Steve Jobs is alive. That much we know. But the health status of the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple, Inc. remains a mystery to many, especially those who believe Jobs and the company’s public relations department are not being completely honest. One thing is clear: Questions about Jobs’ health are not going away anytime soon. Read More
Many public relations professionals may find it hard to believe, but it’s okay to turn down a press opportunity. And I’m not talking about opportunities where you may get sandbagged by a reporter. I’m talking about a press opportunity that looks good, at least on the surface. Read More
When speaking during public relations presentations or media interviews, it’s easy to make any number of rookie mistakes. You may not have prepared enough in advance. Try too hard to appear confident, and you may simply look like you’re showing off. You can confuse listeners by overusing unexplained technical jargon. You can speak in a flat, affectless tone that makes you seem cold and unemotional. Any or all of these mistakes may lead to an audience so bored that it misses your key messages completely. Here are five tips for adding a human touch to your next presentation, speech, or interview. Read More
A law firm underwrites a local business college’s Family Business Awards Luncheon. A maker of “12-Horse Ale” sponsors a “Horses on Parade” promotion benefiting local charities. An accounting firm invites key clients to participate in a Pro-Am golf tournament it is co-sponsoring. These businesses know what recent research has proven: that doing good is good business. Consumers, employees, and community stakeholders are more likely to support companies associated with good causes. Studies consistently show charitable donations and corporate sponsorships have a positive impact on the bottom line through increased sales, improved consumer loyalty, employee morale, and enhanced brand awareness. It is an often inexpensive way to extend your public relations profile. Read More
“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.”
– Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder
Is your company or organization suffering from PR bankruptcy? Have you created or maintained goodwill with the media by proactively distributing at least one press release a quarter over the past few years? Read More
Why would a Los Angeles-based retailer hire a New York-based boutique public relations firm to handle the launch of new stores in a southern city? Hiring a local public relations firm would have made more sense, especially if the retailer in question did not already enjoy a national presence. Expanding a business to a new region can be an exhilarating, exhausting, and scary process. Hiring a local public relations firm when expanding into a new region makes sense for a number of reasons, including: Read More
Congratulations! Your start-up company’s ready to announce its first product. Or maybe you’re handling a competitive announcement from one division of a huge corporation. Or maybe you’re somewhere between big business and entrepreneurship. Whatever the size of your organization, you’ve moved into the public relations stage. Let’s assume everything is ready: press list, press release, booth reserved at key trade shows. You’re good to go, right? Wrong. Because unless you and your staff are prepared for the series of media interviews that are (hopefully) about to ensue, you could be setting yourself up for disaster. Read More
You may not think of a letter to the editor as a way to extend your public relations budget, but a well-crafted letter in a widely read publication can be a powerful (and free) way to promote your company. Writing an effective letter to the editor will be that much easier if you use the following tips. Read More
Good communicators don’t just wing it. They take the time to prepare, developing key messages. Effective communication depends on clarity, and clarity requires developing key messages and using them consistently. The discipline is deceptively simple, but once mastered, key messages will make every communication process more effective, whether during speeches, presentations, or media interviews. Read More
“Off the record” is gray area for journalists and public relations professionals alike. As a reporter, if someone tells me they’re going to talk to me “off the record,” I normally take that to mean they’re willing to give me information, but don’t want that informaiton attributed to them. (I usually ask if I can use the information. If I’m told no, I will reply, “Than why did you tell me in the first place?”) How can folks in the public relations industry know what they’re getting into when they decide to “go off the record” in a media interview? Read More