoy listening to radio during the last week of an election? Exactly. An endless stream of the same commercials repeated and repeated and, well, you get the point.

As a twenty year veteran in the radio industry Scott Perreault understands how to maximize political capital and effectiveness in the advertising portion of the campaign by following the following three rules for success. First, have an effective message. That is not to say the common reading of issues, rather a commercial or preferably group of commercials that leave a visual message. A message that reaches the voter. No one hears the screaming of issues among the six campaign commercial all airing in a row. One, two, three, four, five, six boring, screaming, mean spirited, brain numbing commercials. www.scottradio.com is one the best at creating a message that is effective.

Second, purchase the radio time well in advance with sponsorships of news, weather or traffic as your first preference if they will sell these air times to a political concern. They cost extra, but well worth it because you separate your commercials from the others and in most cases the local announce gives a "tag line" such as "this weather brought to you by Vote for Senator Smith Campaign Fund…" Almost sounds like the announcer is telling his loyal fan base to vote for your candidate.

Finally, have fresh commercials ready for the last two days of the campaign. A new radio commercial each day. Your candidate needs to sound topical and current. Millions of dollars will be spent on radio advertising this political season. Will your candidate's radio campaign be effective?

Scott Perreault, CEO of Scott Radio, Inc.(http://www.scottradio.com) is a radio and narration voice veteran with over twenty years of broadcasting and voice work experience offering free demos for all candidates and special interest groups. At this writing Scott Radio is the voice of the Democaratic US Senate Candidate from Texas and many other races at the Local and State level.

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Secrets To Franchising Public Relations

Writen by Lance Winslow

Public relations and brand building are indeed paramount in any business, but in franchising, it is not only important it is a matter of survival for the system. Having been in the franchise industry for more than a decade, I must say it is one of the most rewarding parts of the sector, being able to give back in a strong and meaningful way.

My company The Car Wash Guys has sold franchises in 23 states and was able to build the company thru strong ties to the communities, which our franchisees they serve. A community-oriented franchise, each franchisee gives back to their community by assisting with at least one car wash fundraiser per month. Having held literally hundreds of car wash events, I decided to put these proven tactics for success in writing to help organizations everywhere achieve or exceed their fundraising goals.

My eBook - "How to Run A Successful Car Wash Fundraiser" is available as a free resource online from my Web site. The 63-page book can be viewed online, or downloaded as a PDF file. To find the book go to:

http://www.carwashguys.com/

This book will help your non-profit group with all the information that you need to make you next car wash fundraiser a huge success. Think on this in 2006.

Lance Winslow