Public Relations and Marketing – What’s the Difference?

A man walks up to a woman at a party and says, “I’m great in bed.” That’s marketing.

The man’s friend walks up to the woman at the party and says, “He’s great in bed.” That’s public relations.… Read more

Public Relations at the Local Level

When people think public relations, they think of slick PR pros courting journalists or holding press conferences in front of national media. But the truth is that most businesses and organizations are relatively small, relatively localized entities. … Read more

PR Media Coverage

It’s easy for public relations firms to overestimate the impact of media coverage. Unless you land your client on the cover of Time or the front page of the New York Times, it can be disheartening to see how little impact a single piece of media coverage brings. My own history with media coverage is an e… Read more

Embargoed Press Releases

Sometimes a public relations rep sends a journalist a press release that is “under embargo.” This means the reporter can’t publish a word regarding the contents of the press release until after a certain date and time. But in this day and age, journalists and public relations profess… Read more

Good Intentions Turn Into Bad Public Relations

It was just a simple contest. For Toys “R” Us, Inc., however, it turned into a public relations nightmare.

The toy retailer started off 2007 in ugly fashion after a contest to award the first baby born in 2007 a $25,000 United States savings bond went awry amid charges of xenophobia and racism. … Read more

A Little Fund Makes a Big Media Splash

Kate Lee has the kind of press clippings most PR people would kill for. In less than a year, Lee has been quoted by publications coast-to-coast and appeared on television and radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. Business Week, USA Today, Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News, New York Times, and Atlanta … Read more