The 12 Days of PR

One of my colleagues likes to say that the euphoria one experiences during a highly successful PR launch, is like being a kid on Christmas morning. There are very few things that make us jump up and down with the same enthusiasm as, say, a child who gets a puppy from Santa. But for public relations professionals, a top-tier media hit that delights a client is one of those things. Launching a successful social media campaign is one of those things. Landing a speaking engagement at a key conference is one of those things. Yet as any elf knows, a whole lot of effort goes in to making the holidays bright. Our office equivalent is the strategic planning that goes in to creating success in the year ahead.

The Oprah Effect (And What It Means For Your Business)

When Oprah decided to leave daytime television and start her OWN network, she was taking a big risk. Oprah fans – and there were a lot of them – had become used to watching her at a certain time each day, on a certain station, and to see certain guests and topics (who doesn’t remember her infamous interview with Tom Cruise?). Oprah became a habit. And habits – like cultural norms – can be hard to change.

Let’s look at a few examples. The television was first invented in 1926; 22 years later in 1948, there were only about 35,000 television sets in the U.S., compared to 40 million radios. Today, there are roughly 285 million. The smartphone era began in 2002, but four and a half years later in 2006, only 715,000 smart phones were sold. Earlier this year, it was reported that smartphone ownership had reached 110 million users in the U.S. While these technologies eventually became mainstream, it didn’t happen overnight.

Effective PR Strategies: Timing is Everything

A wise man/local celebrity once told me that in the public relations world, the calendar means everything. These are important words to heed as we approach what might be the most news-packed few weeks of the year in technology. Perhaps around this time of year your biggest challenges include getting Junior dressed and ready for the first days of school, but I can tell you that for a PR pro, navigating the tech news cycle over the next couple of weeks might be even trickier. Consider:

• Today: Samsung’s Unpacked Event and Sony’s IFA 2012 press event.
• September 3: Labor Day. I’m all for counterintuitive thinking, but announcing news on Labor Day is not the best use of your time. Fire up the grill, crack a cold beer and file that press release away for another date.

How We Can Use Instagram In Public Relations

We’ve all seen and likely created a sepia-tinted, vintage-style digital photo using the photo-sharing service, Instagram on our phones.  It makes our photos look much cooler than they are, which is probably why usage is exploding – growing from 15 million users in early 2012 to 80 million users in July.  That’s an increase of 400% in seven months!  And, as they did with the growing usage of Twitter and Facebook, big brands have taken notice.  A recent study by Simply Measured found that 40 percent of Interbrand’s top 100 have an Instagram presence. Brands such as MTV, Starbucks, Burberry, Tiffany & Co. and Nike have a huge following with numbers topping or near half a million followers.

The Art of the Announcement: Timing Tips Inspired by the Race for the White House

When Mitt Romney announced his pick for Vice President – on a Saturday morning in the middle of the Olympics – it seemed like curious timing. Who would try to compete with the ratings juggernaut that is the Summer Olympics? However, not long after the announcement was made, promotions started running for the first interview with the newly minted Romney/Ryan ticket in an exclusive with 60 Minutes.

The Romney Campaign clearly wanted to set the agenda for the Sunday op-ed pages and the Sunday morning talk shows. Even though “Meet the Press” was pre-empted by the Olympics, Eric Fehrnstrom, Romeny’s right hand man, was front and center on “Face the Nation” and Governor Tim Pawlenty defended the ticket on “This Week,” with George Stephanopoulos. The week that followed became all about the Republican challengers and a little about P90X.

So, You Started a Business. But Are You Ready for PR?

Congratulations! You have taken the leap and started a business. Now you are ready to tell the world about your new venture, and want to start with the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and TechCrunch. While seeing your business’s name in print is exciting—and often revenue-driving—it takes work to get there, even if you are a seasoned veteran at this start-up thing (Beth’s previous post, Why Your Product Launch is Not Your Watershed Moment, is a great place to start). Not only can attention too early stoke a fire that burns out too quickly, it can also create demand a business simply cannot support. For every business, the point at which to get started with PR is different. Say, for example, you are in stealth mode but want to create anticipation for your product. Or, you are about to close on a round of financing and see industry competitors getting attention. For each scenario the PR program you deploy will be vastly different (e.g., a larger emphasis on social media engagement versus traditional media outreach). No matter what your business stage, or the goals you would like to achieve, here are three things you should consider before launching a PR campaign.

PR Tips from the Land of Happily Ever After

Fairy tales seem to have come into modern media vogue this past year. Between shows like “Once Upon a Time,” “Grimm,” and now “Snow White and the Huntsman,” these age-old stories have been given new life (for better or worse), complete with special effects and eerie soundtracks. But no matter what lens you view them through, there is always something to be learned. They even have some PR advice to share!

 The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise trod on and trod on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.