AJR Spin Zone

New Client PR Red Flags: Clients to Avoid (maybe)

2009-10-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

We work with a lot of small business and start-ups. I enjoy working with entrepreneurs as I find the accounts exciting, high-energy and challenging both from a creative standpoint and from a business / financial management perspective. They keep us fresh with ideas and with our skills.

Over the last 20 years I have worked with dozen and dozens of successful start-ups started by serious entrepreneurs.

However, I have also had my share of kooks, from a guy that claimed a government conspiracy was preventing him from launching his anti-hurricane technology post-Katrina to a firm that insisted I did not need to know what his business did, who is customers were, all he wanted was for me to perform a publicity stunt as if I was a trained seal.

Through the years I have seen it all, and here is a sample list of red flags when dealing with potential start up and new clients looking to hire a PR firm.

Some red flags are just out of naiveté in dealing with an agency, others are signs of something far more serious. So take these red flags with a grain of salt, my observations are just that and at the end of the day go with your gut!

We don’t need a contract

Translation: we plan on screwing you.

No contract = no work. That is our policy. Yes, learned this the hard way. That’s why I now use a lawyer to review all contracts.

We’ll pay you at the end of the month (or we have good credit)

Translation: we want you to be our bank and finance our PR with your other clients’ fees or from your cash flow.And we will pay you when we can.

We want to grow with you

Funny how concerned they are about your business.

Translation: we don’t have money, but if you do a great job for almost free, one day we can hire your bigger competitor.

We want to do a one-month program and see the results

Translation: We don’t trust you and want a quick sales gimmick or a hit

Ans: if you want a quick hit, buy an ad, PR is an investment in your brand not a sales gimmick

Can you guarantee results?

Translation: We don’t trust you and want a quick sales gimmick or a hit

Answer: we are a professional services firm, much like a doctor, lawyer or a CPA, and as such we provide professional services for a fee.

How can we trust you?

Translation: Because you can’t trust us.

Answer: (this one makes my blood boil and I never work with these people)

I’ve been in business xx years and have impeccable references, and what about you? Can I trust you and see your references? That’s what we have a contract.

We want to pay a success fee or a percentage of the fee then the rest based on results

Translation: you will never be successful for us to pay in full, because we will keep changing the definition of success

We have no competition

Translation: clients that say this either have no clue about their business or have the monopoly on Oxygen

We want to see creative ideas, strategies and tactics

Translation: we want to steal your ideas and do it in-house.

We get around this by having a huge case study library and references. We do not (almost never) give ideas away to clients. Period (mostly).

We want you to pay our expenses and bill us later

Translation: we don’t have money and want you to be our bank.

We will front wire fees and small expenses for solid clients, all other pay up front or pay direct.

Can we pay you at the end of the project?

Translation: we’ll screw you at the end and pay you less than the agreed upon cost

Ans: if it’s a project we take 50 / 25/ 25

50% to start (non-refundable)
25% when halfway done or a set time say 30 days
25% at the end – this way all I have at risk is the profit margin, assuming the project has not gone south by that time anyways

With all start-ups and small businesses we insist on payment up front and then we can slowly move them to net 15 or net 30 if they have proven themselves as creditworthy, because I’m not a bank.

PR is a major investment for these firms and I get that. However, if they do not have the money to pay up front you put yourself at risk of being paid last, paid late or not at all.

You have to be ready to walk away from a deal if the client cannot pay his first month’s fee in advance, won’t sign a contract or other red flags. This can be tricky, especially of you are starting out as a solo pr person.

Some of my best clients are stat-ups and small businesses, but I have also lost money over the years because I did not listen to my gut.

Behind the Scenes of a Front Page PR Hit

2009-08-30T10:20:00.000-07:00

All clients want to get on the front page of the paper or a major magazine cover. Here is our story a recent front-page hit, one of many we secure on a regular basis for our clients.

Details:

Client: Toyota of South Florida

Agency: AJR & Partners

Acct team: Alec J. Rosen (strategy development) and Typhanie Thomas (media outreach and pitching)

Media outlet: Miami Herald

Strategy – tested concept first via SM then went to traditional media

Pitch: Toyota puts women in drivers seat, breaks glass ceiling

Story headline: Auto dealers shift gears, hire more women

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1202368.html

Idea creation

In the beginning of any client relationship we get to know the client, by visiting offices, factories, warehouses, plants, showrooms, etc. For out-of town clients or international ones, we still make the effort to visit, but sometimes we have to do it virtually in order to understand their business from A-Z.

In visiting TOSF I noticed most if not all the senior managers were women – odd for a car dealer. After all I have bought, sold, leased many cars over the last 25+ years and really couldn't recall seeing so many women in high management positions.

I realized we were looking at a major story – one the client couldn't see, because of their proximity to it – working with the same people for many years, they didn't realize they created something unique and newsworthy.

Communications Strategy

First we had to convince the client that this was newsworthy --- we did our HW on women in the auto business and had the statistics to prove we had the right story, then we pitched the client.

Once we had their greenlight we did the following:

Interviewed all the women executives, understood their roles and responsibility and background

Conducted media training and role playing with several executives to understand their approach to the business and media Q&As

Created a press release for online and SM distribution only as a test of our thesis and to gauge pick-up / story interest

We fine-tuned our pitch focusing on : TOSF puts women in the drivers seat by breaking the glass ceiling and car dealer stereotypes

Media Outreach

Focused on those covering w omen's issues in business and focused it locally, as TOSF is a local car dealer and at the end of the day, we need to get people to the dealership to buy cars in this economy.

We sent the release to just 2 media, both resulted in follow-up interviews and photo shoots : a full page piece in a weekly community paper, and the front page Business story in Miami Herald.

Sometimes, the right strategy and pitch does not need massive distribution, just hitting the right people with the right pitch at the right time.

Results
The Social Media outreach caught attention of bloggers and car buyers, driving traffic to the website and dealership - good for sales and online SM buzz

Generated twitter traffic. and grabbed about 500 new followers – mostly local women – our targeted buyer for the dealership (our SM strategy allows us to engage them separately)

The pitch was well received by the media as it was already vetted w/ favorable comments online and on twitter – so we knew we had winner

front page story Miami Herald and full page in Doral Community Papers

Link to Miami Herald click here

PR Budgets and Reality in Today's Economy

2009-05-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

What a topic: PR budget's in today's economy. This is first in an occasional series

Clients are slashing budgets. But want SOW to remain the same.
Agency's are trying to push back.
New Business Prospects are retainer-weary, most want short-term projects.

What's an agency to do?

At AJR & Partners, we have looked at this very carefully and have designed several programs to help clients and prospects navigate today's economic waters and still continue their marketing efforts.

in a down economy when your competitors are cutting back on their marketing, you have a chance to grab marketshare and build brand for the future, when the economy is sure to bounce back. let's take a look at some options we are providing for our clients and that are working in this economic environment:

QuickStart Plans

AJR’s QuickStart program enables us to meet quick tactical PR and marketing needs while simultaneously creating a long-term strategic plan. In Today's economy, this agile approach saves time, money and drives results, especially for start-ups.

Well-defined Projects

Some of our clients are only seeking short term sales goals, and here is where flexibility of a small shop rules. Without high overhead, we can perform near miracles in 30-days or on specific projects like PR for a tradeshow.

the key for success is to have a well-defined scope of work for the project and to prevent "mission creep" by the client, who is seeking more than a the project's parameters. (of course some over-servicing is OK and expected to show that you are investing in the client, but there needs to be balance)

Public Relations Seminars

Some clients are just Looking to enhance their in-house PR capabilities or give their staff an added edge in a challenging economy. This is where we provide training without the strings of a retainer.

Our full-day PR seminars are custom designed to meet specific client needs and have the client's in-house PR team working and thinking like an award winning agency.

Clients love seminars as it's a way of enhancing their team without the cost or commitment of an agency (can't believe I wrote that)

Social Media

Social Media and Web 2.0 refers to a second generation of web-based social-networking sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as well as other online communities that cater to unique and diverse groups.

Many brands are now engaging their customers directly through Social Media. AJR has created web 2.0 and social media programs for a variety of clients, ranging from start-ups to major consumer brands.

While many of the tools of Social Media are free, a skilled agency or in-house team member must devote time and resources in order to use these tools to their fullest extent possible.

We have built and managed communities for diverse groups such as Gamers, Toyota drivers, HDTV fans, audiophiles and many others.

Finally, whatever you do in this economy, don't stop marketing or you will lose momentum when the economy comes back to life.

We did it again .. this time with AOC

2009-05-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

AJR & Partners did it again.

yes, we won two more PR Awards, the Hermes Creative Awards http://www.hermesawards.com/

2009 Platinum Award for Viral Marketing using Twitter for PR and tradeshow outreach (client AOC)

2009 Gold Award for Integrated PR and Marking Campaign for "Gamer Certified Monitors" (client AOC)

Incredible work, from an incredible team from AJR & Partners

see all our awards here AJR Awards

will post the case studies soon.

alec

Twitter PR Case Study Success Story

2009-04-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Using Twitter and Viral Marketing For Public Relations Outreach

An AJR & Partners Public Relations Case Study

Overview

The 2009 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held in Las Vegas served as a Social Media experiment on Twitter for our agency and clients. Over all, it was a success and AJR & Partners will incorporate Twitter in all future PR outreach efforts with current and future clients.

AJR & Partners focused our Twitter PR campaign on a core group of media that attended CES 2009 in Las Vegas.

All tweets were targeted to #CES09 attendees by employing the popular hashtag (#) symbol to track tweets (#CES09). Tweets were also sent to @ces09 who in turn, re-tweeted them to all CES09 followers.

By using Tweeter search, we were able to find and reach out to reporters attending CES or tweeting about the show. We followed and communicated with media directly. Naturally, not all media expressed an interest in our client, but a dialogue was created and established.

The twitter campaign was initiated several weeks before CES 2009, with once-a-day updates. As the event got closer, we tweeted several times per day leading up to CES and then as needed onsite for live updates on our clients’ activities, etc.

Tweet Pitch

The 140 character limit set by Twitter did not hinder our ability to craft targeted pitches. In fact, the short and to-the-point communication enabled us to quickly get our message across while providing hyperlinks to clients’ microsites to cut down on the number of characters tweeted.

How Tweets Were Used:

a) Client informative

b) Call to action to book actual interviews

c) Marketing driven – generate foot traffic to booth

Sample Tweet Pitch:

#CES09 - AOC will be at Bellagio Tower Ballroom 3 launching Gamer Certified WLED monitor: interview/ demos available (@alecjr)

#CES09 http://www.gamercertified.com/ Sponsored by AOC visit at Bellagio Tower Ballroom 3 - interview/ demos available (@alecjr)

some additional Tweets used in this campaign:

http://twitter.com/alecjr/status/1097317729
http://twitter.com/alecjr/status/1084005017

Successes

Twitter resonated with the online media community more so than with “traditional” media outlets.

Through twitter, we successfully booked 16 interviews and had a higher PR response rate versus traditional “e-mail” pitching. We also generated more PR and a different caliber of reporter than originally targeted – including an increase in blogger and gaming oriented media interest.

Metrics

Metrics for our PR efforts through twitter were measured by 1.) The number of media interviews booked and 2.) The number of articles / reviews published as a direct result of twitter.

Of the 16 booked interviews resulting from Twitter media outreach, 15 reporters showed up for their interviews / demos, resulting in 14 published articles.

Articles generated by media that were “pitched” via twitter were more engaged than those contacted by traditional PR practices due to pre-interview communications though Twitter.

The use of Twitter before, during and after CES greatly expanded the number of niche media contacts in our database, resulting in larger and more targeted media lists.

http://twitter.com/alecjr

http://www.ajrpartners.com/

http://www.thinkgreenpr.com/

Synopsis of an Award Winning Campaign: Branding and PR

2009-03-28T12:30:00.001-07:00

As an award winning PR and MARCOM Agency, we will post our winning campaigns and select case studies in order to help other PR pros breaking into the agency game for the first time or starting their own shops due to the recession and job layoffs. here is the first of many posts.

An AJR & Partners Public Relations Case Study

Synopsis of an Award Winning Camping
Client: Sleek Audio
Award: 2008 MARCOM for Best Corporate Brand, Marketing and PR - Platinum

Objectives

Launch high-tech customizable in-ear headphones for use in iPods and MP3 Players.
Create an online community of audiophiles for Sleek Audio
Position Sleek Audios’ products as an audiophile’s dream come true with customizable treble and bass ports to create your own audio fingerprint.

Challenges

Start-up company with very limited marketing funds, but a truly great product with a father and son team that believe in themselves

Strategies

Communicate directly with audiophiles and build an online community of supporters
Get product into hands and ears of tech reviewers and other online influencers

Solutions

Created an Integrated PR and Web 2.0 marketing campaign with a pre-launch viral marketing site (http://www.youraudiofingerprint.com/) and a microsite for news and reviews (http://www.sleek-audioreviews.com/)
Launched product at 2008 CES, focusing on media reviews with audiophile press and blogs
Conducted ongoing successful technology and audiophile media outreach program, securing reviews in the following influencer media:

CNET
ComputerShopper
CoolTechZone
Gadgetnutz
HiFi Headphones
iLounge
Laptop Magazine
Like Cool
MyMac
Neowin
PC Magazine
Popular Mechanics
Popular Science – Best of What’s New 2008 Audio Gadget of the Year
Positive Feedback
SevenClick
SlashGear
Stars and Stripes Magazine
TechnicallyTech
TechPowerUP
TechTalk Radio
Trusted Reviews
Wired

these and other media hits can be found on the micro-review site we set up for Sleek Audio Reviews

Synopsis of an Award Winning Campaign - Viral Marketing

2009-03-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

An AJR & Partners Public Relations Case Study

Synopsis of an Award Winning Camping
Client: Sleek Audio
Campaign: "Find Your Audio Fingerprint"
Award: 2008 MARCOM for Best Viral Marketing - Gold

Synopsis:

As a pre-launch teaser campaign for Sleek Audio, AJR created a simple website for viral marketing purposes: http://www.youraudiofingerprint.com/

AJR launched the site with a press release sent to audiophile and technology media as well as through PR Web and Business Wire

The http://www.youraudiofingerprint.com/ website introduces the concept of “finding your audio fingerprint” customizable in-ear headphones for MP3 players and iPods

The http://www.youraudiofingerprint.com/ site also links back to the client’s main website and it’s MySpace page

Members of the media contacted AJR for more information regarding Find Your Audio Fingerprint

http://www.youraudiofingerprint.com/ increased pre-launch media awareness, consumer requests for more information and pre-sales

e-mail to My Clients: The Demise of the Rocky Mountain News And Its Impact on PR Today and Tomorrow

2009-02-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

Dear AJR Clients:

Today is the last day of the Rocky Mountain News. This week UM hosted a conference on the future of digital media – with a sub text of its impact on print and TV. So what does all this mean for AJR and you?

While we do not live in Denver, nor are we representing you in that market , let’s discuss the impact on how the newspaper and the larger media crisis is impacting PR and marketing:

First the bad news

More media layoffs across the country means less news coverage for all
Miami and South Florida are not immune to media cutbacks or ad revenue shortfalls
newspapers are relying more and more on wire services (including Business Wire, etc.) for content and less on locally generated news (good ol’ fashioned journalism)
More newspapers around the country are shutting operations, scaling back or talking about shutting down (such as the San Francisco Chronicle)
regional media are combining operations (Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post and Sun Sentential combined local reporting) meaning that they have less resources to over a larger area
TV stations relying more on pre-packaged online video content than news
Ad revenues continue to slide, thus putting more financial pressure on the media (resulting in staff cutback and less news coverage)
Newspaper subscribers are an endangered species (ask your staff how many subscribe and read the local paper)
TV news are focusing on crime and the old adage if it “bleeds it leads” and not on other stories
B2b media and trade publications are migrating to online only
technology is driving consumers of news online where the content is “free”

Now the good news

technology is driving consumers of news online where the content is “free”
people still want news and info, but are using the internet, social media and other tech tools to access info when they want it and how they want it.

Notice how the last bullet point of the bad is the only good news point.

Impact on PR in this environment

Taking the sub bullet point of the good news people still want news and info, but are using the internet, social media and other tech tools to access info when they want it and how they want it — this is what AJR is doing on your behalf:

We are and have been focusing more and more on online media and news – building relationships with bloggers to online only news sites that cover all our clients industries from banking to insurance to gaming to software to school supplies to cars and so on.
focusing on experiential PR and reviews for products, services and software that can be posted and reposted online many times or events where media and customers can experience your brand
we are using viral marketing to push news to your target audiences instead of being passive and allowing the media to deliver your news to their shrinking subscriber base
we are building micro-web sites that feature your news and press releases and enhance the SEO of your main site -making you more attractive to in google searches and peole “looking for you”
Using social networking tools such as Twitter, YouTube and FaceBook to communicate directly with our clients’ target markets and reporters
Using online wire services such as Business Wire, PR Newswire, PR Web, and free ones such as Pitch Engine and others to widely disseminate our releases to a myriad of online news sources and then replicating that news through re-positing
Our press releases are written with built-in SEO based on Your Key Words and Web 2.0 social networking tools with hyperlinks back to your websites- thus ensuring that our news is delivered to your target audiences and published online even if it is printed in the ever shrinking print media
We are communicating directly with key media online through social networking tools like Twitter where we follow dozens of reporters (locally, nationally and internationally)
we remain at the forefront of online viral marketing and PR and using advanced Web 2.0 PR tools (we even won an award for this last year!)

The Bottom line

The media landscape is changing fast and some of our venerable titles may not be here next year (are you listening Washington Post?)
We expect to see more print media cutbacks but also more news coverage shifting online by the same titles
People still crave news and the demand for information (your company news) is expanding exponentially not shrinking
The young (under 35 crowd) get their news online mostly and use social media tools – these media outlets are growing exponentially unlike print media
B2B and trade news is mostly being driven online where access to info is fast, free and more targeted and relevant than print media
increased focus on “experiential PR and marketing” - i.e., product / service reviews, events, sponsorships and other interactive activities both online and offline (e-books, newsletters, reviews)
Social media tools are mostly FREE and will have little to no impact on your budget but will reach the people you want to reach when they want to access your news

So, as the media is slowing dying, PR is expanding and growing online and PR still remains the most cost-effective tool to communicate with your target audiences. Technology allows us to do that directly. We may see less “news” in print or TV, but we will have more online coverage and can track results better for all of our clients.

If you have any questions about how this directly impacts you and your company, call me. Trust me, we have built all of this into our strategic plans and continue to monitor this situation for all our clients regardless of your industry, target audience or customer base.

Regards

Alec

pulling rabbits out of hats

2007-08-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

Pulling rabbits out of hats is something you expect from a magician, and not a PR agency.

however, that is something we do for our clients ... make marketing magic.

as a small(er) agency, we need to differentiate ourselves from the big boys -- although our budgets are in line with market demands.

so -- what do we do.

firstly, we will jump through hoops to keep clients happy and never bait and switch account teams (maybe because we have 4 people on staff!)

clients get to know us and we work seamlessly with them on a variety of PR and marketing issues. Over the next several posts we'll highlight some rabbits we pulled out of hats for clients:

Rabbit 1:

for months we have been working with a client that has a major trade show coming up and we inquired many times about booth and graphics. each time they said it was covered. Well 1 week prior to the show, they find out they do not have a booth. within 48 hrs we secure a booth and design graphics as well as ensure all the logistics in time for the show.

basically, we saved their marketing for the year.

As a smaller agency we can provide this quick turnaround service that bigger ones may not want to do, or charge extra for.

We're back

2007-08-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

After a hiatus of no posts, we're back to being online blogging.

alec

Random thoughts …. PR Earning a seat at the CEO’s table

2005-02-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

A lot of PR pros I respect (and that’s about a handful or two) talk about getting a seat at the table with CEOs and other C-level executives.

So, how do you “earn” a seat at the table, and more importantly why am I blogging on this!

On Tuesday, February 8, 2005 , The Wall Street Journal’s Marketplace section (which should be required daily reading for any serious PR pros) had an excellent article on their MBA track, lamenting the fact that B-school don’t teach communications and communications schools don’t teach business.

More importantly, because B-schools can’t quantify communications results, they basically overlook the field. Not al lB-schools, but most, and the trend is slowly moving away from that.

So to earn a seat at the table, you must speak the same language as the rest of those already there.

PR and communications professionals need to be able to understand how business works, that is, what are the pains / concerns CEOs, marketing directors or CIOs have, what keeps them up at night, what do they need to do to make next quarter’s numbers or thus year’s bonus.

My short list (not all, but from a stream of caffeine induced consciousness):

Understand industry trends, both macro and micro trends affecting the economy and your client’s industry
Be able to communicate those trends to help your CEO client capitalize on them
Add value, not BS
Understand basic financials from terms to quarterly reports
Commit to and promise to deliver ROI that is measurable, not just PR by the pound (amount of clips, as to me that is a useless metrics)
Read. Read and Read some more. If you don’t already jet the WSJ, get it yesterday.

I’ve been reading the WSJ for nearly 20 years (I don’t own stock in Dow Jones) and I can tell you, it gives you a “professional edge,” as this is what your CEO clients are reading

However, just reading the WSJ and trade press won’t do it alone, but that will give you a huge lead over the rest of the PR folks, and it may just get you a seat at the table.

Over the years I’ve had a seat at the table with the likes of Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs and many, many senior executives from Fortune 500 and Inc 500 firms.

final thoughts: getting a seat at the table also adds a lot of cash to your pay check

Questions For Alec Rosen

2005-02-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

From time to time I get requests from students asking questions about PR:

Now that I have a blog, I will post the Q's as well as the A's

Questions For Alec Rosen

Why did you choose the PR field?
I didn’t choose PR, so much as find it -- especially after fits and starts in other areas including four years in the Navy and a job as mechanic, and a year spent backpacking across Europe in the early 80s.

After military service I entered college and majored in international business and Spanish Lit. After college I was working as an informational analyst for major oil company and then got a job in the PR department of another oil company.

After leaving the oil industry, I started my PR career in earnest when I was hired by Burson-Marsteller’s Miami office.

2. How does AJR define a target public? Do you believe that one exists? And if so how do you segment it?

Target public has many meanings: do you mean AJR’s target market or our client’s target audience ….

AJR targets mid-market technology firms, although we count Microsoft as one of our clients, as well as early-stage start-up firms. Companies should understand their target markets and excel at it, that is what we do.

A client always has a target audience.. .certain people buy BMWs other only Fords, and not every car decision is predicated by purchasing power. (we own a BMW and a Mustang)

In order to segment a client’s audience, you need to understand what the company does, and understand its value proposition in order to properly market and segment the company both horizontally and vertically to its target markets

3. On your website it states: To make an impact on the customer, we start the communications process by analyzing your company, competitors and market in order to develop the strategic and creative ideas that will form the cornerstone of our communications campaigns.
How important is it for your client to understand the “market” that they are in? Because I get the feeling sometimes as a consumer, representing several different demographics, that some companies don’t understand the market/field that they are in. How do you help them discover what it this is? Is the research conducted quantitative research or non-quantitative? Do survey’s help?

It’s critical to understand the target audience in order to properly target them (there is no 100% solutions, but you can come close)

For example: for a business-to-business market (company A sells stuff to company
“B” you need to understand the needs of “B”. -- with business software
solutions, who is the decision maker at “B”, what keeps him/her up at
night worrying about the business, is it greater IT functionality and scalabilty
(i.e. the CIO) or is better financial management through cross-functional
real-time reporting i.e. the CFO or CEO. Or is it the sales clerk that
does not want to re-enter data from sales forms to accounting systems --

Once you know this, you can customize key messages and PR / marketing material that speaks to their needs.

On the other hand, if you are marketing a consumer product, such as an MP3 player, it’s a different ballgame, and you need to know the psychographics of the target consumer, for example:

Age
Sex
Income
What kind of car they like (minis or Volvos – my guess, Mini)
Activities – are they couch potatoes or like rollerblading
So and so forth.

Is any research conducted outsourced?

Sometimes, but we use primary and secondary research, such as can be found online

5. Public Relations is defined by most as “publicizing an organization or individuals image” where as Marketing and Advertising are about the product. How do you draw the line between these three fields? Many people get confused and use the terms interchangeably.

PR is “earned media” based on third-party credibility, that is other people i.e. the media, saying how great you are.

Advertising is “paid media” based on what you say about yourself in a 30-second spot or full-page ad.

Public Relations

PR is art of influencing the behavior of a targeted audience through the credibility of others. This media is “earned,” as the client / agency needs to “sell” the story idea to a third party, such as an editor, who in turn will write / produce an objective story about you.

The ultimate goal of PR is to change attitudes and behavior or perceptions about the client via the positive nature of third-party credibility infused with the client’s key messages. One good story in the influential Wall Street Journal is worth a year’s ad buy in the same publication, because of the credibility factor inherent in the paper’s editorial coverage.

In PR you do not “own” the content (story), but can influence it through key messages and positioning and a proactive PR campaign.

Advertising

Advertising is the art of creating a change in behavior, attitude or perception about a product / company, based on what you say about it yourself. Because you “own” the space, the 30-second ad or full-page ad, you own the content.

For advertising to be successful it requires frequency and reach, besides good creative. Frequency is the number of times your ad runs and reach is the amount of people who will see it.

Other than the Super Bowl, people don’t really talk about ads they have seen, especially in trade journals, but they will discuss a well written thoughtful article, and even e-mail it to others.

6. How important is it for a Public Relations professional to focus on the Latin Market, specifically your work in helping Microsoft establish a presence in this area?

A company like MS is a global player and therefore focuses on a global market place, but also has programs and people in most markets. The most successful PR people, in my opinion, can work easily in multiple markets and across various industries. This is not a function of good PR education, as it is a function of a good business background, such as B-school or MBA. International markets of course require knowledge of other markets, but the principles still apply – basic business and marketing principles.

Latin America is a big market, but then again so is the US.

And how important is it for me as a college student venturing into this field to be aware of the strong, if not domineering presence of the power and influence of the Latin market? You should be aware of all international markets, as we are in a global economy.

The Latin market is big, but not a domineering presence or power except in certain commodities and in certain geo-markets such as South Florida.

Brazil and Mexico are huge markets, especially for US companies ranging from Microsoft to GM, but individually, neither one is as big as the California market expressed as GDP.

Outside of South Florida and a few other places (NY for banking), LATAM is just another international market – an important one, but put it into perspective

7. What has been AJR & Partners greatest Success?

Everyday.

8. Greatest failure?

Don’t see failures, just lessons to learn from, everyday I learn something new, try something new

9. What do you look for in an employee?

Right now, my business model is predicated on outsourcing work to PR freelancers. But I look for people who have a better head for Business than PR. That is, can you read and understand a balance sheet, can you understand the interrelationship between the concerns of the CEO, CFO, CIO and the marketing or sales manager. Can you spot trends in a client’s industry and help them capitalize on them. Just writing press releases and knowing some media contacts, does not add value to a CEO, and if that is all someone can do, it will keep them at the bottom rungs of PR.

10. I told you a definition of PR earlier, what is your personal definition of the field, after all the things you have accomplished so far?

Modifying behavior and changing perceptions through targeted communications.

Thank you so much for your time and I wish you continued success!
-Millia Jimerson

AJR issues a press release for AJR Spin Zone

2005-02-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

Welcome to AJR Spin Zone.

Why did I issue a release on this?

Because I want people to come and read my blog, otherwise I wouldn’t bother to write one. A press release disseminates information to a wide audience and is what I do for a living. (PR that is).

AJR’s Spin:

I am a marketing and PR professional, and not a professional blogger. I don’t know the proper etiquette of the blogosphere about self promotion, or the proactive marketing of a blog beyond the search engines, nor will I make any apologies for promoting this blog as I would any client’s company or product.

All I can ask is that you read it and comment with your posts, including the good, bad and the ugly ….

Alec

Sound bites (a small sample)

2005-02-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight President Bush gave his state of the union address, and here is the key soundbite that we will see repeated in the coming days. While, there were many others, this one imparts a powerful key message and will drive debate on both sides of this issue, hence, a great soundbite.

afterall, shouldn't a soundbite drive and support your client's key messages:

“Save Social Security.”
George W Bush

As PR pros, we know that soundbites are very powerful and can impart ideas, themes or corporate positions. They are usually more complex than the examples on this page

Some favorite soundbites I use in media training with corporate executives, to illustrate how important it is to speak in plain common language or the use of simple phrases to communicate complex ideas.

These soundbites also illustrate the diminishing capacity for people to remember more than a few words.

“Wrong war.”
John Kerry

“Evil Doers”
George W Bush

“Count every vote”
Al Gore

“I did not have sex with that woman.”
Bill Clinton

“Read my lips.”
George Bush (I)

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall”
Ronald Regean

“I have a dream.”
MLK, Jr.

“Make love, not war.”
60’s protestors

“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
JFK

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar.”
Shakespeare

Feel free to add to this list, powerful soundbites that impart ideas, that we can use to help our CEO clients to get the concept of soundbites that drive key messages

alec

Dot Com Super Bowl and the role of PR

2005-02-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

Forbes.com has posted an interesting story on several dot-com companies that advertised on the Super Bowl in 2000 or the Bubble Bowl. So much for advertisers, but what role did PR play: what were those days like in PR.?

I kept a journal of my PR experience from the late 1990s through mid 2000, covering what happend in Miami, NY and Silicon Valley, as I was in all three places for extended periods of time.

It’s basically an unpublished and unpolished book, full of my thoughts and doubts and the greed of the era. The following are experts from my not yet published book (see post Feeding the PR Machine for the outline)

PR gold rush 1997-1999

Working in a major PR agency (Edelman PR as a VP in their Miami office) during this period I sat at ground zero during the heady times of excess and extreme of dot-com PR. Endured meetings with 20-somethings that thought they were going to change the world become rich beyond their dreams and all they needed to do it was a PR-driven strategy to drive the IPO.

These were the days that a successful media tour in New York ended with a trip to Tiffany’s so the client could look at what they were going to buy after they went public.

These were the days that budgets went from $10-15,000 per month to $30-40,000 plus per month and even higher in New York and California. Many times these companies had no clients, no product and no hope for success. In fact, many times the only true product they had were the press releases we were creating and pushing out over PR Newswire or Business Wire.

Sometime in the middle of the PR dot-com gold rush I realized my clients were full of shit and I started to question what the hell I am doing helping these morons get rich, when I should be worrying about my own family. Morons from HomePoint.com or LearningPays.com or from GoCo-op.com or from e-food.com. All former clients of mine and all morons who had no clue what the hell was happening to them and around them.

Later on during the boom I used my business and economics background to realize that most of their business plans were not worth the paper they were printed on. However, that did not stop me from taking my clients money. As with lawyers, everyone is entitled to representation as long as they can afford it, even OJ had his dream team, and so it was with many dot-coms with their dream team of PR hacks.

To understand the hype of the New Economy we first have to understand that The New Economy hype is not so new after all. Without turning this into an economic treatise there were many other periods of time where the good hard working people thought they were living in a new economy and the hype created by government, media and the markets forced rationale people to do irrational things. Like piss money away down a rabbit hole.

Of all the books I read in business school, one of the best, which was not even required reading, was the Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay written in 1841, which examined crowd psychology including investments, an example:

“All economic movements, by their very nature are motivated by crowd
psychology. Graphs and business ratios are of course indispensable … I have always thought that if in the lamentable era of the New Economics ... even in the presence of dizzily spiraling prices, we had all continuously repeated ‘two and two still make four,’ much of the evil might have been averted.”

What is interesting is his use of the term New Economics and the fact that he was alluding to role of the public and media to use common sense in how it viewed the markets. If only the hosts of CNBC and all those celebrity CEOs and their hired PR hacks did the same in the late 1990s we too may have avoided much economic pain in 2000.

"On Bullshit" by Harry Frankfurt ... who is full of BS

2005-01-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

On Bullshit, by Harry Frankfurt may be a good read, but Frankfurt, a professor at Princeton, was full of it in his diatribe against the marketing PR and advertising professions on Public Radio International’s Marketplace show on January 24,2005. marketplace.org

If he sees no value in what marketing professionals do, he should get out of his ivory tower and speak with the communications professionals that are helping him sell his book such as the:

Graphic designers who work on the book cover
The marketing people who market the book to the stores and create the strategies that help sell product (in his case a book, but it might as well be a widget)
The PR people who get the book reviewed as well as arrange for the book tour (presumably on marketplace as well)

If, as he states there is no value in this craft, then he should just do it himself and leave the professionals to work for clients who can appreciate their craft and level of professionalism.

Amazon Link to the book. this posting was also posted as a review.

Complete Idiots guide to search engines

2005-01-24T13:49:00.000-08:00

A survey by The Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that Only 1 in 6 users of Internet search engines can tell the difference between unbiased search results and paid advertisements, a new survey finds

http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/146/report_display.asp

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6861158/

Google Inc. marks such ads as "sponsored links," Yahoo Inc. terms them
"sponsor results" and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN uses "sponsored sites."
Such ads are placed to the right and on top of the regular search results,
in some cases highlighted in a different color.

But only 38 percent of Web searchers even know of the distinction, and of those, not even half — 47 percent — say they can always tell which are paid. That comes
out to only 18 percent of all Web searchers knowing when a link is paid.

Source : MSNBC / AP

So what does this mean for marketers?

Besides that a lot of our target audience may not be as savvy as we think they are in all things internet related, there are a lot of opportunities for online marketing and leveraging PPC ads (pay per click ads)

if you only reley on free search engine listings and not a PPC campaign, you are mistaken

You need to be aggressive in a PPC campaign, otherwise you are missing a lot of potential customers who do not know the difference between a SEO free listing (search engine optimized) and a PPC listing that is prominently displayed on the top or the right/left hand sides.

Make sure your site is already optimized for a free listing in the searches --
Google your firm and your competitors to see how and where they are listed, both in the free listings and in the ads. Also use other search engines: yahoo, MSN, etc.

Ask some of your customers how they “found you” see if they mention search engines, PPC ad or free listings, etc.

Start your google ads and then experiment with the content of the ads to make them seem more content / editorial-dreiven rather than advertising-centric

I currently advertise AJR and a lot of my clients via PPC, so we may need to re-think some of the content of our ads to ensure that we are optimizing our listings and paid search results to be in line with the results of this survey

would welcome feedback.

Patriots vs. Eagles vs. Event Marketing

2005-01-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl XXXIX will be a spectacular of football, advertising and now event marketing according to today’s Wall Street Journal.

Trying to engage consumers, rather than just reach them, Off site events will include P&G for toilet paper (outfitting five-star portable toilets with Charmin), Motorola using “actors” to use Bluetooth technology throughout the venue and the host city, where actors will dress up like CEOs and the like.

While I never have represented a client at a Super Bowl, there are lessons to be learned here from Super Bowl Guerrilla marketing:

Engage your target market, don’t just target them and hope they passively listen, read or watch.

Over the days and weeks leading up to the Big Event, we’ll look at some event marketing truisms that AJR and others have engaged in, with a focus on the low-budget high-impact events that allow companies to dominate an event.

When Bad Timing Happens to Good PR & Marketing

2005-01-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

When Bad Timing happens to Good PR.

It’s bound to happen. A product launch or some other such corporate event is over shadowed by world events.

The Asian Tsunami, which killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions, is but one example of this on a world scale.

Some examples:

50-foot Wave – releases their first CD later this year reports The Miami Herald
Tsunami Research – complete with a “killer wave” logo will completely rebrand the company according to today’s Wall Street Journal.
Similarly, other companies with the “tsunami” moniker are also considering rebranding their images, including water parks with wave pools.

So what do you do:

In the band’s case, move forward, donate money to relief efforts and live the notoriety, much, like the band Anthrax.

Tsunami Research needs a complete re-branding and communications program to reach out to their constituents, customers and other internal / external audiences, otherwise it could be confused as a tsunami think tank or worse, as trying to take economic advantage of tragedy.

AJR’s bad timing event:

Stop the Hunger, a Miami-based food bank that feeds the poor and a pro-bono AJR client, was giving away complete Thanksgiving dinners 1 week prior to the holiday. All local media were pitched and many TV stations confirmed their coverage.

Bad timing: same day of our event, there was anti-FTA protests in downtown Miami and the police were firing tear gas and water cannons at the protestors. While we gave away free turkeys and trimmings, our event was a turkey.

However, we took digital photos and were able to send post-event picture after Thanksgiving for local coverage and salvage the day's event.

2005 Marketing Sherpa report

2005-01-14T18:19:00.000-08:00

The 2005 Wisdom Report featuring105 real-life stories and tips from marketers is out from Marketing Sherpa.

The following link is for the PDF.

http://wisdom.marketingsherpa.com/store/downloads/wisdom2005.pdf

Source: Anne Holland, Publisher, MarketingSherpa

AJR is quoted in the report listed by first name, Alec J Rosen, and reference number 40

besides my little contribution, there are 104 others to check out

alec

Truth ... Lies and PR Part II or Wal-Mart Sux

2005-01-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

Wal-Mart Sucks.

That's not my opinion, but that is the opinion of at least 220,000 web page hits from a google search.

it's been many years since I've been to a Wal-mart or even been near one. I don't like big box stores in general, except Target, I do like their branding. But back to today's news on Wal-mart.

The world's largest retailer took the "PR offensive" today with ads in leading news papers defending itself from its many critics. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,144258,00.html

The ad, which ran in papers such as USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, says the company plans to create 100,000 U.S. jobs in 2005 and that 74 percent of its hourly employees work full-time. It also touts the fact that the average wage for its full-time hourly employees is nearly twice the federal minimum wage.

For too long, others have had free rein to say things about our company that just aren't true," Chief Executive Lee Scott (search) said in a statement. "We've decided it's time to draw our own line in the sand."

Perception = reality, expect on reality TV. But in the PR world at least that equation holds true.

AJR's Spin: Even if Wal-mart was a Fortune 100 best company to work for they would still have their critics due to their size -- look at Microsoft.

Kudos to Wal-mart's CEO for rolling up the sleeves and fighting to get their message heard above the din of their many critics, and for spending the ad dollars to do it, because they just would not get the media attention from a release or a news conference. At least now the media are forced to repeat their key messages as their ad is the message. you can't buy that media .. oops, they did.

Alec

Truth ... Lies and PR (Bush, CBS and Philip Morris)

2005-01-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

What is truth.

Well in PR truth can be in the eye of the beholder. Recent stories of the Bush Admin paying for spokesperson (via Ketchum PR) and the CBS memo-gate are but 2 examples. If you want the facts on those, google it.

but in PR, how do you tell the truth , especially when we are all hired flack. What do you do about a client, when you know your client is not telling the truth, like Big Tobacco.

in the 1990s, when I worked at Burson-Marsteller, I was the PR lead for Philip Morris in Florida.

I don't smoke and I don't let people smoke in my house. So, how do you handle the "truth" about tobacco.

As long as I was not promoting under-age tobacco use or engaging in youth marketing, I was OK. I also did not bring any client materials home.

Afterall, tobacco is a legal product to be enjoyed by adults over the age of 18. During my years of working with PM, I handled sporting events such as the Marlboro Grand Prix and several programs with Florida restaurants to ensure the existence of non-smoking areas.

To make sure they had non-smoking signs in their establishments .... We set up training programs and free ads for them to welcome non-smokers to their restaurants (this was before the state banned indoor smoking)

We conducted economic studies to show how much money was spent by smokers in restuarants on coffee, drinks and desserts, all after dinner items that bring large profit margins to restaurant owners.

The spin here is we allowed non-smoking areas, thereby presupposing that you allow smoking. And that smoking is legal if not aslo socially OK.

See truth is in the eye of the client. And the PR agency. Or hired hack.

So, back to Bush and CBS.

Bush: I think paying for a spokepserons in the right and smart PR tactic if you want to get your message out, but the spokesperson needs to be upfront about it. Otherwise you will lose credibility and your message will suffer, as it is w/ Bush right now w/ respect to this issue.

CBS was wrong in their approach and cover-up and they have suffered a major set-back in the honesty and fairness of their product ... Which is NEWS.

Philip Morris ... We all knew cigs were bad for you (read the friggen labels on the side of the box), but we were selling the legality of the product and I was always upfront with reporters about who I represented and how I felt about it.

busy new year ... so far

2005-01-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

Been a busy new business start to 2005.

cranked out 3-4 proposals as well as upselling existing clients. today i'm off to Tampa, to meet with my biggest client, WebMD.

Yes, little AJR has WebMD as a client, where we handled a major new product launch, PR, advertising and design.

We also have Microsoft. (more on that latter)

got to run to the airport, will update soon.

alec

FEEDING THE PR MACHINE

2005-01-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

FEEDING THE MACHINE: HOW PR FUELED THE DOT COM REVOLUTION

And How To Prepare For The Next Hyped Thing

That was the working title of a book i drafted and never finished about the heady days of dot-com PR, about my experiences in Miami during the late 1990s and in Silicon Valley, where i was commuting to and fro for about 6 months.

I'll post some of the more interesting sections and also provide up-to-date comments on a periodic basis. Here's a taste:

Theme:

This book will explore how PR created the buzz to keep feeding the machine (PR= VC money and higher stock prices) during the Golden era of Dot-com PR from 1997 to 2000, when I was involved with launching about 10 pure play dot-coms and working with several technology companies.
It will also explore how the New Economy hype was driven by many factors including the obvious greed and ego of the Dot-com CEOs, an eager media buying the hype, unsuspecting public buying the stocks and at the bottom of the it all were people like me at PR agencies that created the buzz that fed the machine with finely distilled key messages.
This book will name company names, key company executives, places and events (the good, the bad and the ugly, with an emphasis on the bad and ugly) as they took place and substantiated by e-mails, memos, my personal notes, interviews with colleagues and in one case the lies of one CEO reconstructed through various media reports.
This book will also explore the toll the new economy took on my personal life including going back to school, bouts with depression and how I turned down a major job offer with a 90% pay increase in Silicon Valley in order to keep my family and marriage in tact.

New Year ... New Biz

2005-01-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

New business is the life blood of any agency and taking care of existing clients is well, just good business.

Today, the first business day of the new year, sees AJR catching up on existing clients as well as a few hot leads from 2004. we want to make sure our clients are happy as we kick off 2005 (as well as current) and we want to convert leads into paying clients.

We hope to increase billings this year by adding at least one new retainer client / Qtr.
We will grow the business via tried and true methods as well as some innovative methods. As much as possible, we'll blog how we do it and list wins, loses and draws.

for those of you who don't know AJR, please visit our website www.ajrpartners.com

alec