Tag Archives: publicity campaign

Branding And Publicity

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The new age in Branding is Sonic Branding


It is another new term that is getting the buzz these days. Sonic Branding is the next level of branding for a company’s image.

I have written about building your brand image several times. Now it is time to look at Sonic Branding and how to make it work with publicity and pr clients.

First, what is Sonic Branding? It is the use of sound that works with your branded image, logo, or tag line.

If you have listen to any commercial from Intel, or a manufacturer that uses Intel products, then you heard the chimes of the Intel brand. That’s Sonic Branding.

About two months ago there was an article in Brandweek that spoke about this new branding campaign. Get the full story by reading about it.

Not all companies can benefit from this type of branding. Obliviously you need to be doing some broadcast advertising, or have a podcast site, or maybe you can use it on your voicemail (I highly NOT recommend that idea).

If you can do Sonic Branding, then make sure your publicity campaign or publicity agency uses this new technology  (branding) in the overall program.

A press release alone isn’t going to get much attention. But consider putting the sonic branded message in your email to the press. Or do an announcement using a greeting card idea that has jingles in it. You can purchase these custom cards offshore and it could be the start of making your public relations program get a jump-start.

No matter what you do, keep in mind that building a brand cannot be accomplished overnight. It requires constant implementation and use of the branded image in all your communications.

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Marketing and Publicity

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Intergrate these to be successful


Marketing and publicity need to interact and not be treated as separate departments. Often times, marketing directors and pr directors want to do their own thing in a company to show how successful their creative programs are working.

But this can work against you if you do not pool your talents and work as a team. Many times campaigns overlap, as do the different projects within a company.

By using all the resources from your departments, like Marketing and Publicity, you stand a better chance in gaining a winning campaign for your company, or pr client.

For example in marketing 101, you are told to follow-up to customers at least every 90 days. Publicity people also know that communication is important. For this reason, publicity professionals make sure they contact editors and reporters frequently. The old saying, out-of-sight is out-of-mind is definitely true in business.

Another important point- do not cut back on your publicity budget when it is trade show season, or when sales are increasing. Same is true about marketing. You need to do marketing all the time, not only when sales are low.

Getting a story or an article in any publication is rewarding. More so is when you capitalize on this with the marketing people in your company. Using the resources available can gain more mileage for your campaigns than isolating the two departments from each other.

In summary a public relations campaign is just as important as the marketing you do for the company. Have interaction with the two, hold regular meetings to discuss what projects are in the works, and quite possibly you might discover a new path to success.

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Public Relations With The Media

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Get Better Relations With The Media


I’ve written about this subject a couple of times, but in different viewpoints. One of the articles was titled: Working with the press", the other was titled "Know the media". Each identifies specific issues that will help you produce better releases to get them published. Re-read these; you may find something you missed the first time.

Today I will focus more on having good media relations with the press. When possible, I like to use other pr pros that think the same to help illustrate another writer’s viewpoint. That way you can read theirs and possibly pick up more knowledge. One particular blogsite that has this similar viewpoint is PowerPR weblog. Check out his perspective.

As you plan your publicity campaign and finalizing the press releases to send to the media, make sure you have identified who will be receiving these releases and articles. Although it takes more effort, you should make revisions in the releases that meet the criteria of that specific media. Here are a few helpful tips:

  • Identify a specific person, or a couple of the reporters and send the releases to the one person most suited for your release
  •  Modify the release to fit that publications audience. If the media release is being sent to a few trade or consumer media in the foods industry, then adapt the release accordingly
  •  Know the deadlines of the media. Plan to send releases at least 2 weeks before the next issue is due, or a few days after it is published
  •  Check the media calendars. You might see in their editorial calendar that your product or press release is best suited at another time

This one-on-one submission of releases is more time consuming and does require a targeted approach. The results will be rewarding when you treat the media as you do your clients.

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The Costs Of Publicity

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In-House or Outsorucing?


Companies are always faced with keeping overhead costs low. The first area that gets cut is the marketing and publicity budget.

So how does any company justify cutting these areas and maintain a constant campaign?

One solution that most pr clients and marketing clients think saves them money is to do all the work in-house. But does this really save money, or does it cost you (the client) more in the long haul? Let’s take a look.

To go in-house, you need to hire a marketing or pr director. Typically this person, if professional, and knows what he/she is doing, will have a salary of about $80,000 per year. An assistant would cost $40,000 a year as a starting salary. These figures can be more depending on their experience.

Now you have someone to do the entire writing, planning, meeting with reporters, publishers, coordinating marketing and pr activities and sometimes designing the sales and marketing materials.

Let’s just say this person, for now, needs to do a few releases. How are you going to distribute them? Do you do send them one at-a-time to the handful of media? Or do you go through a news bureau like Bacon’s. Well, Bacon’s costs about $3,000 per year membership and then you pay per release on top of that. In addition, the select few that are to your favorite media, need postage, envelopes, and what about the follow-up?

On top of the distribution costs, we need to again look at this person you hired. They need medical coverage, you need to pay the FICA costs and provide space for them and a phone line. The phone bill will now increase as well. An article that supports my viewpoint is called "Debunking the myth that B2B marketing is cheaper in-house", by John Elliott.

In addition, the person may not have the close contact relationships with the different media as your pr firm.

Ok, did you save any money? Most likely not. The costs when added together are probably more than a moderate publicity campaign for the year would have cost. And you can be sure that the outsource company will get the job done because they won’t be interuppeted with daily problems associated with an in-house publicity person.

No matter how many times we see this happen, it just seems that clients need to learn from their mistakes. Hopefully this brief lesson will give pr clients and public relations service companies the chance to see what really is best for them.

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Building A Web Site For Publicity

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Publicity is everywhere

Companies large and small are building web sites that contain too much information, or create a nightmare to navigate.

I read an article about this problem titled "Analytics that Boost Web Revenue". The author of the article, Karen Vogel, uses an airport to illustrate how web sites are getting so large (depth in pages) that if an airport didn’t have signs and sections for you to enter, you would be lost.

I believe that if you are a company that offers a lot of information, such as a financial institution and want feel you need to have all the services explained. Or your company sells automotive aftermarket accessories and you put your entire catalog on the net.

That is ok, if you build the site so customers can navigate back easily, or are able to not "get them lost’.
Too often companies add links upon links to take you deeper, or to another site for support information. That’s how you will loose customers.

A web site is part of your publicity campaign. It is what people will think of your company. It’s that image building I spoke about many times before.

To keep a positive image when you are facing this problem with too much information, I suggest building a separate site, maybe three different sites that can link to each other.

This will keep specific information in one place, and provides you the ability to market your company in several markets through different web sites.

Remember, customers are looking for information, or something to buy, solve a problem. Don’t give them a reason to hate your company because you put everything inside the site.

Maybe it is giving customers a summary of the information, about the services or products you offer. Then give them the option to contact you for further information.

Customers like choices. Make this work for you and that will be the publicity reward– a positive name (brand) in the industry.

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How To Save Money On Advertising

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Effective Publicity programs

Clients are always looking for better ways to reach their target audience. And let’s not forget, at a lesser cost.

For example, we (as consumers) are constantly being sold to. Usually with direct mailers. That’s because advertisers believe by using direct mail they are reaching the specific audience and can tell them how great their product is. Many times, you receive an incentive if you react quickly to their program.

But stop and think for a minute. Direct mail is good, but it is also very costly. Postage is always increasing, as is the printing of postcards, letters, etc.

What is the alternate solution? Mix your ad program with a Publicity Campaign. Think of it, trying to reach 100,000 or 500,000 potential customers with a direct mailer is expensive. But you can reach these same people, and a lot more with a well planned publicity campaign. And that published article is more credible than a self-promo mailer.

A Publicity Campaign should include several elements. A press kit, a series of releases, an article for submission, and above all, a blog site.

Yes, today the RSS technology is making excellent inroads to the media, and your customer base. Whether you are selling B2B, or directly to consumers, a blog site should be part of your media mix.

When planned and executed properly, a publicity campaign can out perform a controlled media ad campaign. Plus you will be reaping the positive rewards from the media much longer than the dollars you paid for that magazine or broadcast ad.

Now is the time to get smarter and leaner, get a publicity campaign together. At worst it can only improve your image!

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