Simple Steps for Promoting Your Company, Products or Services

Public relations is an essential marketing tool for any company seeking to raise awareness, promote products and services, and boost sales. In contrast to advertising, public relations tells a story, often produces grassroots word-of-mouth “buzz” and can be extremely cost-effective. As a marketing discipline, public relations has a few inherent advantages. For starters, media placements that are generated by a public relations program serve as third-party endorsements for your goods or services. For example, an article in a prominent magazine or daily newspaper that promotes and tacitly recommends Nike sneakers has more credibility with consumers than an advertisement in the same publication about the same product. And while there are no guarantees that you will get the kind of press coverage you wish for, a focused, respectful perseverance will give you your best shot.

For firms that are planning on incorporating a public relations program into their broader marketing effort, it is important to keep in mind a few strategies. With the proliferation of media outlets and news programming, producers, editors and writers are in perpetual need of compelling story ideas. Most businesses or nonprofits have a unique narrative that if communicated skillfully has the potential to be a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal or a segment on the Today Show. Media professionals search for creative story ideas to fill their endless hours of programming. With the right tactics, your business story can fill that void. Here are some of those tactics:

Put a Voice to Your Company
Identify someone in your company who could become the official “spokesperson.” On its own, a company is an inanimate entity that has little to offer the media. With the introduction of a spokesperson, your company is transformed into a life form that pulsates with energy. He or she must be articulate, composed and project the image of a guru or expert. Companies that do not have an obvious candidate for the role of spokesperson should consider hiring a public relations firm that can train someone to become that authoritative voice. Remember, the spokesperson must project the corporate culture and be appealing to the targeted demographic. For example, an attractive female is a better choice for spokesperson of a cosmetics company than a chubby, balding male. Media professionals are in constant need of industry experts who are willing to appear on television or in print. By positioning clients as industry experts, we have had great success at generating bushels of media placements.

Capitalize on Cause Marketing
An additional tactic that has proven to be of great value is cause marketing. Cause marketing is a method of twinning corporation and for-profit entities with charitable or non-profit organizations for their mutual benefit. In the early 1980s, we partnered Famous Amos Cookies with Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA), at the time an obscure organization that promoted literacy. The partnership proved to be a transformative one for both Famous Amos and LVA. Famous Amos Cookies became an iconic national brand, and literacy became a pet advocacy issue for millions of Americans. This was realized through grassroots media events in cities throughout the United States and national print and broadcast interviews. Amos became the national spokesperson for LVA, and the PR efforts surrounding this partnership helped brand both organizations. This cause-marketing effort inspired Ben & Jerry to become environmentally involved and is credited with much of the media coverage the company enjoyed early on. Regional companies should consider partnering with regional charities in order to generate media that is appropriate for the area. A small supermarket chain with stores in New York State, for example, may want to implement a cause marketing program with a local soup kitchen in the same market, thereby ensuring that the news stories are relevant to the indigenous media. Executing a media event at the soup kitchen during a weekday lunchtime feeding with the supermarket’s spokesperson provides a recipe for media coverage success.

Besides projecting an image of philanthropy and community involvement, a cause marketing program enables businesses to connect with their customers on a more personal level. Cause marketing is a great public relations tactic because it is relatively inexpensive and highly effective and because it builds a corporate culture that emphasizes compassion and charity. There is no disputing the importance of being involved in the community, but many companies do not promote their contributions. Through in-store signage, media placements and the resultant awareness, these activities will certainly generate good will (customer loyalty) and inspire others to lend a helping hand.

Final Word: Use Your PR to Leverage More Sales
While garnering media placements is the gauge for any successful public relations program, it is equally important to measure the relationship between the media and sales. Smart PR firms enable their clients to reach their key sales influencers and have the ability to measure the impact of public relations on their bottom line. Media placements are successful only if they reach your key influencers. A segment with Lou Dobbs on CNN is worthless if prospective clients, industry executives and investors never see it. Repackage and reproduce media placements and transform them into direct mail pieces. Compile a VIP mailing list of vendors, prospective clients, industry executives, etc., and send them your media placements regularly (e.g., every 60 days). By doing so, businesses are assured that their PR results – the aforementioned valuable third-party endorsements – will reach their intended target audience.

To determine the effectiveness of these efforts, consider brand awareness surveys to gauge the impact on your “brand equity.” Guesswork and conjecture are eliminated in favor of measurement and certainty, and these survey tactics give businesses the tools they need to analyze their public relations program and measure the ROI (return on investment) generated.

Implementing a public relations program can be a challenging process, but the rewards are numerous. The tactics and ideas offered here are by no means exhaustive or sufficient to begin a media program. They are, however, a snapshot of the opportunities that are a result of a public relations program. As you consider your marketing mix, remember that there is a significant bang for your buck with a strategic public relations initiative.

Tips from a media expert on how to build the kind of event that will put you in the spotlight
By Chris Rosica

How many times have you watched the new and seen a small business being featured? Ever wonder how that company got the television cameras to show up at its event? And more to the point, ever wonder how you can be the next business to be featured on that very same news show?

In order to start the process, you need to put on your creative hat. What will the media find interesting about your business? When we propose a media event to a client, we typically look for a compelling angle. Here are the questions we ask our clients at the start:
Are you:
• introducing a new product?
• promoting a new cause relationship?
• bringing awareness to a new location or a new company
leadership?
• announcing a new business partner or venture?
• doing something charitable?

Unless you are announcing the newest breakthrough in medicine or a candidacy for president, you will need a creative idea to pique the media’s interest. To that end, it’s a good idea to watch the news to determine the types of events and venues that the media covers. Then take a good, hard look at your product or service: What are you doing that is truly new or perhaps even controversial? Will what are you doing, even in some small way, set you apart from the competition in a way that you can capitalize on in terms of a media event?

Examples: All the News That’s Fit to Race
• A shopping cart race throughout a supermarket was created to
benefit the Children’s Hunger Alliance. The event was created to position this retailer as a caring member of the community. The race produced an irresistible visual for the cameras – pictures of people racing their supermarket carts down the aisles.
• Nice-Pak Products, Inc., makers of disinfecting wipes for hands and the home, joined together with a local elementary school and staged a “health fair” in the classroom to demonstrate proper hand hygiene during allergy season and, using a special blue light, showed how germs spread on kids’ hands.
• A chainsaw buzzed in the hands of an executive chef and the local mayor as they cut a giant ice-sculpture ribbon to mark the grand opening of Blend, a new dining and entertainment venue in Ridgewood, N.J. In addition, representatives from nearly a dozen local charities, from disease research to women’s and children’s groups and the arts, were in attendance to help promote the restaurant’s pledge to donate a portion of each month’s proceeds to charity.

Give Someone the Title of Media Magnet
Although they are inundated with press releases, pitch letters, e-mails and phone calls from companies and organizations like yours vying for their attention, the media isn’t as elusive as you might think. If your event has all the proper elements to make it newsworthy and you have done your homework with persistent outreach and follow-through, you can get the news media to show up and cover your company.

After you have come up with your idea, assign one person in your organization to serve as your media relations liaison. This person will be responsible for disseminating information, handling media inquiries and coordinating interviews and appearances. All materials distributed to the media should include the name of your media liaison with his or her daytime and evening telephone numbers so reporters can get answers to their questions at any time.

Your media relations liaison will need to:• Develop a list of all broadcast and print media in your area. To
obtain a media list, contact your local chamber of commerce or look in the yellow pages. When you have decided which stations and newspapers to include on your media list, call and confirm contact names.
• Research, identify and contact the appropriate writers, editors and producer. If an editor or producer takes a pass, pitch the event to a different editor or producer at the same media outlet (e.g., if you are a computer products company staging an event to roll out a new version of your software, you’ll want to call the technology editor at the newspaper; if they aren’t interested, move on to the business reporter).
• Contact the media at least two weeks in advance of the event.
• Consider faxing a “media advisory” a few days prior to and on the day of the event. Media advisories are concise “who, what, where, when and why” updates that include information about interview opportunities.

Put a Little Magic into Your Media Event
Here are some considerations for a successful media event:
• Because we are a graphic society and the print and broadcast media outlets use pictures to tell stories, make sure to create a “mediagenic” event that commands attention. Try to imagine what images or sound bites the media will broadcast or publish.
• Aligning your event with a charity or cause is always a good idea because your company will be viewed in a positive light and it “de-commercializes” your news. When choosing a charity, think about the goals of your organization and how they align with those of the organization. For example, if you are a bakery owner launching a new line of healthy breads, you could bring a nutritionist in to talk with patrons of the local food shelter and announce that you will donate your day-old breads on a weekly basis to the organization.

Timing is Everything… When executing a media event, make sure to schedule it in mid-morning. Avoid Mondays and Fridays, since the media is more difficult to reach and less dependable.

Finally, remember to think big: A media event is a public relations tool that can be a powerful way for virtually any small business to get a lot of exposure. Don’t think that holding an event is just for the big guys. Find your angle, and make it newsworthy – and they will come.

10 Tips to Boost Your Business

Restaurants and bars are currently facing numerous challenges including a sluggish economy, heightened anxiety among consumers, and newly enacted smoking bans. As a result, restaurateurs worry that their already diminished profit margins may decline further. To help food and beverage establishments stay on top, Chris Rosica, CEO of Rosica Strategic Public Relations, offers easily-executable tips to help promote your restaurant or bar --- bringing in new customers and garnering some media exposure while you’re at it!
Rosica’s top 10 simple ways to drive business in your food and beverage establishment:

1. Bring in new customers by hosting networking events (local business networks, Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization, Women in Business, etc.) or showcase local artists through fashion and art shows. Allow the artists or organization to use your space and enlist them to promote the event.

2. Donate space for charity fundraisers or for regular non-profit meetings (during your off-peak hours) and align yourself with a cause in your community. Use the charity’s mailing list to drive traffic while boosting customer loyalty. People are loyal to those who give to the community.

3. Align your establishment with local dating services to host get-togethers, or speed dating lunches/happy hours.

4. Offer cooking classes or demonstrations on slower nights. Make it a monthly event, serve wine and create a festive atmosphere to develop faithful participants.

5. Join forces with local businesses to offer specials to their employees and/or patrons by hosting happy hours for employees, special late night promotions for movie or theatergoers, etc. And, sample local corporations with food for which you are known or treat area office managers to a free lunch.

6. Organize leagues for dart or pool players. If your establishment is not equipped for this, sponsor local adult sports teams and offer food and beverage specials post practices and after games.

7. Host wine tasting events. Offer a different flair --- such as featuring a different wine region or country every month. Serve foods from that region and invite your wine distributor to send in their experts to speak about the wines. Offer a travel agency partner the opportunity to speak about the region as a vacation destination. As your partner they can do giveaways and sponsor food and beverage for your events. Since the travel industry is down, travel agencies may wish to become an integral part of the seminars to promote their businesses.

8. Offer late night specials and drink cards to employees of other food and beverage establishments that close earlier than yours (i.e. a contest where the restaurant that has the most employees in your bar on a particular Sunday night gets special discounts, drink cards or even a free $50.00 bar tab for their staff to split the following Sunday night).

9. Utilize the media to spread the word about your business and keep your name in front of your customers. Send media advisories before special events, get listed in your local newspaper and entertainment guide’s calendar of events. Distribute photographs from events to local newspapers to garner post-event coverage.

10. ALWAYS enlist the help of your food and beverage purveyors to donate or cut prices on products and/or donate giveaways. Remember, their marketing budget exists to promote their products in YOUR establishment!

A graduate of Johnson & Wales and Florida International Universities, earning Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management degrees respectively, a former chef and food safety expert, Chris Rosica is CEO of Rosica Strategic Public Relations, a national PR agency based in Paramus, NJ. Rosica’s agency is credited with making Wally Amos and his cookie company “Famous,” without the benefit of advertising.

Marketing Matters
By Christopher Rosica

Hispanic Beauty
Reaching the U.S. Hispanic market is easier than ever before…and could be a crucial step in your brand’s growth.

There are more than 400 million Spanish-speaking consumers in 23 countries around the world, and Spanish is the third most spoken language across the globe. With census figures showing that more than 22 percent of the 34 million Hispanics in the U.S. are between the ages of 12 and 24, it is also a young population of existing and future consumers to indoctrinate to your brand. Hispanics are America’s largest minority group, and by one estimate, had more than half a trillion dollars to spend in 2002. So, while Hispanics are assimilating at an increasing rate, in order to be successful and broaden the appeal of your brand, take advantage of the many opportunities that exist to reach the diverse Hispanic market and let these groups know you are aware of their culture-specific needs.

Companies that will be successful in getting the attention of Hispanics are those that take the time to understand the various cultures within the culture. In the U.S., for example, the Hispanic population comes from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Central and South America. What this means for beauty companies is potentially addressing a variety of hair types, from curly, relaxer-reliant tresses to wavy manes to pin-straight, Asian-like hair. It also means a myriad of skin tones, from nearly Caucasian to light brown to black. All these should be addressed, as should the packaging for these products, with models representative of the audience for which they are designed.

This may mean that a hair-care product created and marketed in Brazil, with Portuguese-language packaging and white-skinned, Brazilian models with straight hair, may not translate well to the Hispanic-American market. Conversely, U.S. products designed to appeal to dark-skinned Mexicans may not go over well in Spain, where lighter skin tones are predominant. What’s more, Hispanic areas in the U.S. are dominated by a variety of cultures; New York carries a significant Puerto Rican population, while Texas contains a large Mexican contingency, and Cubans are numerous in Florida.

What all of this adds up to is that issuing press releases, disseminating direct mail pieces, placing advertisements and posting Web sites in Spanish and English are effective ways to work with the Hispanic media and entice their audience. There are many services available to companies that cost-effectively translate copy; however, people that speak your target audience’s language should avoid using software programs that often do not take into account the nuances of ideas and intended meanings of words.

Never have there been more opportunities to utilize the media to reach Hispanics, from the hot trend-setting publications such as Latina and Spanish-language versions of the leading women’s lifestyle magazines, including Cosmo en Español, Shape en Español and People en Español, to television outlets like Telemundo and Univision. Daily Spanish-language newspapers in the U.S. grew from 14 in 1990 to 34 in 2000, while Spanish-language weeklies grew from 152 to 265, and Spanish-language magazines grew from 177 to 352 during the same period. In addition, English-language mainstream publications are embracing and showcasing Hispanic models in an awakening to the numbers they comprise in the population.

One-third of Hispanics read in English and Spanish, another third read only English and another third read only Spanish. Seven out of ten Hispanics read daily or weekly newspapers, while 75 percent watch television in both English and Spanish, and 50 percent listen to the radio in both languages. In addition, the Internet is a highly utilized medium for Hispanics, with 48 percent of U.S. Hispanics going online from home in the past two years, compared to 21 percent of all U.S. consumers. The Hispanic audience also spends more time online at home (9.5 hours per week) and at work (13.8 hours per week), compared to all U.S. consumers. However, currently only three percent of online content is available in Spanish, according to some estimates.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15-October 15, is a national celebration of Hispanic pride and culture in the U.S. Aligning your organization with activities that embrace and support Hispanic Heritage Month can create goodwill among this audience toward your brand. In conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, and throughout the year as tie-ins to other high-profile Hispanic holidays, such as Cinco de Mayo, are community festivals that bring together those elements important to the Hispanic culture: family, food, music and dance. Beauty companies can sponsor these festivals and introduce their products at booths with sampling and makeovers, elevating their brand and reaching this audience at the vital grassroots level.

Another way to reach the Hispanic audience is to support causes important to them. With Hispanics suffering a greater incidence of some life-threatening diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes and breast and cervical cancers, donating a portion of the proceeds to fight these afflictions, and flagging your packaging, advertising and Web sites as such, is worthwhile. It is also just good…to do good.

With a large and growing influence in the marketplace across the globe, Hispanics are not a group to ignore in your brand’s strategic development. The growth potential is there and the opportunity is yours.