Full Frontal PR: Getting People Talking About You, Your Business, or Your Product – Richard Laermer, Michael Prichinello; Bloomberg Press, ISBN 1576600998, Feb 2003, 256 p, $24.95 Reviewed by G.A. “Andy” Marken, president, Marken Communications Inc, andy@markencom.com
The one underlying and unwavering fact regarding public relations is that there is no right or wrong way to carry out a program as long as it is done professionally and consistently. This is especially true of “buzz” PR activities which has gained periodic attention in the industry but for the most part is misunderstood and poorly done.
We aren’t familiar with Laermer, Prichinello or their agency, RLM PR; but the authors have done an excellent job in helping people understand the strengths, weaknesses and activities that need to be carried out to produce effective buzz.
Admit it, every one of your CEO and marketing bosses want Full Frontal results. They want major coverage in the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, NY Times and your leading market publications. They want it big and they want it consistently.
One of our industry’s problems is that there is always someone out there who will promise to achieve these lofty goals without explaining that the individual or company has to play an active roll in the effort. You have to admit -- whether you are an internal PR person or consultant -- when management comes to you with the over-the-transom offers they have received it puts you in an extremely awkward position. No one wants to understand what has to come before the big coverage only that it is achieved.
While Full Frontal could be a great self-execution guide for someone to use in developing strong coverage for their products, ideas or themselves; it probably won’t put many professionals out of business. Instead it might serve as a good marketing tool for PR pros.
The authors draw you into the book with the promise that you can create the buzz factor yourself. That’s the hook.
But they follow this with the warning that you need to step back and coldly assess who you are, what you have to say and determine why anyone would want to listen. Even if this hasn’t discouraged the self-buzz goal, they proceed to explain the steps, processes and procedures that need to achieve the goal. They show the reader why he or she must focus a lot of attention and energy on producing the results.
They very successfully sell the sizzle of buzz but they are also careful to explain why a lot of time and effort is involved in the cooking process. In the final analysis a lot of people will read the book – which gives clear, concise guidelines – and then determine for themselves that instant buzz isn’t “instant” and requires a lot of work.
If you are new to the PR industry, Full Frontal PR is a breath of fresh air compared to the textbooks you used in school. If you are a seasoned professional, Laermer and Prichinello give you a refreshing and exciting look at some of the new tools you can use for your management.
While the publisher bills Full Frontal as a tell-all book we found it to be informative, interesting and yes even entertaining.
Being media-friendly and available to the press as well as an understanding as to why this is crucial to your PR effort success, probably isn’t the trade secret you are concerned about your boss discovering. In fact, reading the recommendations from a disinterested third-person adds credibility to the message. Suddenly the light bulb goes on over the reader’s head and she or he says…”oh now I see!”
Full Frontal is one of the few no-nonsense, no highbrow theory books we’ve read in recent years. The authors have some extremely interesting case studies and they explain what was done correctly and incorrectly in an unapologetic manner.
We found the book to be refreshing in its concept and approach. More importantly, we came away with some great ideas we can modify in our practice. In that sense, the investment of time and money was not only modest but also well spent.
Once you’re through with the book you can build your PR program one brick at a time, developing a sound foundation to use for the rest of the efforts and activities. You can use some of the tricks the authors give you for the quick-fix buzz. You can mix and match your efforts to jumpstart and maintain your image. Or you can discard the book as a waste of time.
But no matter what you choose to do you will enjoy reading about the efforts that succeeded and failed. Laermer packs the chapters with great information and does it in a very entertaining fashion.
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Full Frontal PR - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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