Public relations – Page 3

PR VS ADVERTISING: An Apple vs An Orange

August 16, 2011/in Advertising, Public relations/by ignitepr

Advertising and Public Relations (PR) professionals are constantly battling it out to prove their worth in the business world. There has always been an unspoken (or blatantly obvious?) rivalry between the two industries considering, in the past, they were often competing for a portion of a company’s budget. Although this may not be the case nowadays, it is still is a common perception that PR and Advertising are ‘much of a muchness’. This presents an issue for two reasons –

If you, as a Chief Executive Officer, engage either a PR or Advertising agency without understanding what value they can offer your company, you risk being disappointed in the end result (not to mention you will have invested time and money into achieving the wrong goal).
You may be subject to verbal abuse and hostile body language if you liken PR to Advertising in front of a PR practitioner or vice versa (this would be an awkward situation if you deal with this person regularly or if you are in a public setting – or both).

If you would prefer to avoid both of the above undesirable circumstances, I recommend you read on. I’ve listed a few points below outlining the key differences between PR and Advertising to make sure you know your apples from oranges. Keep in mind the points below are just the top of the fruit bowl!

1. Paid space vs Free coverage Advertising is paid placement. This means the company pays to put their ad in a particular space or time slot, whether this be for television, the newspaper or the radio.

PR is all about free media exposure for the company using media releases, events, social media and press conferences (to name a few). An interesting article addressing the effectiveness of PR campaigns (written by CP Communications Director Catriona Pollard) actually highlights that PR can have up to 10 times the impact of traditional, paid advertising!

2. Big Bad Advertising Wolf vs Little Red Riding Hood If we were confronted by Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf on two separate occasions, we would probably believe Little Red’s story over the Wolf’s. Well unfortunately Advertising is the Wolf in this scenario. When consumers see an advertisement, they perceive it to be biased considering the company usually just wants to sell them something. As a result, they are less likely to believe the company (or their product) are as fabulous as they say they are.

PR involves a third party (like a media outlet) albeit endorsing the topic being communicated. In the eyes of the public, this increases the credibility of the information being communicated.

3. Total vs No control Considering a company pays precious money for ad space, they are given complete control over the message. They can choose the exact content, the size of the advertisement or the time slot it appears in, the design, and all the other relevant elements.

In PR there is no control over how the media presents the message. Once they have it they can leave it as it is, cut it down, rework it or simply ignore it. They are not obligated to use the information you sent them (EVEN if your email was accompanied by a smiley face emoticon). And this is never more present than with social media and the lack of control over message dissemination.

4. Low vs High priority Don’t look for your ad on the front page of the newspaper because you won’t find it. News takes priority – which pretty much means PR (aka NEWS) trumps advertising any day!

GOT IT? Now it’s time to get out there, sort the apples from the oranges, and decide which one can offer YOUR business the most value (as a PR practitioner, you all know my answer).

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6 Questions: Emma Malone, Editor at CGB Publishing

August 4, 2011/in Franchising PR, Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our 6 Questions series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them etc, we chat with Emma Malone Editor at CGB Publishing.

1) What is your deadline day/ time? CGB Publishing has three different magazines, Business Franchise Australia (published six times a year) Business Franchise New Zealand (published four times a year) and the Franchisor (published two times a year). Add to this the Franchise Guide – a full length book (published annually) and the Franchise Directory (published annually) and there is no day or time when we do not have a deadline!

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)? I prefer an email followed up by a phone call. It gives me a chance to review the information and see if it would be of any value to our publications.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted? Preferably late morning. This gives me a chance to catch up on the mountain of emails and action items first.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favorite venues? I would love to meet for coffee, but our deadlines don’t really allow for this. Emails and phone calls are much more effective for my schedule.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs? I am not sure I have pet peeves. PR firms have a job to do, just like the rest of us.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had? There is no perfect pitch – at least not that I have seen (yet) – I appreciate PR people who tell me about the company, what they are trying to achieve and what they would like from our publication – no sales dances.

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A day in the life of a PR professional

July 19, 2011/4 Comments/in Public relations/by ignitepr

While Public Relations is certainly a profession most people know of very little understand what we actually do and what happens day-to-day. A common misconception is that we are always ‘lunching’ and basically having a jolly good time putting on parties. True this is a very simplified and ignorant view of the industry but I have certainly heard it ‘joked’ about on more than one occasion in my career, so today we will take a quick look at a few fundamental things that every practitioner does each day (well at least at Ignite PR & Marketing we do).

1) Plan the day: Time is money so a review of the day ahead, the priorities to conquer and key deadlines to meet that day will ensure the next 8 hours are productive and efficient and maximized for both the client and agency.

2) Media Monitoring: One of the key aspects of our jobs is ensuring we are abreast of current affairs that may influence our clients’ brands or provide great fodder for a story opportunity, so scouring the key news sites, local newspapers, industry blogs and newsletters is an integral part of a good account manager’s job.

3) Writing , Writing , Writing : No day is complete without a few solid hours of research, interviews and writing covering items like press releases, blogs, newsletters and social media entries to name but a few.

4) Pitch and follow up: Most days time will be spent pitching a story to media with the aim of achieving media coverage to satisfy our clients’ voracious appetites for being ‘seen’ in the market place. Of course it’s all targeted media, so time is spent qualifying the media contacts and ensuring each media receives a story that is relevant to the publication. Sometimes it will work but on the whole a ‘cookie cutter’ approach won’t generate the right results.

5) Client Relations: Clients are our bread and butter so ensuring they feel ‘loved’ is a very important part of a PR professional’s job. Nothing replaces face-to-face communication but given most agencies will work with clients across Australia it is important to be proficient communicators via phone, email and Skype is important. At our agency each manager has multiple clients to work on each day so we have a rule of thumb of a least 3 points of contact a week (if not more).

PR is an exciting and challenging career but there is a considerable amount of time spent behind the desk strategising, writing and working towards helping clients fulfill their communication goals. I’ve never worked in-house but consultancy life is fast paced, challenging, thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying. It’s not a good choice for people who can’t work under pressure but if you hate being bored and like seeing the difference your work can make, PR is a good choice.

6 questions: Susan Ronai, Managing Editor, BUSINESSbne

July 7, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Susan Ronai, managing editor of BUSINESSbne, a Brisbane specific magazine aimed at SMEs and targeted at business owners, managers and employees; effectively anyone who works in the business world.

1) What is your deadline day?

My magazine is published 6 weekly, so the deadlines vary… the balance of this year is June 30, August 11, September 22 and November 4 and the time is close of business on that day.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Prefer email by far.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Doesn’t matter, but I don’t have mobile email, so I may not get an email until I’m back in the office.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

Anywhere except in town… the parking charges are prohibitive!

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

I don’t have any.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

I have recently asked Ignite to join with me in supplying copy once every 6 weeks for an interview style piece either on a person of note for “Have a Coffee with ….” or on a business for a “Business Success Story”, so would be interested in receiving pitches for those sections. The [best PR pitch] hasn’t happened yet so I can’t answer any further.

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Why businesses should consider outsourcing PR

June 16, 2011/1 Comment/in Business, General, Public relations/by ignitepr

When it comes to marketing your business, there are a number of specialist areas that need to be looked at including graphic design, marketing and public relations. Whilst you might be able to do the basics in-house, there is expertise attached to these specialist areas. Here are a few reasons why it’s worth investing in your PR rather than DIY-ing it:

1) We’ve got years of experience and expertise: chances are we’ve done it all before, we’ve written the press releases, we’ve done the media training, we’ve spoken to the journalists, we’ve pitched the stories – we’re doing the job day in, day out, for a varied client list.

2) We can bring something new to the table: coming from an outside perspective we can put forward new ideas, different ways of doing things and challenge the way you do things ‘just because’. We’re there to make your business grow so we can grow too.

3) You can get results without another ‘mouth to feed’: the breadth of our experience means that we are often more cost-effective than it would be to get the person/ people necessary in-house to cover all the tasks we can undertake.

4) We can react fast: if something needs turning around quickly, if you need more hands on deck, an outsourced company should have the extra resource and capability to turn that around for you.

5) We can help upskill your team: working closely side-by-side should mean that your in-house team learns more and more about PR and what it can achieve for your business.

Outsourcing is an investment and it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before taking that step otherwise you may end up resenting the company that is working for you, rather than using them to their maximum potential and allowing them to work with you and integrate with your team.

The best time to get in the PR experts is if you’re running out of ideas, if you don’t want to make a long-term commitment initially and dip your toe in the water, if your in-house marketing team is overworked, if your head office and marketing function is overseas, if you’re a start-up business and focussed on the core business, if you want to inject fresh ideas and new skills.

But if you choose to go down the path of outsourcing you must be very clear about the objectives and how you will measure success, i.e. what the desired outcome is. It’s important for you to meet the team who would be working on your ‘account’ – you should get on with them and they should have the enthusiasm and skills necessary to deliver.

The best PR agency-client relationships are partnerships where the business is open and honest with the PR consultancy – being up front about business objectives, praising good work, working alongside the agency team and keeping them informed of everything happening in your business.

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6 questions: Alex Tilbury, Finance reporter, The Courier-Mail

June 9, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Alex Tilbury, finance reporter from The Courier-Mail.

1) What is your deadline day?

Deadline is normally every day from 4pm onwards. The afternoon news conference finishes around 3:30pm so that is when the section editors know what they want for the next day. The Your Money section is nationally syndicated across all News Ltd tabloids and is normally done and dusted each Wednesday for the following Monday.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is definitely best. I don’t want faxes. I am just dipping my toes into the Twittersphere so even a tweet is good. I check it a few times a day. Follow me @AlexTilbury.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Please don’t ring any daily newspaper journo in the late afternoon as it is simply too busy to talk. Mornings are always best to call, if you must. As a rule, news conference starts at the Courier-Mail at 9:30, then 10:30am. We are very keen to hear about video/audio options. If you can package a story for an iPad edition (every day at 5am and 5pm), then that’ll work in your favour too. We have to sell our own stories across all the multi-media platforms.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

I definitely like to meet up but I prefer people to come to our office at Bowen Hills. I don’t have a lot of time to get out basically. It’s also very posh in the new newsroom, all renovated and we even have great coffee here.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

I am constantly surprised when PRs call and ask if you have run such and such story and it may have run already but many PRs don’t actually read the book! Buy the paper, it’s so fundamental. Not every story gets uploaded online. In fact it is only going to get worse when the content online will eventually be subscriber-only. And, don’t ring me and ask who you should pitch a piece to. Start with the Chief of Staff and then contact journos directly.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

Case studies really help, especially in business reporting. Find me a happy customer and it’s an easy way for people to relate. We are definitely not a trade magazine, so nothing extremely single product specific. Be aware of what is happening in the news and in terms of data coming out. New car sales data, retail data, building approvals… all these are hooks to a genuine news piece that highlights your car dealer, shop owner or builder. Think a little more ‘newsy’.

Best pitch… still waiting! Every day is different. I think the best PRs are the ones who understand we are all here just to do our jobs, fill the book and find the best angle for our readers.

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BRW’s five questions to ask a PR firm

June 6, 2011/in General, Public relations/by ignitepr

Last year, BRW wrote an article about some of the top PR firms in Australia, as part of that article it recommended five questions to ask a PR consultancy before considering appointing them. We thought it would be a useful exercise to give you our answers to those questions.

1) Have any of your staff worked as journalists?

Yes, our senior account manager is trained as a journalist and spent several years working as a journalist and newsreader in FM radio.

Many of our account managers have journalism or communications qualifications, ensuring they know what makes and how to write a good story. And all our staff are tertiary trained in either journalism or public relations writing.

2) What is your approach to developing a PR strategy?

We sit down with the prospective client and ask why they think PR is a good idea for their business and try to determine what their underlying business objectives are. These questions are critical because if a client is just interested in launching or promoting a particular product, for example, and looking for instant enquiries / sales, then advertising may be a more effective option for them. However, if the client is looking to increase the brand awareness and reputation of their organisation, this is where PR can be most effective.

The most important question is almost always “Why do you feel your business/ organisation needs PR?” the answer to this question often determines the direction of our strategy.

With a clear idea of their business objectives and expectations, we go back to the Ignite team and open the discussion up for ideas generation on the best strategy mix for the client. Given that we specialise in the franchising industry we may, for example, choose to focus our efforts on a number of different parts of the industry depending on the client needs. These might mean we develop a plan that incorporates activity targeting consumer media (for a retail product), business media (for corporate level exposure) and franchising media (for franchise business development).

The strategy mix depends entirely on the client’s industry and their objectives.

3) Who would be working on my account?

As a rule our clients have at least two people working on them at all times. This usually consists of a senior manager or director, who handles the contact with the client and more complicated content, while an account manager may handle some of the simple content and background work.

However, all staff within the agency are briefed on the details of all new accounts, so are able to step in quickly to work on content if required.

4) How do you measure results?

As any good agency should: in a variety of ways.

To start with, if we are talking about straight ‘column centimetres’ PR then it is possible to measure what is called Advertising Value Equivalent. This is good for clients as it gives some measurable numbers from a return on investment point of view, but it also only tells about half of the story and should not be used as the only measure of success.

It’s one thing to achieve a large number of clippings, which add weight to an AVE measurement, but if these clips are ‘off message’ then their value is negligible. We also run qualitative analysis on the key message statements of our clients to make sure they are appearing in the coverage they are receiving.

Finally, we run quarterly client satisfaction surveys to ensure our account management staff are performing at the highest possible level. Our aim is for our clients to feel that they have their own in-house PR and marketing manager and these surveys are the best way for us to ensure that this level of service is always being delivered.

5) How proactive is your team?

In our client surveys, one of questions relates to ’proactive ideas generation’ and this is a key factor on which staff are selected for the agency. As a boutique agency with smaller staff numbers, it’s vitally important that everyone in our team is able to think on their feet and come up with creative, out-of-the-box ideas, not only for addressing client needs, but also to harness opportunities, especially in the media arena, which may not be immediately obvious to the client themselves.

6 questions: Krystal Manson, Drive journalist and newsreader, 101.9 Fox FM

June 2, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Krystal Manson, Drive journalist and newsreader from 101.9 Fox FM in Melbourne.

1) What are your deadlines throughout the day?

3.30pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm for bulletins at 4, 5 and 6pm.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is best.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

For my particular shift before 3pm; between about midday and 3pm is preferred.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

No. There’s no time for that really in radio.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

One: PR people that call right in the middle of a reading shift or close to news time (6-9am and 4-6pm).

Two: Sending out a release then not having the talent ready to go.

Three: Really looooong phone pitches without taking a breath to let us say NO THANKS!

Also, please don’t ask me what questions I’m going to ask or for a copy of what went to air.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

The best story pitches are the ones with the best stories. Don’t waste my time if what you are trying to sell isn’t timely (in the news at the time) or meaty (have some research to back up what you’re saying). I can’t say that I’ve had any amazing pitches, but the ones I usually go for are short, not pushy, and relevant (something I would have likely put a phone call in for anyway).

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6 questions: Jayne Munday, Journalist, Queensland Business Review

May 26, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Jayne Munday, journalist from QBR – Queensland’s only dedicated online news source for business owners and operators [QBR is also on Twitter].

1) What is your deadline day?

QBR is an online publication, so stories are uploaded throughout the day (Monday to Friday). Our daily e-newsletter is compiled in the afternoon comprising all the top news from the day and is then sent to subscribers at around 3pm.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is usually the best option in case I am conducting an interview or in a meeting. If it’s sitting in my inbox I can always go back to it once I get some down time.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Later in the morning and early afternoon are ideal for phone calls. The 3pm e-newsletter deadline means my afternoons are fairly busy. However, I am happy to receive emails 24/7 – news never stops!

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

I am always willing to build better working relationships with PR people and Queensland companies – it just depends on my work schedule. Daily deadlines can make it tricky to leave the office.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

As a business journalist I welcome the contact from PR people. While I can’t say I have any ‘pet peeves’ as such, I do prefer follow-up calls/emails to wait a few days once the initial email is sent.

Knowing about the publication (whether it is online or print) is always a plus, as it shows you have done your research.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

While no one pitch in particular stands out, I can say a one or two page press release with a photo attachment usually catches my eye when checking emails. A visual component is always good to accompany an online story.

It’s also a bonus if the news is given to me before it hits the mainstream media. Being a daily publication means I can get the news out to readers in a timely fashion.

If the ‘hard’ news is made clear in the first two paragraphs it is also more likely to get picked up.

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How to write award entries

May 23, 2011/in Awards, General, Public relations/by ignitepr

Entering awards may be the bane of your life – it always takes longer than you think to write the entry so it’s usually a stressful rush at the last minute. So why bother?

Well, it’s very flattering to be nominated or asked to enter an award; if you get shortlisted or win it’s a fantastic boost for the company and the team; you usually get to go to a great party; it can help with new business; enhance your profile in your industry; give you a great opportunity to generate some publicity – both internally and externally; and the logos look great on the letterhead/ email signature/ website homepage.

Here we give our top five tips for writing award entries and some advice on how to go about finding awards to enter. (But rest assured we can do the hard work for you as well if necessary!)

1) Enter the right award: This might sound a bit obvious, but award entries take a lot of time and effort so it’s important to make sure that the award you’re planning to enter are worth it and that you genuinely think you have a good chance. Have a look and see what and who has won in previous years, if you can get examples of previous entries to work from do that too, but always make sure you put your own stamp on it. The process of actually entering an award can sometimes cause you to have a really close look at your business, your goals and what you’ve already achieved. The process itself can sometimes be beneficial.

2) Check the format: Another obvious one, but something that can easily be overlooked – do they want it written in the first or third person? Is there a word limit on the responses? Would it be advantageous to have your entry designed by a graphic designer to give it more impact? Do they want attachments? How do those need to be formatted? Does the entry need to be submitted in a specific format? Does it need to be posted or emailed – this could impact the amount of time you have and how you write it up?

3) Gather evidence: As well as you telling the judges that you’re great, you deserve the award and how could they possibly give it to anyone else, it’s probably a good idea (and most awards require it) to gather evidence to support your answers. Examples of documents, testimonials from colleagues or clients, presentations, press coverage… whatever fits the bill, make sure you use it to strengthen your case as the future award winning company or individual that you are.

4) Proof-read: You’ve come this far, you’ve decided which award to enter, you’ve agonised over the words, you’ve edited everything to within an inch of its life and now you’re almost ready to enter (well within the deadline of course) so don’t let a ‘smelling pistake’ or stray apostrophe or speech mark get in your way. It may sound small, but some of these judges are hard people to please!

5) Be prepared: You may be called upon to have a face-to-face interview as part of the awards process, this could turn out to be the interview of your life. Be prepared so you can enjoy it! Think you might enter a particular award next year, start preparing for it now, if there are particular criteria you need to fulfill what can you do between now and then to make sure you’ve got it covered? Always be one step ahead and you’ll find it much easier when it comes round to the entry writing process.

Where can you find out about awards to enter? There are lots of places to look – try your local Chamber of Commerce, local newspaper and council. Also look at industry bodies and associations, for example in the franchising industry the Franchise Council of Australia runs an annual awards scheme – every year we work drafting and editing entries for clients. Quite often industry and business magazines run awards schemes as well. And have a look to see what your competitors have won before and enter those too. Using a search engine such as Google is a great way to find information or register for a website such as AwardSync, which is a free service that lists awards across the country according to sector.

Good luck!

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