Each year, the clock for getting out holiday-related press releases starts ticking earlier. Recent holiday seasons have proven to be ultra-competitive because of genuine fears that consumers would not be spending money like they had in the past. These fears push purchases back, causing retailers to discount more heavily in an effort to reduce inventories. So when it comes to holiday planning, it’s imperative that manufacturers and service providers push the value element of their products when doing public relations. (Read more…)
It’s time once again to dip into the old PR Fuel mailbag and see what PR Fuel readers have to say about the world of public relations. In this installment, we talk about public relations firms’ antipathy toward blogs. Plus we’ll learn about the some of the dangers when it comes to antagonizing the media. (Read more…)
A post on Kevin Dugan’s Strategic Public Relations blog (http://prblog.typepad.com) recently caught my eye. Dugan discussed an article longtime online marketing genius B.L Ochman highlighting ten “examples of sites, campaigns, and companies that are crying out for blogs.” The article got me thinking, once again, about how companies are missing the blogging boat. To this end, I’ve come up with my own list of five industries that are not capitalizing on the public relations opportunities presented by blogs. My hope is that my ideas will perhaps help foster some creative thinking about how your company or clients can use blogs as effective public relations tools. (Read more…)
These days it seems like everyone I know in the public relations game is looking for a new job. If nothing else, the sheer amount of people I know looking for a change in the public relations industry–I honestly believe that about 50 percent of the PR reps I know are looking to change employers–signals that PR vets and newbies alike are feeling less secure about their actual responsibilities as the definition of “public relations” continues to evolve. (Read more…)
PR giant Edelman and market research firm Inteliseek released a white paper entitled “Trust MEdia: How Real People Are Finally Being Heard — The 1.0 Guide to the Blogosphere for Marketers & Company Stakeholders” (Read more…)
Every time I want to dismiss or ignore the impact of blogs on the public relations industry, I’m reminded of their power. A recent example occurred as I was talking to the head of investor relations for a Fortune 500 company. “My biggest problem right now is dealing with these [expletive] bloggers,” the IR chief said. “The amount of false information and mindless bashing masquerading as commentary is dizzying.” (Read more…)
Although blogs are now a fixture on the media landscape, the public relations industry still doesn’t know how to deal with them. Public relation firms are either afraid of blogs, ambivalent towards them, or they treat them like a high school newspaper. The following seven tips should help public relations pros deal more effectively with the ever-growing (and beneficial) blog phenomenon. (Read more…)
An era when data can be sent and received outside of traditional media outlets–via blogs, email, instant messaging, text messaging, camera phones, etc.–has created an atmosphere where truth is the prize. Those in the public relations industry must delicately balance the public’s right to know and a client’s right to direct its own message. And yes, there are ways to walk this internet-era tightrope successfully. (Read more…)
Like millions of other Americans I tuned into the series finale of “The Sopranos” on Sunday night. It was not a huge deal for me because I’ve only seen the past two seasons of the show, something that would have never occurred without video-on-demand or a digital video recorder. Still, I was intrigued to see what happened and knew that if I ignored the show I would be left out of the water cooler conversation on Monday. (Read more…)
