Monthly archives

The 30 Second Elevator Speech

The 30 second elevator speech is a concept that is useful for a plethora of circumstances, ranging from packaging yourself to summarizing your company’s mission statement to a client to explaining fund raising efforts. The goal is to be able to get through what you need to within the time frame of an elevator ride with said person.

The key is condensing. Pick out three to five key facts to incorporate into whatever it is you’re trying to “sell” and stick to those. Don’t go into too much detail on any one topic, as those extra facts are what should be…

Public Relations and IMC… one thing in the future?

Define Public Relations?… a question often heard when speaking with organizations that have little or no communications plans or efforts.  My response “the act of taking information from the people that have it and giving it to the people that need it, while maintaining a positive image with your intended audience”.  After the blank stare wears off… I explain that I take the information you want to send to your audience and package it with their taste and needs in mind.

Define IMC… the second most often asked question… Well break down the acronym. Integrated Marketing Communications… As I remember seeing…

Word Of Mouth PR

Being in the pr profession means that you have to understand your job your craft and the best way to get the conversation started in the marketplace. Sometimes that may mean using old concepts like “Word of Mouth”. Exposure is not only about media coverage and it usually doesn’t just happen overnight. Sometimes you have to start getting the buzz out there not just telling the media about it. Sometimes we have use our sources that are around us on a daily basis, our people and our community. PR should be used to build awareness of and perception about a…

Publicity vs Promotion: Teaching the Clients the Difference

Ikea\'s Atlanta grand openingIn the entertainment industry, identifying the difference between publicity and promotion can be confusing for potential clients. It’s understandable, as both involve getting the word out. However, the fundamental difference lies in the execution. Who is the intended audience? What’s the plan for engaging them? What tools will be used for reaching them? What is the desired result? Will there be any follow-up or evaluation of the plan? The answers to these questions will help potential clients distinguish the differences. True, both publicity and promotion are part of marketing but both require a different strategy.

Publicity is intended to first, engage the media. Once the media has been engaged, the…

Don’t sit back and wait

Perhaps I was overly optimistic in my previous blog entry where I made it sound as if progressing in the field of public relations during a time of a slugging economy is about as easy as coming up with a New Years Resolution. Realistically, it’s likely more like sticking to that resolution for the entire year.

A recent article from eMarketer.com mentioned that the majority of Marketing Executives surveyed did not plan to  make changes in outside agency use in response to the economy.  Those who were making changes were planning to cut down on use.
However, the article did mention that…