Manager's Corner
If You Can Do It, It Ain’t Braggin’
by Linda Hamburger | Published in June 2006 Departments
Public relations is so misunderstood.” It’s a common complaint from PR practitioners. Another common complaint, from the client side of the desk: “They took all my money and all I have to show for it is this one lousy news clip!”
Hal Etkin, CEO and owner of ME Productions in Pembroke Pines, Fla., was of the latter disposition. But with local competition heating up, his company needed someone who could change his mind.
“We had been in business almost 25 years,” says Etkin, “and no one had successfully handled PR for us. In 2000, we decided to limit the time we would give a new hire to three months, part-time, and see if anything could develop to get our name out in our local market.”
Within two months of finding someone willing to take on that challenge, the company had a business section cover story in The Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel. “The results were immediate,” says Etkin. “New business calls, new talent contacting us about employment opportunities, and our staff felt great that we had recognition for creating events longer than any other company in our market.”
Clients and publicists may not always see eye to eye on what defines successful ROI for a PR campaign, but many event planners are discovering that in an increasingly competitive market, finding the right PR agent is key.
Event producer and designer Mark Steele of New York-based MarkSteeleProductions collaborated with a PR firm on a cast and crew party for the movie “Rent.”
It was a great decision to bring in some expert help, says Steele. “The event was incredibly successful both as an event and a press opportunity. It was exclusively covered in OK! magazine and then went out on the wires.”
Chicago-based publicist Andrew Hayes reports that he delivered good results for All Terrain Productions. Hayes handled the account for a couple of years when management came to him with two clear objectives: (a) increase visibility and reputation and (b) get more clients.
“In the course of doing so I looked at ways to include the firm’s principals and the firm in feature-related editorial,” says Hayes. “In Chicago, the competition is stiff as it relates to corporate event planners. I wanted to create ways that All Terrain would stand out from the others.”
While many focus on print placements, Hayes found good results using television. “I got them a reccurring role on our ABC affiliate’s morning show, where they offered tips and trends on how to throw parties. While the viewing audience was not their target demographic, the fact that they were viewed as experts was impressive to their current and prospective clients.”
In fact, one measure that helps define the difference between good PR and great PR is whether the publicist also guides the company on how to merchandise its placements. In this case, Hayes advised the client to create a DVD with all the footage of their TV appearances. That DVD was then shown to prospective clients. Hayes also initiated an e-mail campaign informing All Terrain’s clientele when the company was going to be on TV.
Oscar and Emmy nominee and creative talent C.B. Wismar holds Carlson Marketing’s publicity in check as its vice president of event marketing. “It has been credited to many athletes over the years,” says Wismar, “but perhaps it was Satchel Paige who first offered the notion that ‘If you can do it, it ain’t braggin’.’ Marketing is not a dirty word. Calling attention to accomplishments; great ideas that became great events; better, faster, cheaper innovations that provide benefit to clients and their customers — these are all things that should be shouted from the rooftops.”
The difference between promoting a new flavor of sports drink in Internet chat rooms and getting purchasing departments and brand managers to understand the value of engaging a world-class strategic event firm is “night and day,” says Wismar.
“Good marketers can synthesize a product, an idea, a service, a solution and communicate that to their targets,” he explains. “Great marketers understand the underlying value of those things and, even more, the impact they will have on the target client.”
One payment approach event planners should keep in mind is pay-for-placement, in which clients pay PR agencies based on results produced, not billable hours. It’s gaining popularity, according to George Schildge, president and CEO of Denver-based Matrix Marketing Group Inc., but it’s not for everyone.
Ultimately, how can you spot the difference between mediocre and really good?
“Event planners should look for marketing and PR experts who value their niche expertise, largely because they have coordinated events successfully themselves,” advises event planner and publicist Loring Barnes. “Event planners must market themselves, cultivate satisfied client testimonials, work and expand their contact network, and show up at marketing and PR conferences with their services portfolio and a distinctive presentation in order to [obtain] more prospective users or referrals.”
“Sometimes it takes finding the right mouthpiece to tell the public about great results,” concludes Etkin. “Initially, there was concern that time spent with yet another publicist was time better spent on other things. Eventually, being able to publicly share information, develop a newsletter and improve the website provided tangible value,” he says. “It was just finding the right way to tell the story to the right audience and the patience to try the waters over and over again until the right person came forward.”
About the author: Linda Hamburger
Linda Hamburger is owner of On Call PR, a South Florida-based PR consultancy. Contact: oncallpr@aol.com