Working With A Media Relations Firm - The Greatest Misconceptions II
Working With A Media Relations Firm - The Greatest Misconceptions II
Whereas I would rather hire a PR firm that had some knowledge in my particular specialty, I would never discount a company purely because they had no previous experience in the field. I would rather hire a company that firmly understands media relations than one who understands my field or profession. The downside is that a firm with no previous experience in your field is probably not as well connected with the producers, writers, or editors that cover your business. But a good firm can always learn. Your primary concern is whether the firm you hire fully understands their own business. Although every campaign is different, in many ways all campaigns are remarkably similar. The tools and procedures remain pretty constant. Find a person or company that truly understands media relations, knows what is required to place a story, and knows how to develop story ideas, write releases, and make follow-up calls. Those are your primary concerns. If they understand the process and know how to implement a campaign, you'll be okay. The rest they can learn.
Believing you can only work with PR firms who specialize in your field is perhaps the biggest misconception there is. Whereas there are upsides to working with a firm that specializes, there are also limitations. For example, if a company is too specialized chances are the media contacts they deal with are limited. They might be great a placing you in the most obvious of outlets, but do they have the contacts to widen the bull's-eye and broaden your media coverage?
The tech boom in the late '90s best illustrates one of the dangers of hiring individuals that
understand a particular field but do not understand the media or its needs. As the '90s came to a close we were inundated with stories about dot-com billionaires, the new economy, and high-tech marvels. Although the media fell for a great deal of the hype, most of the tech companies were being run by individuals who had little business savvy and even less marketing savvy. Most didn't have a clue as to how to implement a media relations campaign. They were the world-changers entranced by their own techno-babble. Instead of hiring media relations experts who could translate this babble into plain English they hired tech experts to write their releases and pitch the media.
The results were as confusing as they were amusing. The techno-babble floodgates opened with releases about dynamic collaboration, extended enterprise processes, supporting a process-based flow beyond the fire wall, etc. In the '90s, the point of view was basically - "if you don't understand it too bad. Get out of the way!" Trouble was a lot of the media didn't understand it either, which meant several good stories went untold and a lot of companies missed huge media opportunities.
Working with a company that is more eclectic in its client-base could end up being a real advantage. A company that represents clients in a variety of fields generally learns how to pitch to a wide range of media contacts. If they're good at what they do, they have an amazing media rolodex. Your primary focus needs to be on finding a company who truly knows PR. If they're good, they can learn about your business and launch an effective media campaign, which is the name of the game.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
Working With A Media Relations Firm The Greatest Misconceptions II - To learn more about this author, visit Anthony Mora's Website.
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II. I Can Only Work With A Public Relations Firm Who Specializes In My Field.
Whereas I would rather hire a PR firm that had some knowledge in my particular specialty, I would never discount a company purely because they had no previous experience in the field. I would rather hire a company that firmly understands media relations than one who understands my field or profession. The downside is that a firm with no previous experience in your field is probably not as well connected with the producers, writers, or editors that cover your business. But a good firm can always learn. Your primary concern is whether the firm you hire fully understands their own business. Although every campaign is different, in many ways all campaigns are remarkably similar. The tools and procedures remain pretty constant. Find a person or company that truly understands media relations, knows what is required to place a story, and knows how to develop story ideas, write releases, and make follow-up calls. Those are your primary concerns. If they understand the process and know how to implement a campaign, you'll be okay. The rest they can learn.
Believing you can only work with PR firms who specialize in your field is perhaps the biggest misconception there is. Whereas there are upsides to working with a firm that specializes, there are also limitations. For example, if a company is too specialized chances are the media contacts they deal with are limited. They might be great a placing you in the most obvious of outlets, but do they have the contacts to widen the bull's-eye and broaden your media coverage?
The tech boom in the late '90s best illustrates one of the dangers of hiring individuals that
understand a particular field but do not understand the media or its needs. As the '90s came to a close we were inundated with stories about dot-com billionaires, the new economy, and high-tech marvels. Although the media fell for a great deal of the hype, most of the tech companies were being run by individuals who had little business savvy and even less marketing savvy. Most didn't have a clue as to how to implement a media relations campaign. They were the world-changers entranced by their own techno-babble. Instead of hiring media relations experts who could translate this babble into plain English they hired tech experts to write their releases and pitch the media.
The results were as confusing as they were amusing. The techno-babble floodgates opened with releases about dynamic collaboration, extended enterprise processes, supporting a process-based flow beyond the fire wall, etc. In the '90s, the point of view was basically - "if you don't understand it too bad. Get out of the way!" Trouble was a lot of the media didn't understand it either, which meant several good stories went untold and a lot of companies missed huge media opportunities.
Working with a company that is more eclectic in its client-base could end up being a real advantage. A company that represents clients in a variety of fields generally learns how to pitch to a wide range of media contacts. If they're good at what they do, they have an amazing media rolodex. Your primary focus needs to be on finding a company who truly knows PR. If they're good, they can learn about your business and launch an effective media campaign, which is the name of the game.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
Working With A Media Relations Firm The Greatest Misconceptions II - To learn more about this author, visit Anthony Mora's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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